Snow Week

It's been a hard week.

The snow started in a serious way on Sunday. We live on a street with a steep hill that ends with a stop sign where our street T's into a thoroughfare.

Our first winter in this house, I figured that as a native Chicagoan, I wasn't afraid of an inch or two of snow and set out to go to a class after it had snowed. Despite taking our street at a crawl, my AWD Subaru slid right through the stop sign. I was lucky both that I didn't end up in the ditch on the other side that no other vehicles were coming. It was one more lesson that just because 4WD and AWD can go in the snow or ice doesn't mean they can stop.

So we make a habit of staying home when the roads are snowy and/or icy.

Adding to the decision for my husband and daughter to stay home from work and school were that Ellie's school was closed for most of the week. The public schools were pretty much closed all week too.

I don't really understand why I get exhausted just from being around people (especially my kid, who turns 4 on Sunday). But oh, it was hard.

Add to it that I'm still on what my friend Joan calls a "drug holiday." I like that better than the idea that I was developing an addiction to narcotics. As she points out, it's important to sometimes take a break from medications to see if they're actually doing more good than harm. I've done that with allergy and asthma meds over the years, and always decided I really did need them and benefit from them.

For now, I'm still on my "holiday." But I'm not ruling out a return to pain meds. One benefit of the break is I should see more benefit from a lower level of meds if/when I resume taking them.

Meanwhile, I'm bracing myself for two more weeks of a full house. Ellie made it to school for a partial day today (they opened late and closed early), but school is closed for two weeks now over the holidays. The plan was for our old babysitter to come over for three-hour or four-hour shifts most days during the break, but since we're supposed to get another winter storm on Sunday and the meteorologists are warning of winter weather at least through Christmas, it's iffy if we'll be able to have her over.

Had to reschedule the immunologist again this week due to the snow. I fear I'll have to reschedule my endoscopy if the roads are still snowy and icy on Monday. And the downside to being off the narcotic pain meds is I've had to use ibuprofin despite my history of ulcers, and I'm not sure if I'm developing a new one or I'm being psychosomatic because I have an endoscopy scheduled but my stomach is not a happy camper these days.