February 21, 2009

  • The Beast Overdoes It Once Again....*sigh*

    Today I finally had to tell the Beast the reasons why it's always a lot easier to hire someone to do painting. One, it's something they do professionally and they have a routine that works. Two, they do it much faster. Three, if THEIR bodies ache, it's no big deal because YOU don't have to suffer. Can you see where this is going?

    Yes, he is finally paying the price of pushing his body beyond it's capacity and he's suffering for it. Plus, the ceiling alone is not even done yet. *Sigh* I knew it was going to work this way and I even warned him. He looked at it and kept saying things like *Oh, it's not like it's all that big an area* or *Well, I have to do so much of the kitchen area getting up and down on the ladder...* I'm sure you've heard similar excuses. The main problem actually is that he seldom did any painting so it's all a chore to him. His left leg, which never has fully recovered from the paralysis from his strokes, is still both weak and stiff. He's told me many times that it is ALWAYS painful for him but he's learned to live with it. But, trust me, he's a MAN and they don't learn to live with anything if it involves REAL pain. What he means is that the stiffness doesn't bother him as much as it once did. Mentally, it doesn't bother him as much since THAT is what truly bothered him. He is not a man who has ever liked feeling (or being told) that he can't do whatever it is he wants to do. Thus begins MY pain. Living with someone with that attitude is NOT easy, trust me.

    I tried for many years to encourage him not to push himself. Try to rest it, I would say. Pace yourself a bit. In one ear and out the other because HE didn't have to do those things. Yeah, right! It's the whining that gets to me. He's gotten more subtle about it but whining it STILL remains.

    He had to take a bath and soak for a while was the first thing. Then he had to lay down for a bit. Then he came limping into my computer room where Chewlee and I were cozily watching a movie, Icy Hot in hand, and (in a very pained voice) ask me to put some on him. After putting Chewlee down, he turned, lifted his shirt and pulled down his britches so I could get part of his left *cheek*, too. I just bit my tongue, applied it for him and then patted him as an encouragement to leave so Chewlee and I could get comfortable again. The next few days will NOT be fun.

    The Princess informed me that she has to work the store in Gadsden (which will be about an hour's drive...or so) tomorrow so it's going to be a much longer day for me. It also means that Chewlee will be very unhappy about going to bed without seeing her mother. She has an inner sense of approximately what time her mother SHOULD be home and she's usually dead on. It's amazing to see. She's even learning what her mother's school schedule is now. She was very unhappy that the Princess either stayed at school or at Johnnycake's after getting out of class to do her homework instead of coming home before she had to go to work. They drive to school together on Friday's so it had to be one or the other. She asked to go nite-nite twice and I think it was because she expected her mother to come home when she was done. The second time, I knew she was only going to finish up her bottle and not sleep. She actually cried because mommy was not home.

    The Princess doesn't seem to understand that, even though Chewlee seems to halfway ignore her when she IS here, that is part of the *game*. She has to BE here so she can kiss, hug or cuddle with her if she (Chewlee) WANTS to do it. If she isn't here, then Chewlee isn't happy because she doesn't have the choice available to her.

    Chewlee will fight going to bed so that she is up when mommy gets home. She will spend a few minutes with her and that's all it takes to make her happy then she wants to go nite-nite. She will have a smile on her face, race to wave nite-nite to grandpa, doggie and me (then run in to give me a kiss), gather up her blankey and bottle and trot happily off to bed. It's very different when mommy isn't home on time. She will be falling asleep and I ask her, *time for nite-nite?* and she will shake her head NO. But she won't move and her eyes will be trying to slam shut. When I finally pick her up and TELL her it's nite-nite time, she will accept it but ask *mommy?* in that sad little voice only babies can use. I have to tell her mommy is *working* and she sometimes gets tears in her eyes and cries a little for mommy before she settles down and conks out.

    It's only happened a few times, thankfully. I just hate those times, though. She sometimes wakes up during the night and, if she can't see mommy in her bed, she gets very upset and cries. I can settle her down with a fresh diaper and bottle but those nights she doesn't sleep soundly until she *hears* or *senses* that mommy is finally in her bed. If that doesn't happen early enough, those are the mornings that Chewlee sleeps in and doesn't get up until an hour or more later than normal.

    My poor elbow is giving me some pain since I am keeping pressure on it as the doctor instructed. It's not liking it much, that's for sure. Now, even the shoulder is paining me. I've also become much more aware of what picking Chewlee up is doing to it. She's not exactly a lightweight at 20 months. I have to pick her up to put her in the high chair, take her down, put her in her crib, take her out of the crib, etc. With the Beast painting, it wasn't as if he was available to do it for me. I have to change it daily to give it a bit of a rest with all the bending of the elbow I have to do normally plus the bandage has to come off for my shower anyway. I've thought of several different ways I might relieve some of the pressure on the inside of the elbow but, try as I might, nothing seems to work the way it should (in theory). I guess I will just have to suffer through it for the next two weeks.

    Well, I have to get myself to bed now. Long day tomorrow for me and I am not as young as I once was...unfortunately.

    Love you all. Have a great weekend and keep warm.