I am feeling grateful.
On 18.9.23, early in the morning, I was called out to a flood in the house I own that my son lives in. It cost me an arm and a leg because it was Sunday night, the middle of the night, he was an emergency plumber, and he saw me coming a mile off. What was I to do? The water was pouring through the ceiling in the kitchen, down the walls, the floor was already damaged, and we needed to stop it NOW. I’m not sure I have learned from this, but I do think it is worth all of us having a strategy for emergency domestic leaks. Here’s one site I have since discovered: https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/emergency-plumber-near-me/
But it all takes time and time is of the essence when water is pouring down the walls. So I am going to forgive myself for losing a shed load of money that night and chalk it down to experience (yes, even at 71, I am still learning life’s lessons).
So then, the same day, the builders arrived to start on a loft conversion.
And I went down with covid. My husband and I agreed he would avoid me so that he didn’t get it. This has been our strategy all along. He has had it once in the past and (I have since learned) would not have known he had it if it were not for the test, since all he felt was very genuine jet lag. He had just come back from the States. I, on the other hand, being a dramatic sort, had it really bad. The 19th of September 2024 was lost to me. I was unconscious and delirious for most of it. I hurt all over, my throat was sore, and my tummy was decidedly dicky. On day 5, I started to turn a corner, but I did not go out to play until day 10 because I was still feeling so unwell. Now, the annoying thing is, that just before this I had written about finally coming out of the fog of endless fatigue that had been going on for eleven months with no obvious cause. Of course, covid had other ideas. I am only now, one month on, beginning to get some energy back. I remain a bed hugger, spending roughly half of every 24-hour period in a supine position in various states of consciousness and unconsciousness.
Back to the loft build. There was a brief hoohah in which my builder claimed the drawings said nothing of knocking a particular wall down. He wanted more money. My son was wonderful in putting all the evidence together and preventing that particular payout.
So far, so good. But then, the builder found a couple of structural problems, one of which involved the next-door neighbour. He decided it was too dangerous to continue until she had got her problem sorted, advised her, and downed tools. Cue a meeting between me, builder, structural engineer, and man from the council planning department. Agreement was reached on what needed doing, and I awaited a quotation for my structural work. It came in at a figure that made my lower jaw fall out with my upper jaw, turn its back, and go off in a huff.
In the meantime, I had to wear a heart monitor for a week, after which it was discovered I have palpitations. They are not serious, but I was prescribed beta blockers. I was not happy having yet another pill rattle around inside me, but lo! My GP realised my thyroxine levels had been creeping up, I had slipped into hyperthyroidism, and that can cause palpitations. Cue lowering the dose of thyroxine I take on a daily basis. I also sneakily dropped the beta blockers, convinced they were responsible for ongoing headaches. Mind you, that could be the covid – I’m still coughing at night, one month on. Oh, and I still get the palpitations, but so long as the dizziness isn’t bad enough to cause a nasty fall, I think I’ll stay off the beta blockers, thank you.
I hope you will forgive me for having a bit of a rant. It’s done, now. I want to move on to why I am feeling grateful. Well, the photo is a clue. I am back to walking in hills, and we have had some lovely sunny weather. Having been ill, and as I get older, each day I can walk with my beloved in our beautiful hills fills me with joy. I cannot begin to describe the elation of knowing I can now get to the top of a hill without feeling unwell (I’m guessing due to the reduced thyroxine dose since I started feeling better one or two days after that change). I walked six miles, three days ago, too! I’m still not up to eight milers, but I am getting there. And the beauty of hill-walking is it gets the endorphins going, which means my hip stops hurting for a while.
So, onwards and upwards I go. I might never recover the fitness I experienced just over a year ago, but I am way better than I was three months ago. And so very grateful that I get another chance.
Why not share what you are grateful for?
ramblings 