Aw, sleepless nights with unhappy toddlers are no fun. Sorry, moms.

When my son was stroller age my teenage nephew used to love to get him from me and take him to the mall because he was a chick magnet.

Heh. And not wrong.

how do people with chronic pain do this?

The amount of painkillers my mom takes daily -- and has for years and years, just to function -- would probably knock out a football player. But between the lupus and the rest of her joint issues, plus age, she literally can't walk without them. And now, of course, just getting her regular prescription is taking special letters to insurance, etc.

would probably knock out a football player

Hubby always said it took training to get to the level he was on. And he mentioned Steven Tyler's statement that the kids ruined drugs and rock n roll.

Hubby always said it took training to get to the level he was on.

Dad takes oxycodone for chronic pain, and he's built up such a tolerance to it that just one of his doses is staggeringly high. I want to say maybe 60 mg? If I take 5 mg, I am high as a kite and vaguely nauseated. I think 60 mg would actually kill me. But that's how tolerance works.

That's the way it is for my mom, too. Her tolerance is insane, and it doesn't affect her coherence or anything else.

Drive by:

Attention Steph: Polka-dot tees, buy one get one free! (sale is today & tomorrow only):

[link]

Oooh, I might need those!

I know I certainly did! (and a couple of their friends...)

I have made it through today without muscle relaxants or pain meds. PT went ok, including dry needling. Tush is sore, but I'm walking with less of a limp and MUCH less pain. Tomorrow I plan to return to work... hopefully full time.

Once again Prednisone to the rescue. I HATE the drug beyond all reason but it is effective. We will just ignore the metric ton of cheese I've eaten recently or the pan of brownies that is almost gone.

Prednisone is absolutely a drug one has a love/hate relationship with. Good to hear it was a much better day.

I'm home finally. Got here Saturday eve. I had a nice trip down the coast after the day I left Eugene. I was counting on getting a campsite without a reservation near Coos Bay, which was not happening at all. I cried when the park ranger told me I was about the 15th person that day who had hoped get a vacant campsite. I was mad at my niece, mad at myself, frustrated, and I just drove and drove until I couldn't drive anymore, and checked into a Motel 6 at Gold's Beach just before midnight. It had a TV! First one I had seen in three weeks!

Everything after that went pretty well. If anybody ever wants tips about Brookings, Oregon, I haz them, good ones. Spent a couple days in Brookings, a couple of days in Eureka, camped overnight in the wine country near the Navarro River, came home by way of Healdsburg, a wine destination town. Lily has been glued to my side, which is sweet. And I still think of Java several times a day.

Thanks for your kind words. I don't get the niece, am not going to, and that relationship is done.

I spent the entire day today in bed reading, doing some more laundry, which I've been doing for days. I always have this burst of energy when I'm leaving on a vacation, and I need to reclaim some of that energy to get things done that need to happen before winter. Tomorrow maybe.

Speaking of winter, I decided to watch first ep of the last season of The Game of Thrones. I've had such fun reading stuff online about it. I have HBO, and there has to be an article somewhere on the essential episodes from past seasons. It would be fun to catch up while this last season is unspooling, but I'm not going to watch 60 hours of TV either.

I need to start going to yoga again, and to start swimming. I can't spend every day lying in bed reading, as decadently luxurious and lazy it is.