The Time Between

I didn't realize when I divorced myself from the Tuesday deadlines that I would go so long between blogs - I've written plenty when I was busy before.  But this kind of busy, as you might have figured out from my last post, is not the same kind of busy.

The classes slowed down, finally, because I took a leave of absence from them.  The December and January test courses rarely run on all cylinders, so no one complained.  Well, too much.  Not after I told them it was because I needed to investigate medical issues - my migraines had gotten out of control, average of three a week, and though they weren't the kind that made me puke or sent me to bed in a dark room for hours, I was tired of working through the pain.

My MRI revealed a Chiari 1 malformation:  a birth defect that makes the base of my skull just a tad too small funnels part of my brain (the "tonsils") into my spine, resulting in crappy balance and migraines that hit my face and forehead (front) but come from the back.  This type of Chiari is the most common - about 1 in 2000 people have it - and most are asymptomatic.  Mine isn't, obviously, but I've been walking around with it for more than three decades already.  The bad news is there's no cure for this level, no smart meds to reduce or change the shape of things, only surgery to let things expand without crawling into the vertebrae (but only if it gets really, really bad).

Now, this seems like a bad thing, but it's not.  I actually thought I was having little strokes!  To have a name for it (and, more importantly, a location) is a miracle - the last migraine I had, I slapped an ice pack on the base of my skull and it was gone in 15 minutes!  I still have to see a neurologist (on the 22nd) for instructions how to avoid worsening, but mostly it will be pain management - and since I hate meds so much, I'll likely stick to ice ... and stress reduction.

Which brings me to the benefits.  First and foremost, I've already reported this to my boss, told her I would never be Iron Woman again so don't ask me to work 13-hour days any more.  Secondly, since this is aggravated by physical stress as well as mental (a good sneeze can force it farther into the spine!) the Big Lug has been my Work Horse, as well - good for him to get out of his La-Z-Boy, yeah?  (As if I'm one to talk...)  And third, the time after the MRI (but before the Doc will start fiddling with my routine) has been well spent - my writing partners and I finished our first mystery novel:  several drafts, cover, and all, to go up exclusively as a Kindle book in just a few days.  The only problem was that I not only had the time not spent in class but that I gave up hunting the thrifts to push through so we could meet our deadline.

But that isn't the norm.  Without a buttload of classes, I have time to get caught up on much over the weekends - and since tutorials have actually ramped up instead of down as they usually do this time of year, I have income that will carry me through without dipping into savings.  My holiday shopping is almost finished, the packages for faraway people will be out of my hair by Wednesday, at the latest, and I look forward to relaunching the quest, just in time for all those lovely end-of-year donaters to throw all sorts of wonderful things into my path!

Truly, this is a blessing in disguise - my deepest wish is and has always been one in which I have complete control over my schedule.  My writing is rarely (only last week) stressful, and I'm usually tapped out by 1 pm, which gives me a couple of hours (before my tutorials take over) to hit the thrifts.  The weekend class/tutorial/hunt goat-rope was what was exhausting me, and that will ease - in fact, if I decide to take two days off now (with Saturday clear to hunt!), no one will be able to do more than snivel a bit.  This weird little ailment might just give me my ideal life.

And ain't that a kick in the head!