On Monday morning I decided I wanted to go back to the country house. So I donned my work clothes and headed outside to cut the grass in the front lawn, so that it just might remain presentable for a few weeks until we had a chance to come back to the little house to cut it again. I spent the day packing, and setting the little house up to be left for long periods of time.
On Tuesday morning I arose at 4:30 a.m., had my coffee, got dressed, ate my breakfast, downed a bunch of painkillers, packed the car, closed up the little house, and drove north. The five hour drive wasn’t too bad, my bruises and fractured tailbone went numb after a while. The only challenging times were when I stopped at a rest stop to use the ladies room, getting back into a sitting position in the car was extremely uncomfortable, until the bruises and tailbone went numb again.
I arrived home around 10 a.m. after an uneventful drive, the best kind ever. I texted Attila to let him know I was home, unpacked my gear, and made myself at home. Attila came home for lunch and it was lovely!
Today is Canada Day. Attila and I did a few chores around the house, and cleaned in case a showing was requested during the day, although that seemed unlikely on a statutory holiday. Then we drove out to our camp, it looked great! The weather was sunny and warm and breezy. We puttered about at the camp, clearing branches that had fallen over the winter, then we walked over to Granny and Grandpa’s house, just down the road. There we sat, me on the porch, Attila on the ground so that he could enjoy the sun. The breezes made the landscape playful and teased us with enchanting fragrances, of pine, and grass, and a nearby spring. A natural spring has a certain aroma, I don’t know how to describe it, but I love it. It reminds me of the spring where my Granny and Grandpa filled milk cans with fresh water, to use at their house, they did not have running water at the time. They always had a milk can of water in the kitchen, with a metal dipper hanging on a nail beside it. When we were thirsty we would fill the dipper with spring water, and quench our thirst. Sitting on the porch today, with Attila near, and the fragrance of happy memories in the air, a deep thirst of another kind was quenched.
After we left Granny and Grandpa’s house we headed over to Harriet’s cottage and dropped in for a little visit. They had company staying with them for a few days, but made us welcome and shared a snack with us, it was very pleasant. Then we headed home.
I am sorry to say that all that time in the car, the five hour drive on Tuesday morning, and the several hours we spent in the car today, have taken their toll on my tailbone, and the bruising. I am very sore and very tired. I believe pain wears a person out, and I feel very worn.
No matter, I will take a few painkillers, go to bed early, and dream about the wonderful day I just experienced.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
16°C
Date: 9:36 PM EDT Wednesday 1 July 2015
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 101.2 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 15.5°C
Dewpoint: 12.8°C
Humidity: 84%
Wind: N 8 km/h
Quote
“There is only one you… Don’t you dare change just because you’re outnumbered!”
Charles Swindoll
Determination, thy name is Maggie. I smile as I write that as your sheer determination to do as you will despite the cost (in pain) reminds me of my own bull-headedness. 😉
I’m glad you and Attila had a lovely Canada Day. I hope that the black flies and mosquitoes have gone and that you’ll have many more enjoyable summer days and evenings together.
Oh Maggie I am so thrilled you drove back to the country house and are with Attila!!!!!! I felt this huge weight lifted.
I am sorry to learn of the pain you are in but glad you are taking pain killers and resting. Rest will help a great deal.
Oh, I am just so happy you are back with Attila!!!!!!
Teri, thanks for your good wishes, sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. 🙂
The black flies are few and far between now, which is great. The peak of mosquito season is over for this year, there are still some of the those little blood suckers hanging around at dawn and at dusk, or if you go walking through fields of grass or ferns, but for everyday living, they are quite bearable now. We have been taking a breather in the screened in porch when Attila gets home from work, it is very pleasant, one of the things I look forward to missing about the country house.
Nora, such warm thoughts, thank you. It is quite wonderful to see Attila in person! Home is for both of us is where we are together, so when I arrived we both came home.
The drive to the country house took me to the limits of my endurance. THEN, like an idiot, I kept on going as if everything was fine. The pain is now significant, so I plan on taking things easy for a while, because as you so rightly point out, rest will help a great deal.
Oh, Maggie, chronic pain is debilitating. It just takes so much out of a person. Before my hip replacements, I felt I was on the edge of cranky all the time… and worn out. Sending healing thoughts your way. Love.
Thanks for the kind thoughts Reenie. I am a little bit exasperated with myself, because I was doing fine until I overdid things, so I brought this on myself. The positive side of it is that it is temporary. I like the way you have phrased that, “on the edge of cranky”, so apt.
I am glad you had the endurance to make the drive! Now take the rest you need. Enjoy your break and build those memories.
There’s much to be said for the “ignore it and work around it” method for dealing with things like the arthritis your have in your tailbone and I have in my sacral joints, but it doesn’t necessarily work so well for current injuries. In fact, I have learned the hard way that it’s mostly counter-productive while trying to heal. How come we keep forgetting this stuff?
Whoever invented pain is a real p;iece-of-work! I very rarely am without pain anymore and it HAS worn me out… just about completely. I wish I had your will-power to push through it but I don’t.
It such a love story reading about your reunions with Attila. Your description of you and him, sitting at the old house, in the sun, reminded me of a Homer Winslow painting. xox
I didn’t mean “Homer Winslow” – I meant Edward Hopper… I am not really awake yet!!!
Cape Cod Evening
This is one of my favorite paintings by Hopper.
I’m glad you had a good visit with Attila. Rest well now, and I hope your tailbone eases its complaints.
Thanks Lee Ann, for the good wishes, and the good advice.
Wendy, “How come we keep forgetting this stuff?” 🙂 This made me laugh out loud. I am writing it down, then maybe I will remember. What I really need is my very own Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder, keeping an eye out for errant judgement calls.
Bex, you certainly know about chronic pain! I think not being able to push through it would have served me well in this instance, as being able to push through it would be a boon to you with chronic pain.
You know, I taught at a workshop for disabled people, and one day we were all sitting outside having a break. The topic of lotteries came up and the question “what would you wish for if you could have everything” came up. One fellow said, “I would not have any pain”. I admired that fellow.
I don’t think I was aware of Hopper’s work, so thanks for that link. Simple pleasures! I love just spending time with Attila, and we both love the old house, the energy there is so wonderful.
Thanks for your warm wishes Joan, it feels great when good friends send kind thoughts!