Sick Leave

For those few who may have noticed my recent absence, I’m afraid I’ve been on sick leave and may be for a while longer. The day after Thanksgiving Leslie and I tackled the long-put-off job of painting the main floor of our home, and by the time we finished late Sunday night we knew exactly why we had put it off so long.

Our (relatively)new home has high cathedral-ceilings which I love for their openness and for the many skylights which help to make the rooms as light as possible throughout the cloudy windows. At first I was convinced that I would need to rent and set up scaffolding in order to paint the top half of the room. I dreaded that so much that I finally figured out a way to build a portable platform that could be moved up and down the stairs as needed. To cut a long story short, we finished about 80% of the downstairs by late Sunday evening.

I would have been delighted if that had been the end of the story because I was quite pleased to have finished a job I put off for several years, but it wasn’t, at least for me. Apparently my back did not appreciate being stretched and distorted for three days in a row, and let me know its displeasure by keeping me awake screaming most of Sunday night and Monday morning, despite the use of pretty strong pain killers. In fact, it protested pretty loudly for all of last week, though I did manage to help out Dawn with Gavin and Lael as I’d promised to do. More importantly, I managed to keep my promise to Lael that I would take her to the Butterfly Garden on her first day off from school.

It was rather crowded, but I did manage to catch a couple of shots I liked, like this one

Butterfly

and this one,

Butterfly

but more importantly Lael seemed to enjoy the trip. It’s nice to know she hasn’t outgrown all of the things we used to do together.

After Friday I thought I felt nearly completely healed, but I found out differently when I tried to help Leslie finish the 20% we hadn’t finished the previous weekend. Instead, I seemed to “throw out” another part of my back and ended up at the doctor’s office this morning, and at the physical therapist’s tomorrow at 7:00 am.

Worst of all, it was sunny almost all the days I’ve been sick, the perfect time to be out birding. Hopefully all will go well at the physical therapist tomorrow and I’ll be back on track soon. Don’t count on too much too soon, though, as sitting at computer seems to be one of the main stressors on my back.

10 thoughts on “Sick Leave”

  1. I can commiserate with you, since my back has been out most of the time since since Feb. I don’t have time to go to PT, although I need to. Hope you get over it soon.

    The butterflies are exquisite!

  2. When back pain strikes everything else comes out in sympathy. Best wishes for a swift solution, or at least management of the pain.

  3. Oh, so sorry to hear about your back. Feel better soon! (I was thinking I could paint our downstairs myself after I retire but maybe I will rethink that and hire someone!)

  4. Hope that you are soon feeling something of the freedom of movement of the butterflies in these extraordinary portraits.

    Glad to hear that you were able to spend time in the Butterfly Garden with Lael. I imagine that she loves your butterfly photos, too.

  5. Loren – as we say here in the UK – you are a glutton for punishment going back to finish the other 20%. As a lifetime back sufferer I sympathise and say – take gentle exercise, don’t rest it too much, keep taking the painkillers and keep away from that decorating. Get well soon. Lovely photos BTW

  6. glad you are back–worried you had become more obscure than jude. heal up, enjoy the north wind’s blue. kjm

  7. loren – i missed this post. man . . . what a drag for you. i wish you the very best my man. you’re such a good person and amazing talent. get better soon. steven

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