Adventures in Medicine - Part 5 (The Neverending Story)

When we last left our heroine (back in August), we were still trying to get the PT/INR to settle at a steady 2.0.  An October reading of 2.0 got me a month-long reprieve from finger sticks, but the success was short-lived. In November, it was back down to 1.4. A week later, with increased dosage, it was up to 1.8. (Finally headed in the right direction.) 

The doctor decided I should stay at that dosage and then proceeded to explain to me that IF there had been no previous history of blood clots and IF we had an idea of what might have caused the clots he would take me off the medication after 6 months, but since that wasn't the case here... 

Seriously??

I patiently related my case history to him once again, reminding him that I did NOT have any history of blood clots and that we DID have a good idea of what had caused them, and concluded by saying that I was very excited about stopping the medication at the end of January. He had to count on his fingers (I'm not making this up!) before agreeing that the end of January would indeed be the six month mark.

I am SO looking forward to January and the end of this story.
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On another note...

I really fell behind in my 52 Organizing Missions, but I have finally caught up.  I am happy to check off the following missions.

#13 Organize Your Emergency Contacts - Nicely typed and posted on the kitchen bulletin board.
#14 Organize Your Household Notebook - Actually, I use a Rolodex, but it works for me.
#15 Organize Your Kitchen Surfaces - Nice and tidy, everything in its place.
#16 Streamline Your Books, CDs and DVDs - With my huge book collection, this is a work in progress and will continue to be for some time, but I have made good progress.
#17 Create Your Bedroom Sanctuary - One of the rooms that I have not allowed to get cluttered.
#18 Organize Your Computer - My computer is my lifeline - and I keep it pretty organized, did get rid of some old unneeded files.
#19 Organize Your Office - Cleaned up my work office (in preparation for a move).  The home office still needs work.
#20 Create Your Organized Life Bedtime Routine - This one was easy - I already have a routine that works for me. Just added a little preparation for the next day and it was good to go.
#21 Create Your Organized Life Morning Routine - Finally got this one down... even to the point of starting a load of clothes or dishes before I head out the door.
#22 Organize Your Bathroom - Threw out all the old, unneeded products and found space in my drawers and cabinets!
#23 Declutter Your Friends - I've looked at this one, but don't see any need for changes yet.
#24 Create a Chore Chart - Have the weekly chores down, still working on the less frequent ones.
#25 Procrastination Demon Busting - What I'm doing right now... getting caught up!
#26 Reflect and Reward - Nice.
#27 Streamline Your Work Tasks - Done.
#28 Streamline Your Home Organization Tasks - Getting there.
#29 Make The Most of Your Personal Time - Another work in progress, but I'm getting better.
#30 Organize Your Personal Stress Management Plan - Working on this one too - need to really start saying "no" more often.
#31 Organize Your Living Area - This one is in good shape.
#32 Organize Your Laundry - Another easy one. We are limited to one wash load per day (due to being on a septic system) and I keep to a pretty strict schedule.  My son organized my laundry room cabinets a few years ago and we've done a pretty good job of keeping them neat.

While I may not have fully completed every assignment, I have done enough on each of them to let them go and remove them from my to do list. This is a huge step toward getting organized for me.

The Mailbox Fairy

We live on a two-lane, blacktop road in a somewhat rural area. The road curves in front of our house. Sometimes drivers don't see the curve because they are drunk distracted, and they run off the road, leaving tracks in the grass or landing in a shallow ditch (one woman even rolled her car over our driveway and landed in front of the neighbor's house).

Our mailbox sits right next to our driveway - directly in the path of these off-road drivers.  I have lost count of the number of times it has been hit.  Sometimes it's a simple matter of putting the post back in the ground; sometimes the box looks more like a pancake and has to be replaced.

A few months ago, we replaced our scarred, bent and faded mailbox with a new one. The pole was a little wobbly, but the new box looked good. Within weeks, the pole was leaning backward, probably due to a glancing blow from a passing truck's mirror. It was still functional, so we left it alone. Evidently this was a good decision. Tire tracks in front of the box show that it's Leaning Tower of Pisa impression allowed it to survive another near miss the following week.

Last weekend, the mailbox took a more direct hit which bent the door and left the pole leaning at a 45 degree angle. The mailman deemed it unusable (meaning he could no longer reach it from his car) and refused to deliver our mail.

I asked my son to fix it (knowing there was little chance of this happening while there were video games to be played) and was pleasantly surprised when I got home from work to find the mailbox standing straight, the door looking less bent, and filled with mail. I hugged my son and thanked him... and got a blank stare.  He didn't fix it. I asked my husband if he had fixed it. Nope.

It must have been the mailbox fairy. Thank you, mailbox fairy!

Busy

"If you want something done, ask a busy person." This is so true! Busy people are organized. Busy people have great resources. Busy people can juggle multiple priorities. Busy people rarely say no.

Busy people are exhausted.

I know. I am a busy person, and I frequently live in a state of chaos with my crowded schedule and ever-growing "to do" list. It's been like this most of my life. At my high school choir banquet, I was presented with the "workaholic" award. I wasn't there to accept the award... I was working that evening.

I work a full-time job to support my family. I cook, I clean (sort of) and I sew. I chaperon the high school band at football games and competitions. I hold several volunteer positions with Boy Scouts and regularly help at special events.

I sometimes find myself thinking that I can relax after I finish    (insert current project here)   . But when each project is finished, another one is waiting to fill the void.

My friends and family don't understand. Why do I take on these added responsibilities? Do I have a desire to feel needed? Am I searching for approval?

Maybe.

But for me, it's much more than that.

It's the smile on my family's faces as they model their new Renaissance costumes. It's all the kids calling me "mama" on the band bus. It's camping with my son and our Scouting friends. It's meeting new people and making new friends. It's congratulating 46 adults who just completed their Wood Badge training course and seeing the looks (and tears) of gratitude on their faces.

It's the best feeling in the world.