100 words a day

Fibromyalgia: a chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain, tenderness, and stiffness of muscles and associated connective tissue structures that is typically accompanied by fatigue, headache, and sleep disturbances

Allodynia: pain resulting from a stimulus (as a light touch of the skin) which would not normally provoke pain.

My wife has fibromyalgia.  Sometimes, her pain sensitivity approaches allodynia levels.

I took her a glass of soda today, and my arm brushed hers.  She recoiled in pain and snapped at me.  Evidently, my touch shocked her.

I didn’t even feel it.

It’s very hard not to feel guilty or take it personally.

Yesterday was simply a good day.  My Father spent the day at the hospital for tests, scans and consults.  The chemo drugs designed to stop his cancer from growing are working and he was happy with the news.  My brother was thrilled and his eternal optimism received a well-deserved boost.  I was simply relieved to have my Dad for another day.

I’m selfish about my Father’s health.  I want his comfort and happiness first and foremost, but I need more.  My Dad is a great teacher with deep wisdom.  Just listening to him makes me a better father and man. 

I love words; spoken words, written words, new words, dirty words, out-of-date words and especially those hard-to-pronounce words.  I consider myself a colloquialist and words have opened more doors for me than any single action.

There are more than 21,000 pages in the Oxford English Dictionary and I’ve decided to lighten my word-load and ditch forever a few unnecessary ones.  Closure – why look for something unattainable if you truly cared in the first place?  Reconnecting – did you ever disconnect in the first place?  Whatever – since it’s really a question, how about if my answer is “you are insignificant as well.”

February 2010 is thankfully in the books and I couldn’t be happier.  The shortest month of the year is always the longest and most grueling on me and this year was no different.  There was a sunshine shortage and Mother Nature forced my wardrobe to include long-pants for the first time in years.

The mornings were all dark and cold; just like every late-afternoon.  Even the nightly star displays were obscured with snowflakes, clouds or fog.  I accomplished more projects in February’s 28 days, but things seem more disorganized than ever.  March needs 34 days make up for February’s mess.