Another Day...That's Always a Good Thing

Went into work this morning feeling either somewhat better or just getting used to being uncomfortable. My first  table was three old peeps, a married couple and another woman. I love waiting on older folks, even if they are grumpy. I  usually win them over and if I don't,  at least give them something to gripe about in their land yacht on the slow drive back home. It was only eleven in the morning but the temp was already in the upper seventies. They sat down and the man said "I should have brought my over coat, it's still kind of chilly. I'll have a cup of coffee." (I already had sweat stains under my arms and it was my first table)

 The gentleman brought up his dog in the course of conversation and I asked what kind he had? He said a Neapolitan Mastiff that weighed 147 pounds. Holy cow! (Pun intended) He said someone had simply moved out of a house and left the dog chained to a tree. He spent $800 at the Vet getting the dog well and had named him George. They were the sweetest three people and it was a wonderful way to start off my long day. After they finished eating I told him he needed to bring me a picture of George next time they came in, to which he replied "You know, someone just moved out of a house and left him there...chained to a tree. It cost me $800 to get him well but I did it."

The woman who was with them decided she wanted  Tiramisu so they split one.  I took them the check and the man pulled a million dollar bill out of his wallet to pay with. He said the only other money he had was Confederate money and asked if we took that? I asked him if he knew how to wash dishes and hollered over my shoulder toward the kitchen "Hold the dishes!"  He LOVED that one so I added "Do you speak Spanish? If you don't  you will soon."

He paid the bill and left me a nice hefty tip. I told them to all have a great weekend and be sure to remember that picture of George. He didn't pause one second before saying "You know I found that dog chained to a tree, can you  believe somebody would do that?"  His wife said (not in a mean way but slightly rolling her eyes) "You've told her that story three times."

This will "SO" be Tim and me in twenty years, with the roles reversed.

Lunch wasn't busy but all my tables showed me some love and I did okay. I was up front in the lobby sitting by Barb who was auditing checks when she asked how my back felt? I told her I thought it felt better but kinda wondered if maybe I was just getting used to feeling like crap?

She casually said "Are you sure it's your back?"

That got me "Athinking". As an almost 52 year old woman my body has changed tremendously in  the past couple of years. I don't have a regular cycle but when I do have one my back absolutely kills me for a few days before "It" starts. About three years ago I started having these weird feelings right above my stomach. It was a constant but dull pain and after talking with several of my regular customers AKA "my doctors" they mentioned I may have acid reflux or an ulcer and recommended Prilosec. I bought some and after the first dose felt immediate relief. Fast forward to now..

I knew my back was hurting but it just didn't feel right. I have terrible eating habits (which Barb not so politely pointed out.)  I sometimes go all day without eating but before bed will cook a big pan of Totinos pizza rolls or have a big bowl of chili with japs and Habanero cheese. During the lunch shift today I was hungry and fixed me a mater samich loaded with pepper and mayo.

When I got off I went to Dollar General and bought some Prilosec. Eleven bucks for fourteen pills...are they proud of their product or what? It said  take one tablet with a full glass of water before eating. I had already eaten the most acidic thing possible, a mater samich but had a full cup of water with me in  the car so I popped one into my mouth. By the time I got home I was feeling some relief.

I washed my car did two loads of laundry and felt pretty stinking good. My back still hurt a little but most of my pain had disappeared.

My back is till sore but NOTHING like it was. I told a friend of mine "Here's the thing..skinny as I am my stomach is only about an inch from my back. Maybe I confused my symptoms."

 I'm almost fifty two and falling apart... but little by little day by day I am learning how to cope with it. Raising teens, dealing with stress and taking horrible care of myself ain't helping but realizing symptoms and changing habits will. I'm all excited about taking my Prilosec in  the morning before I eat anything and see how I feel.

Massey is spending the night with a friend, Zach is still at work and Tim is leaving for work.
It's just me... two pups... three baskets of clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away and one dishwasher waiting to be unloaded.

No wonder I have an ulcer!

Til next  time...COTTON feeling MUCH better!