Funny how you can love new things, yet hate to change old habits. That's my thought for this morning. Here's what lead me to it:
I get up very early and it is very cold. As in very many degrees below freezing. Perhaps the coldest day of the year. Nonetheless, the wind chills did not hit the magic mark of -30F (-34C), so schools remained open. Still, when I go out to feed the animals at sunrise, I feel the sharp needles of freezing air hit my face. Yep, cold.
And yet, the cardinal is up on the crab, singing away.
I am in a hurry: I have an 8am PT appointment. I'm back with my post knee replacement surgery super hero -- David (the therapist). David guided me through the exercises nearly two years ago and as a result of his expert help, I can now bend that darn knee almost fully (he remains impressed by this!). When my doc said I needed therapy for my other, non-replaced knee, I did not sign up for just anyone -- I wanted David. I had to wait four months for an appointment, but it was worth it! The guy is a walking bank of knowledge on the human body.
But this is not why I am just tickled to pieces by today's visit: sure, I get my knee exercises set up, sure I will do them to postpone any surgical work on my second knee. But while there, I ask him as well if he ever worked with people who have what I have -- occipital neuralgia. (It's when your head nerves are inflamed so you have all sorts of unwelcome head issues.) And he has! Well now, forget the knee (for the moment)! How do I get rid of this incredibly annoying and persistent problem? David tells me -- try the lazy way first: just change your reading/writing habits.
He takes a ball -- the size of a soccer ball -- and has me hold it. It's weighted at ten pounds. That's close to the weight of your head. Heavy, right? You lean it forward and you're putting a lot of pressure on your neck and head muscles, which in turn pinch your nerves. Hence the occipital neuralgia.
It took my hero PT guy to explain how to better position myself for a life without weird head sensations. I felt buoyed! I felt jubilant! Suddenly an unsolvable problem appears to have a fantastically simple solution!
Until I come home and try changing my habits.
It should be simple, really. All I have to do is not bend my head forward (which I do to read and write on my laptop). So, lift the computer, maybe get a separate keyboard for it. Just don't look down. Easy peasy, right?
Oh god is it hard! It's as if my whole body is yearning for that laptop to be ... on my lap! I want it there, not up high (so that I can keep my head on top of my spine where it belongs). Why couldn't we have evolved to conform to life's new demands (of a lap top on your lap!)?
I tell Ed that the problem is with sitting on a couch and leaning forward. He considers this. In the evening he suggests rearranging the furniture so that the second lesser couch is against a wall. That way I can prop up a pillow to support my head. The cats hate this new furniture arrangement (they do not like change). The kids wont like it much either (they do not like change) when they see it tomorrow. But I'm giving it a go. It is worth it. (And if you dont want to pinch your nerves or aggravate them, heed David's warning -- keep that head straight, eyes forward, none of this leaning down on your neck!
Breakfast is very late. After my PT, I had to wash the car. Normal people do not do this when it is so very cold, but that's exactly why I was at the car wash -- there were no lines.
And I picked up some treats at Tati's coffee shop and Ed and I have a lovely breakfast that still fits within the parameters of a morning meal. But just barely.
In the afternoon I go off to pick up the kids. Sparrow tells me -- I didn't recognize your car! It's usually so dirty! Hey, blame the salty roads, little guy!
Yes, it's cold. They seem not to notice it. Kids...
We read. Sparrow abandons his pretense of indifference and joins Snowdrop and me on the couch. Snowdrop, as usual, cannot stand not knowing the ending. She peeks. I remind her I don't want to know! She tells me anyway.
Is there anything as great as reading books together with kids? On a freezing day?
And in the evening I once again bring out the leftovers. Chicken, sliced into a salad. And, as I said -- we move around furniture. And pillows for support. Easy fixes... Dont you just wish there were always easy fixes out there for life's intractable problems...
with love...
