The Little Things

“It’s the little things baby, that’s what they say”.  How about that, I started a post with lyrics by The Rolling Stones.  Extra points to anyone who knows what song that’s from.

I know someone wrote a “self help” type book about not sweating the small stuff, but I don’t buy into the “self help” stuff so I shall flip that author the finger.  If I’m going to help myself then I don’t need you to tell me how to do it.  Sorry about the little rant, back to the subject at hand.  Sometimes it really is the little things that get to you and can cause distress.  Here are few examples from my daily journey through life with Chiari as my constant companion:

Example No. 1 – My hand isn’t doing what my brain told it to:  I was in McDonald’s – hey don’t judge my dinner selection, my daughter wanted to go there – I grabbed a straw and that’s when things went south on me.  I couldn’t get the straw out of the wrapper with my left hand, no matter what I did my hand just wouldn’t cooperate.  I dropped two straws before I was finally able to hold on to one of them, then I feebly tried to unwrap the third one.  Even though I’m left handed I had to switch over to my right hand to free the straw from its pesky paper wrapper.  Did I mention that it was extremely busy, and there were people waiting behind me to get their drinks.  So not only was my daughter looking at me with that “what is your problem” look, but so were about 5 other people….I turned a very deep shade of red from a combination of embarrassment and anger.

Example No. 2 – I just lost my words: This one happens more than I like to admit, but I usually find ways to recover quickly.  One of my tricks is if I’m on the phone with someone I’ll start a little coughing fit until my brain resets and I can carry on with the conversation.  I may lose the words I wanted to use but I can usually get the conversation back on track without too much of what I’m trying to communicate being lost.  One of the more embarrassing word losses happened to me while we were Christmas shopping.  I went to ask a clerk where miniature clothespins were located.  I got as far as getting the word ‘miniature’ out of my mouth when I went totally blank and had no idea what to say next.  Thankfully – as I stood there feeling helpless and embarrassed – Joyce came up behind me and finished the sentence for me.  I could feel my ears start to burn and turn red after that one.

Example No. 3 – Oh no! Not a line: I hate waiting in line, not that I know anybody that likes to wait in line.  Wait, I take that back…My wife and brother-in-law like to stand in line at a certain store on Thanksgiving night; I think it’s more for the sights then the bargains.  But for me there is this added wrinkle…Standing for any length of time triggers my dizzy spells.  When I stand still in line for too long I get this feeling that I’m rocking back and forth even though I’m not moving.  So I end up doing a lot of fidgeting around in line so that I can fight off the feeling.  I must look like a lunatic to other people as I shift from leg to leg, and maybe turn around a few times like a dog does before they lay down.  As long as I get moving the feeling goes away even if my embarrassment doesn’t.

Example No. 4 – Typing can be interesting:  I have to proof read everything I type, multiple times.  The problem is that I could be typing something such as “Please see the attached”, and it will come out as “Pleasw hes rin fokered”, or I’ll miss a word or two in the middle of a sentence, or I’ll end up with numbers where letters are supposed to be.  I try not to get angry about it since all it’s really done is slow my typing down, but it gets frustrating.   Actually there is one typing mistake that makes me laugh every time it happens.  I will sometimes spell a word perfectly but the entire word is spelled backwards, so ‘attached’ comes out ‘dehcatta”.  You gotta admit that’s pretty comical.

It’s not all bad; these little things get to me in a totally different way:

Example No. 5 – Extra hugs:  I have become the recipient of many more hugs from Joyce and the kids.  Hugs are guaranteed to lift my mood even when the pain is at its worst.

Example No. 6 – Daddy’s helpers: This is great…The other day I ask our daughter to feed the cats, she quickly said OK then told me that she was trying to be extra good and helpful because my head hurt.  It hasn’t gone unnoticed that our son asks if I need his help more often these days too.  And then there is my dear, wonderful wife.  She tries to do everything chore wise for me so I can get some rest, she is the greatest and I would be lost without her!

Example No. 7 – A simple ‘hello’: Hearing from friends and family that I haven’t talked to in far too long.  It always lifts my spirits to talk with them or exchange emails or even texts.  So keep the communication coming you aren’t bothering me, you are keeping me sane.

That’s it for today, my neck and shoulders are killing me.