Trying something new
I have written here about my diagnosis of RA. I am writing now to say I am finally willing to try a new medication. A drug called Methotrexate. I have avoided it for the last two years because it has scared me. I have to take folic acid with the drug to combat the potential mouth sores and nausea. At higher doses, this medicine is used for chemotherapy. I’m advised to take it on my day off because it may feel like I have the flu after taking it. (Which is a hard sell because I work 6 days a week and only have one true day to meself). Will try it for a few months and document the journey.
Me, Me, Me.
I’m sorry this whole bloody post is about me. I want to balance out this reckoning with my illness with other positive things in my life. Like the fact I finally had the time and mental energy to paint a sunflower for my Aunt Debbie. She stopped by my booth at a local art fair and bought some of my paintings. The only thing she asked for in return was a painting of a sunflower.
Does anyone else struggle with dollar bills slipping through their fingers?
I’m getting better at it but still some large part of me is like, Now! Life is for the Living! Spend it now because you can’t take it with you! Have that treat! Buy those tickets! Take the ride! Can you relate?
I just turned 35 and I’ve not much to show for it (materially). But my family made it a very sweet occasion. There was good food, cats, live music, presents, a fresh haircut…pretty much everything a human woman could want for a 35th birthday.
I even managed to get outdoors a couple times to a) just soak in the gentle warmth b) scout for birds. Imagine my surprise when driving home from Lake Michigan I saw a beautiful wild turkey on the side of the dunes highway. The first turkey I have seen in years! I google the symbolism - Earths abundance, prosperity, family. A beautiful omen.
A week earlier, my friend Anna and I exploring the city…..we went to the Art Institute and ate lunch outside in the sun next the “The Bean” and there was a Pokemon Go festival going on and also the Chicago Blues Fest and it was just such a wonderful confluence of people and events.
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Other art things in my life, I called off work to attend a panel talking about artist in residency at the Indiana Dunes. The panel was very informative and inspiring. All about a sense of place. I feel lucky to be so close to the dunes even with all the industry/steel mills nearby.
Looking ahead to some family time as my younger brother comes to visit from Oklahoma. The heat is really turning up this week and I will try to spend most of the time indoors. Hope you stay cool, too.