Showers, Showers, & Strong Women

Dear John,

 

 

My temperature stayed above 101 all night, but I did manage to sleep. The animals were delighted. I'm waiting to see what it does tonight. If it stays down, I'll go to work in the morning. If not, I'll have to call Joe. Don't worry - I'll be sensible. I feel too bad to do anything silly, so you don't need to worry about me!

 

 

We had rain today, so I got to knit beside an open window and listen to the rain. It was lovely. And Jethro appears to be getting accustomed to the sound of rain. He does this every year - it scares him the first few times, then he's okay with it. We aren't expecting storms tonight, thank goodness.

 

 

I pulled myself together tonight and took a shower. Whether I'm going to work or to see the doctor tomorrow, it was an absolute necessity. Taking a shower is miserable enough when you have fibromyalgia. But it was painful to just touch my own skin tonight, and washing my hair was torture. I'm not going to dry it - that would make everything worse. I closed the house and turned on the heat, so I'll just put a towel over the pillow and let it dry while I sleep. After all, that's one of my reasons for growing it long. It's easier on the fibro.

 

 

One of my friends posted this on Facebook today, and I absolutely love it. It describes this weekend perfectly. The sheets do hurt. I'm hot. I can't get comfortable. Everything hurts, and you're not here to look after me. So I'm being strong and independent. With a little help - Jen picked up bread, Raisin Bran, and cheese for me today. Can you tell that I'm living on grilled cheese sandwiches? She and Bob dropped off the water heater today. He's never worked with gas appliances, so I'll probably just install it myself. I grew up with gas and I'm accustomed to it. Connecting the water heater won't be any different than connecting a gas stove, and I've certainly done that. It won't be a problem. It should be fun. I enjoy weird things, don't I?

 

 

What I'd enjoy tonight is sleeping again, and I'm sure the animals would agree. They were much more active today since I let them sleep last night. They weren't happy when I closed the windows. But everybody will survive. If I do go to South Bend to see Joe tomorrow, I'll miss having you to go with me and drive. I always do - the amount is in direct proportion to how awful I feel. If you can come for a visit, I'm ready to stop being a strong, independent woman for just a little while.

 

Miss you,

Joan.