If you live in the United States you’ve likely heard about, or experienced first-hand, the recent ice storm.  And, if you’re like me you felt it coming.

Sunday I woke up to a feeling I had, apparently, blocked from my memory.  Arthritis pain.  I think it’s like a teter totter… Well, I think my recognition of pain is like a teter toter.  Either I recognize and feel my fibro pain, or I recognize and feel my arthritis pain.  It’s not that they never coexist, it’s they my brain knows me well (or wait, my brain kinda is me, yeah?), anyway… my brain knows me well and won’t allow me to feel more than I can cope with.  And, I consider this a blessing.  I am about to digress, but read me out.  It may just be what you need to hear.  You never know.

In fact, I believe we are never given a challenge we are not capable of enduring.  And, I believe such challenges can refine us and shape part of us into the person we want to become.  Maybe you don’t agree… but I’d challenge you to ponder that idea when you’re tested.  Sometimes it’s fun to fly in the face of otherwise lame situations… Decide to find something to be happy about.  Decide to prove to yourself you are capable.  Decide to do your best.

Back to the point (I think I say this in every post… thank you for sticking with me).  My arthritis made itself known and, as is often the case, I thought, “Hm… I hate arthritis.  But at least I know the weather must be changing.”  After I woke up feeling just as lousy the next morning, I updated my facebook status to “Kate is a human barometer…” and I went to work.  You know what I meant.

I hurt!  And since you don’t get it (and I kinda don’t want you to, since I keep my team pretty small), at least you know the weather is changing.

The ice started Monday during lunch.  First it was rainy.  Then the rain began to freeze on my windshield.  Then it began to freeze on the ground.  Daniel and I ate lunch at our favorite place near his work.  His school let out early in anticipation of the ice, and I headed back to work.  But by the time I got there (during my trip all the local schools let the kids out early resulting in a traffic jam no other town of our size could create) I realized it was unwise to stick around and I continued toward home.  Within the hour the ice was accumulating.

Daniel and I walked the three houses to my parents for dinner.  Well, technically, it wasn’t walking, our feet barely left the ground.  We skated our way on what appeared to be wet asphalt or concrete in our shoes.  And, when possible, we walked across lawns (although on the trip home the lawns weren’t much better than the hard surfaces).  We made it safely home and snuggled in for a cold and cozy evening.  It was Daniel’s first ice storm, and I don’t think he had any idea what he was in for.

Tuesday morning we woke up to a lovely view.  It was a great day for K8.  The ice storm gave me, and thousands of other people, reason to work from home(when the VPN was cooperative).  School was canceled so Daniel was home as well.  Dad made a wonderful breakfast.  And mom helped me get the new fibroyouth site design complete.  I got good news via e-mail… or so I thought. (More on this in tomorrow’s post.)  And by lunch time Dan knew he wouldn’t have school Wednesday.

Wednesday was another lovely day (spent almost entirely in the house).  The precipitation was mostly through and the sun even tried to make its presence known… through a veil of clouds.  But the only melting was on a few icicles and I swear it refroze before it dripped.  I swear.  I didn’t hear dripping.  What I did hear was a lot of engine revving as people (obviously not acquainted with ice storms or the geography of our neighborhood) got stuck at the entrance.  It’s a 90 degree turn with the point of the angle being at the bottom of a hill.  It ain’t gonna let you out with ice on the roads.  No way.  And don’t get too excited about the other entrance.  It’s an uphill (in a big way) battle or a downhill icy death luge that dumps into an innocent neighbor’s garage… depending on whether you’re coming or going.  Either way, the hills have it.

I have to admit something awful, at this point.  I get some sort of perverse pleasure out of watching people try this ridiculous task.  You see, from the window seat in our bedroom I have a perfect view of the entrance, the turn, and the low spot.  Sitting there, watching stupid car tricks, can be quite amusing.  Maybe now you think I’m a terrible person.  But I’m not.  I swear.  I am, however, great at finding the simple pleasures in life.  And waking Daniel up to enjoy them with me.  Oh no.  Maybe that makes me more terrible… I know some people feel pretty strongly about their sleep.

By now, you may be noticing this is a lengthy post.  Please remember I haven’t left the neighborhood since Monday.

All this wordy wandering brings us to today.  I woke up feeling lousy again.  Arthritis pain is back.  Dan didn’t have school.  I had work, at home.  And the sun finally made an appearance!  A real, lengthy appearance.  Daniel and I took a walk outside to enjoy the beauty (and brightness) of it all.  The rest of the afternoon sounded quite like the squirrels were having a bowling tournament on our roof.  Ice was falling off the trees in large chunks and tumbling down our roof.  Outside sounded like construction site with scrap materials falling from the sky.  I took a chunk of ice to the head and was shocked by how much it hurt.  I guess it makes sense.  That stuff falls a long distance.  But isn’t it stunning?!

In a way I like my Arthritis.  It’s like a really annoying guard dog (not really).  When it’s not useful it annoys me.  But sometimes it brings good news (in an annoying way), like it did Sunday and Monday morning.  “Exciting weather is on the way!  You’re about to spend a whole week working in the same building as your sweetie.”  And sometimes it just brings news I already knew.  Like, “Change is coming.”