Thing 2 decided she wanted to make a soap spray because she liked the smell of the soap that much. It was her sister’s soap, though. During her time being sick, I gave Thing 1 some Bath & Body Works Stress Relief soap. It has eucalyptus and spearmint in it. It clears you out like no other. Thing 2 got a hold of it in the shower and that was all she wrote!
Soooooooo, she put water and soap in her tiny, pink spray bottle and started spraying it in the air. I had to immediately stop her, and redirect her to the appropriate places to spray her concoction (like, the shower). Soap droplets on the floor are not ok, and just thinking about the cleanup gave me pause. Not to mention, holy smokes, Batman…the smell was no longer pleasant.
I thought I redirected her to the appropriate places to spray, but it fell on deaf ears. I went upstairs to get her for our daily workout and low and behold, she was standing on her bathroom counter spraying her mirror…
Not only did it look bad (the picture above does not show the real deal), but it smelled HORRIBLE! It took me back to high school where the boys would spray a half a bottle of cologne and think that was cute!
I gagged a little, got Thing 2 off the counter, and explained to her why this was not a good idea. Her response, “but, but, I just wanted to clean the mirror.” I applaud and appreciate your thoughtfulness, but baby, this ain’t the way. I have a whole, homemade spray bottle dedicated to this initiative.
Needless to say, we were delayed a bit for our workout. It took me a series of wiping with a wet cloth, rinsing all of the soap out of the wet cloth, and doing it over and over again…over the same spot…multiple times. See, soap on a mirror does not wash off in one wipe. And Thing 2 was heavy with the spray! I worked out my arms TWICE! #GunsOfSteel
My mom and sister got a good belly-laugh out of this story when we finally joined the virtual workout. They know the curiosity that is Thing 2, and they are here for it! Guess I am too. She really does keep me on my toes and opens my mind to the unknown!
We knew it was coming! We wanted to tuck it away for a little while longer, but Thing 1 was not going to let that happen! Our little-big girl continues to grow up and come into the human she is meant to be. It is both scary and rewarding to watch. She has her own mind, opinions, and style. We debate on said style because it can only change as often as it does when she is the one footing the bill. I pray she comprehends that soon because I miss us getting along more often. #SheNeedsAJOB
Our first born was our pink girl. It was a switch for me because I was never that, but I was excited to be a girly girl right along with her. When we moved into our forever home, we painted her walls…PINK. And this pink was an adjust your eyes when you walk in pink. For the last 7 years, it worked. But now, Thing 1 moved on. Sidebar, the previous post about Thing 2 planting a family of butt cheeks on the pink wall helped move this process along a bit. Who wants to stare at someone’s greasy *ss cheeks every day? #NotMe
Thing 1 asked for a room makeover for Christmas. We were on track to make that happen for her, but she got sick, and our focus shifted on her getting better…of course. On New Year’s Day, though, I set out to Get ‘er done! My first and only objective was to paint the room. Painting is labor intensive, and after it’s on the wall, it inspires the design to follow. So, I painted…
Wall of Choices
Ohhhhkaaaaaay!
It took a few days and one more trip to the Depot for paint, but I got it done!
Going into the makeover, Thing 1 always said she wanted the bed wall to be her accent wall. She wasn’t sure of the additional ““““““““““““““““““““““““““““colors before having the paint on the walls, but once up, she made her color selections and told me her vision. She likes to take a whooooooole lot more credit for helping with the accent wall, but I will at least point out that this is where she was inspired to help…even if it was only to paint a few areas. #IWentInExpectingNoHelp #GuessSheExceededThatExpectation #TheNextPaintJobIsOnHerThough
The accent wall is BEAUTIFUL! I will not share those pictures until the final reveal! #HA
After the accent wall was complete, we moved on to the finishing touches. This required some online shopping, store pick-ups, waiting on deliveries, washing said deliveries, and repurposing some existing house items…but I got it done! As much as Thing 1 gives me the business, she is an exceptional young lady. She works hard so that she can play hard. She is persistent in her passions, and is unwavering in her strong opinions. In a world where there are a sea of followers, it is Thing 1 who is in the pond of leaders. To say she is deserving of my blood, sweat, and tears is an understatement. I think I scored a few brownie points with this room…and for my pre-teen…I’LL TAKE IT!
Today took FOREVER…even though the appointment was in the morning, the uneasy feeling made it seem like a lifetime!
The appointment was virtual. My mom and I handled as we do most virtual appointments…she calls me from the house phone and has me on speakerphone as I listen in.
We waited another eternity for the Doctor to pop in. It was like 15 minutes, but still…be on time on results day please!
He started talking about what he was testing for and where was done. In my head…dude…get to the important part. He finally says what we had been believing in God for…the pathology came back benign. #Hallelujah They did see, however, what he’s assessing is sarcoidosis. This is an inflammatory disorder that can affect other organs outside of the lungs. It’s something he will monitor with periodic testing. The good news (yep, more good news), she wasn’t symptomatic. Sometimes things are found because they have a reason to look (e.g. symptoms) and sometimes they happen to find it when routinely checking on something else. We know the latter all too well because Arnold was found due to a CT of the head to rule out a stroke.
So, while there is a new discovery with the sarcoidosis diagnosis, I’m overjoyed that my mom does not have lung cancer. Another cancer diagnosis would have rattled the very case that’s just being out back together again. #IBetterStopWorrying #GodKeepsShowingMeHesHere #NotGettingMoreThanImBuiltFor #ThankYouJesus
My mom and I took the win! Now, time to celebrate…safely!
It has been quite some time since Thing 2 has up to her old ways. Apparently, I was getting too comfortable in not having to report her shenanigans. That all changed today.
After I reduced the number of plates I had spinning, I told the family I needed just 4 hours from them to clean the house. They obliged, I mean, what choice did they have? #None
The girls are responsible for their crap bins…or junk bins, since Thing 2 thinks crap is a bad word. I guess she’s kind of right. They sit on the stairs and the idea is, you’ll take your crap up when you notice something in the bin. That doesn’t happen. As I type, the hubby’s bin is overflowing. #ThatsForAnotherDay
As Thing 1 cleans her bin, she alerts me to what she found…IN HER BIN!
Is that a…?
But whhhhhyyyyy? I have a pretty good theory on how this happened. Thing 2 is ALWAYS eating. Her and her sister were upstairs playing, she got hungry, came down for a snack, knows there is no eating upstairs, and brought her chicken tender to the bin to return to it later. I KNOW that’s what happened! When questioned, though, do you know that child had NO CLUE what happened OR that she even did it! #IHaveNoWords
So, I then had to channel my inner mom…”What, it just walked in the bin?” #ThisKid Sidebar, I see you boo. You stuck the nugget in your sister’s bin…not yours! #SheThinksShesSlick
I tried to save face, but the hubby’s first reaction was to just start laughing because of the random nature of this event. I tried to hold my face, but it did warrant a good laugh. This kid does the most and doesn’t even remember. That’s a dog on shame.
After the PET scan results, we were all on high alert about what the nodules on my mom’s lungs could be. We knew what the worst case scenario was, and we were on our knees in prayer that we wouldn’t be headed down that path again.
I couldn’t take off of work, nor was I certain it was safe to be around my mom after COVID hit our house, so my dad took her. This made me nervous from jump because I know how he drives, how much of a behind he can be, and how much support my mom would need, but not get. I had hoped my brother would step in here, but I guess he couldn’t get off either.
My mom let me know when they were making the journey downtown. She was nervous, as was I.
I swore I blinked and they made it down there. This was not expected because…I know how my dad drives. I guess he was not messing around this day.
My mom was checked in, and soon after, getting prepped. She listed me as the person who would get updates, so I turned the volume up on my phone to ensure I didn’t miss any notifications. It took some time for the procedure to start, but I finally got the notification that it did. Now… we wait!
It felt like all eternity! I eventually got another text that things were going as expected during the bronchoscopy. Say that five times fast! It felt like a lot of time had passed again and I had to check to see if my dad heard anything. He had not, but I guess I did not realize exactly how long it would take. Eventually, I got the text that she was in the recovery area. Soon after, my mom also texted me that she was out. She was alert, and just had a sore throat and cough. It was to be expected for the next few days.
It took a couple more hours, but she was released, and they were on their way home. I FaceTimed with her for a bit on the way home. She was in good spirits, despite the annoying cough and painful throat. I told her to spare her voice and call her son. I figured, she could get some face time in with him before she had to retire her voice for the night.
She got home and settled. We were all happy that part was done, but there we were again…awaiting another pathology.
We know all things will work out according to His purpose and plan, and we are praying for the best possible outcome here.
Pathology results were going to take 2-3 days. Pathology…I don’t have a fondness for the word. It hasn’t historically yielded positive outcomes, so just the word alone makes me nervous.
I anxiously waited last Thursday an Friday for my results. Nothing! I even called late Friday to see if they were in, and maybe a nurse had not gotten around to calling yet. Nothing! I had to wait the weekend!
Good thing I had stuff to keep me busy. Side story, Thing 1 asked for a bedroom makeover for Christmas. Because she got sick, my plan to give her that was delayed. I picked it back up last weekend and went ahead and made some more progress on it while I anxiously awaited Monday.
Today came and I vowed not to call the Doctor’s office. I was going to pray, be patient, and await the call. I went on about my work day and at about 4p my phone rang. #BraceForImpact#PutOnYourArmor#YouGotThisEitherWay
The nurse was really nice, but she won me over at benign! Let me say that again…BENIGN!!!!!!!! The results were benign and the Doctor wants me to do a repeat MRI in 6 months to ensure the spot that was no longer there is still gone.
I can’t even begin to explain the level of anxiety that I experienced through all of this. I know, the Bible says to worry not, but the way I am set up, I mentally prepare myself for worst case. That way, I am strong enough and prepared enough to fight the good fight. Right or wrong, it is how I have always been.
I know that when people see me, they see a well put together woman who is typically smiling, joking, and laughing (the hubby probably begs to differ here). It’s my coping mechanism. If y’all only knew what God has brought me through, though! He just gave me another testimony to His goodness. He did not give me anymore than I could handle and He saw to it that I could get through this and continue to focus on my mom. My biggest worry was that these results were going to shift my focus and the level of care I could give my mom. But He had different plans!
I’m going to get right to it. Today, I had my first biopsy!
I had an appointment for this biopsy on 12/17 originally. The plan was, results would come in before Christmas and I would know one way or the other what was going on. When Cadence got sick, I had to reschedule. It was like the finish line moved. My baby was sick, though, so if it had to move for a good reason, it would always be because my babies come first.
I walked into the imaging place having worked that morning. I had barely eaten, which was not what the doctor advised. I had a rushed morning at work and neglected myself…again. I have got to do better! I checked in and waited.
I was finally called back, it was well past my appointment time, and it was time to get my IV. The first attempt…vein collapsed. Second…third…fourth…you get the picture…collapsed. After the first attempt, the nurse called in reinforcement…2 nurses. After attempt three, two more onlookers came in to help. They tried all over my arms and hands. They were touching all over me trying to find a good vein and I was getting irritated. For starters, there was one nurse in there who swore she knew me and this happened before (I think she remembered my mom, this happens to her too). But that same nurse was rubbing my shoulders and back telling me “you’re ok.” Honey, I don’t know what look my face is presenting, but the only ones not ok is about to be all five of you! Poke me again! And don’t y’all know COVID is real? Wait…don’t answer that! It’s bad enough y’all just saw family over the holiday and now I have to deal with five different opportunities to get Rona! #GetOffMe
The first nurse was almost ready to reschedule me. She gave it one last college try. It was the SEVENTH try, but she got the IV in a vein! Guess I didn’t eat OR drink enough, and I was dehydrated. Battered and bruised does not begin to describe how I looked. Here is a post-picture of where the IV landed…
I guess I should mention, this was a breast biopsy. A little backstory, I was having breast pain for some time. I went to my OB who ordered a mammogram. The mammogram showed what the radiologist believed was fibrograndular tissue, but he had no way of knowing for sure since it was my first mammy. He told me to come back in 6 months. #TheDevilIsALie
I reached out to my OB and asked for an MRI. I was not about to be a statistic. Black women draw the short stick with things being found early. That was not going to be me. The radiologist was heated. Not my problem, boo. I will continue to advocate for myself and my family. Sooooooo…
After an initial rejection for the MRI by insurance, it was finally approved. When I had it done, they found 2 suspicious areas on my left breast. They recommended the biopsy at that time. #6MonthsMyAss
Back to today, the biopsy was an MRI guided biopsy. They took more pictures to make sure they were sampling the exact location of the two areas. Before the biopsy started, the nurse said, the doctor only sees one area now. It is the one that was more concerning. So, he’s going to just sample that one and you don’t have to get poked twice. #PraiseGod
The process was intense and uncomfortable. The first journey in after numbing I could feel. I had to be numbed again. But the actual biopsy portion as quick…and loud. Like, horror movie drill loud.
Because of the vein fiasco, it took 3 hours for a 1 hour procedure. Once done, I got a repeat mammogram so that we have a new baseline. Then, my girls were bandaged up. Funny story, the lady had two rolls of bandage. I was like dang, that’s a lot! She only used one. Then, I realized…these girls come in all sizes. She was prepared for them double D’s, but I ain’t got them, sooooooo…one roll it is. #StillBlessedWithWhatIGot
When I got out, I missed several calls and texts from my mom. I must come clean, only the hubby knew about the biopsy. My mom was getting a call from the doctor about her lungs and she wanted me to be on. I felt so bad!!! I am never NOT available. She ended up getting my brother to join the call with her, but I still felt horrible. At the call, she found out he was prepared to do HER BIOPSY the following week. #LordHelpMeAndHealHer
I was uncomfortable and in pain for the rest of the night. Then, I had to prepare myself mentally for my mom’s biopsy. #AnxietyIsReal
I thought I would have the ability to chronicle the COVID crisis in this house daily, but it did not work out that way. So, let me catch you up.
Right after my last post, the hubby had to take Thing 1 to the ER. When she learned what shortness of breath truly meant, she realized she was having it. By God’s grace and mercy, her oxygen levels looked good and her chest x-ray was normal. But before we got to that good news…I cannot tell you how much I lost it that night. I called on my prayer warrior, and she went to town on my behalf. I was so knee deep in crying I couldn’t. I am so grateful for her. She and I have been riding for over 20 years and I am looking forward to what we see each other through in the next 20. #GodMakesNoMistakes #PrayerWorks #PrayerChangesThangs #WeServeAMercifulGod In addition to my prayer warrior, my bro and sister-in-law swooped in and did what they do…encouraged me. They were about to settle in for a movie, but instead, they pumped the breaks to talk me through this storm that I could not see my way through. We may not talk on the daily, but my family will show up and show out when needed. I couldn’t be more blessed! #FamilyChangesThings #BeEncouraged #BetterTogether
We eventually made it to December 23rd…the isolation end date. We thought we would have to continue, since Thing 1 continued to spike a fever, but she made it. It was our Friends & Family Secret Santa day too, so what better way to celebrate. And because everyone would be there AND we weathered a mighty storm, the hubby and I decided to unveil the girls’ big Christmas present early.
During the Virtual Secret Santa shindig, we asked the girls to pick a box for us to unwrap to see if their gift was in the box. This worked well in our heads, but when it was game time, the present got loose…TWICE! Six SUGAR cuss words later and we said, forget it! I unwrapped the two boxes that were empty and showed the girls. NOTHING! Then, we revealed what was in the last box. The girls were so happy! They weren’t loose your ish happy the way I thought they SHOULD be, but they were happy. Thing 1 was happy-unhappy because she couldn’t pet and snuggle the dog. We were being super cautious, so we restricted both girls. Thing 1 also had an inkling we were getting a puppy too…guess we are good at being transparent when we don’t want to be! Here are the official in-person meetings later that night…
We had a good night! I cannot wait for the Secret Santa shenanigans to move back to in-person, but however we get together is always a good time!
Then, Christmas Eve happened. Nothing eventful, but I was GEEKED! That little one didn’t want to go down, but eventually, we were able to get our Santa on…
“Santa Claus is coming to town…”
#TeeHeeHee#GetIt?
Christmas Day was good, just looked different again. We were supposed to do brunch at my bro and SIL’s, but quarantine threw a monkey wrench in those plans. So, the girls slept in…LATE. Then, we video chatted with the family as they opened their gifts…
“Hang all the mistletoe, I’m going to get to know you betterrrrrrr…This Christmas!”
Corgi, corgi EVERYTHANG! We may have overdone it for Christmas, but I honestly did not care. We made it through a storm and if it took STUFF to put a smile on my kid’s faces…SO BE IT! #BlessedToSeeAnotherChristmas#COVIDFreeChristmas#PraiseGod
The following week, we did have another health challenge. This time for my mom. We found out a week or so ago that her lung nodules had grown. The next step was for her to do a PET scan. She did that on Christmas Eve Eve. Results of the scan showed they did light up. Still no confirmation on if this is the worst case scenario, but a more invasive test was recommended. This test will be an ultrasound and biopsy. This cannot be done here, so we will need to make the trip downtown. I keep trying to remind myself that the Lord will not give me any more than I can handle, but it is getting hard. My mom fought through so much to get here, I pray her battle days are on pause for a bit. #LordHealHer #LikeOnlyYouCan #InTheMightyNameOfJesus
Fast forward to NYE. Since we would be virtual again, I planned on another Jackbox night. My mom participated last year, but this year, she was not feeling good. Leading up to the evening, the hubby and I binge watched The Witcher. Around 8ish, I passed out. Like, OUT OUT! When I came to, the hubby asked if I wanted to finish the episode we made it partway through. I obliged, but then that episode turned into watching the next and final one for the season. We wrapped up about 930p and the sandman still had a hold on me. I proceeded to go directly to bed…do not pass go…do not collect $200. All I can remember is waking up at 1218a to Thing 1 and Thing 2 still on their computers. I wished them a Happy New Year, tended to my full bladder, and went on back to bed! It isn’t often that I am about as limp as a noodle tired, but the last 2 weeks caught up to me. #ItFeltGooood
Welp, now you are all caught up!
What I will close with is this…
This has been a tough year…not just for me…but for a lot of people. COVID is still around, and it is packing a punch. All of the other illnesses of the world didn’t go away when COVID arrived either. We are left to manage those illnesses with a virus that has ravaged our world. IT’S A LOT! But with all of the uncertainty of 2021, I learned to put my armor on…and keep it on! Every day I wake up with life is another day I can stand tall for any battle that comes my way. I am grateful for each day because it didn’t have to be, and if God saw to it that I wake up, I better suit up and be ready. If I stay ready, I don’t have to get ready, right? #ArmorOn #GratefulForANewDay #GratefulForANewYear #Purpose2022
Goodbye life I thought I was going to live…and HELLO life I am meant to live according to His purpose and His plan!
