The End of the Year Mankey Update

Yes, I haven't been around for awhile. So you might have time to read a dissertation? Here goes:

Here at the Mankey house, we're doing fairly well--found out I have some kind of infection, from a "bump" in a tender place that festered and got itself infected. I've been on the antibiotic for a few days and felt better after just 12 hrs of taking it. More about that later.

Right now, I'm just tired. I do ok while I'm out and about, but when I get into my house, I get so sleepy that I can't bring myself to do some of the things I've been putting off. Like the revised Girl Scout Roster. Or, the PTA Volunteers and Head Room Volunteers list for all the teachers. Or, organizing my paperwork--paid bills, soccer stuff, girl scout newsletter, yada yada. I see women with children the same age as mine, with the same kind of home as mine in our neighborhood and their houses are beautiful. Mine is ok, but I feel as if I'm drowning in paper here!

Sarah is home "sick" today...she awoke with tummy, head and throat pains, but now seems a little better. Emily is my little fiery one. She has broken nearly every rule in the house. She hasn't listed to us at all when we tell her to brush her teeth, go to bed, pick up her things and put them away, etc. We recently implemented a "marble" system where if she's caught doing something good, she gets a marble or two added to her marble jar. If she disobeys, lies, doesn't do what she's told, she loses marbles. She's lost way more than she's earned, that's for sure. Lies get a 5-marble loss. She's still having trouble with her bladder...just a control issue according to the urologist, but it's getting tougher to believe she can't hold it or at least go when she needs to go.

A classic Emily thing happened this past Tuesday: We had a Disney Family Xmas party Tuesday night, so I ran around for awhile trying to get the girls fed, get some things done, before Scott got home so we could leave straight from his arrival. We went on our merry way, and when we got on the tram to go to the park, I began to brush Em's hair. I noticed that it was shorter in places than it used to be. Sure enough, she had CUT her own hair. (I had seen some hair on the bathroom floor earlier, but thought it was from one of the dolls.) It looks awful. Picture to follow. We told her, in order to get her to tell us that she did it, that it looked pretty cute. And she took the bait. She said, "Do you like it Mommy?" I said "Yes, it's pretty good for a 5-yr old--did you cut it yourself?" A grinning yes nod came forth. It was funny sort of, but we had planned to take our Christmas picture that night. We still took the picture, with a Goofy Santa Claus. So it will be an "interesting" portrait of us this year. I'll try to put it on my blog when Scott uploads it.

One other thing, tho, is about Emily's concern, thoughtfulness, and generosity. We went to Breakfast with Santa last weekend, and there were crafts, prizes and pictures with Santa, plus a silent auction It was great fun. While I painted a little glass votive holder, Em came up to me and said she wanted to do one. I apologized saying that I got the last one, and I used my last two dollars to get it, and sent her to her father. When she returned, she went ahead and painted her own candle holder.

We got home an hour or so later, and she with her friend, feverishly drawing pictures. Then they said they were going outside. They asked if they could go door to door selling their art. I smiled and said, go ahead When Emily came home, she put $3 next to me and said, "here Mommy, this is for you" I couldn't cover my surprise, and I said "Why??"

She said it was because I had used my last money for a candle frame, and didn't have any money left.
How sweet was that? I told her that I could go to our "Auntie Em" to get more money and that she should keep it. I was amazed that the neighbors were willing to pay her for her drawings! Can you just imagine!

Sarah, the nearly 10-yr-old-going-on-17, is brilliant. At least that is what the school tells us. She always does her homework, gets straight A's, has fairly good attendance and lots of friends. She got into a GATE program, and we're going to try that. Her soccer team lost their last game. This put them into 7th or 8th place, so no trophy this year. A great thing that came out of this is that the coach invited her to spring ball for next spring. He said she shows "potential" to be a great defensive sweeper--I guess those tennis lessons paid off (a sweeper needs to be able to run sideways--the way a tennis player slides to get to the other side of the court)!

Scott is well, loving his job, He's (still) at least at Disney until the middle of next week. Disney Feature Animation is evidently laying-off 160 people, and the announcements will be made next week sometime.
He says he's not too worried, but he is at least a little worried. His contract with Disney doesn't end until August, so he ought to have at least until August as an employed person. So we'll have to do some strict saving in case he gets the boot. Go See "Meet the Robinsons"!!!!! I think it comes out in March of next year.

First of all, I'm only telling you about this because you are my friends, and I am definitely not fishing. I want you to see a doctor if you have similar "symptoms" or feelings.

I think I might not have learned about my infection unless I'd had a very bad day last week. I woke alright in the morning, but as the day continued, my old voices started yelling at me about my inadequacy, my weak inconsistent mothering, etc. I wanted to call my mom or even my dad as they always had an answer, and that depressed me even more, since I know I am without my two greatest people in my old support system. They always knew the right things to say, even if they thought they didn't. I had to go to the school, and happened to see Sarah eating her lunch, and kid you not, the thought passed through my mind wondering if I ought to go hug and kiss her before I shot myself or just let her eat peacefully. It was Thursday, and when I found Sarah's teacher (I was supposed to do some volunteer paperwork for her that day), she knew something was wrong. All she did was put her hand on my shoulder and the tears began to push out of my eyes. I felt that bad!! There was another thing, too--I had a lump, not on my breast, but in my not-so-public area that hurt.

Scott and my friend Dianne both told me to call my doctors when I phoned them. I did, and they could only see me the next day. Again the thought that I wasn't worth saving. I've been seeing a psych team since my mother passed away, and I called that office too. Thankfully, she could see me that afternoon. I was able to get a friend to have my kids over for awhile, and talked with the shrink about everything. As I drove over there, the Nurse Practitioner (I do love her) phoned my cell, asked me about my lump. I described it to her, and she prescribed an antibiotic for me that she wanted me to take that night. She phoned in the script for me and it was filled in twenty minutes!

After talking with my psych and Wendy, and then starting the antibiotic that night, I woke Friday morning as if the previous day had never happened! The lump was better and so was my mind! I saw Wendy that afternoon, and she explained to me that the lump was an ingrown hair that festered and turned into a staph infection and needed to be treated. This thing has been there for a long, long time.
I asked if the infection could cause such a dark day for me and she indicated it was possible.

Today I saw the psychiatrist for a med check (yes, I too, take happy pills), and he said it was likely that I was emotionally affected by the infection. We also discussed that my father's only been gone for 5 months, and I could be going through the grief of not having either him or my mother close. It was an interesting visit. We also concluded that I needed more sleep. In fact as I typed this, I fell asleep typing! (I have re-written, I hope)

But now, I'm back to my nearly very old self, and am hopeful it won't happen again. If it does, I'll know to get me to the doctor right away.

There. There is our update--oh, the dog is doing just fine. He got to go get a hair do today, so he'll smell really nice when he gets home.

Thanks for reading, if you did!

Hugs to all,
Merry Chrismahanakwanzaa!
Festivus for the restofus

Charmaine