Octoblur
For a long time October was a month I couldn’t wait to be over as it marked anniversaries I didn’t care to acknowledge. However, since moving to Oregon, October has become a welcomed buffer between seasons. But where I thought autumn took its sweet time to arrive, October has swept through in a blink of an eye! November starts at the end of the week! The past few days here in Corvallis before Halloween has been a treat of sunshine, rain, wind, (wait — is that a tornado?), carry on, the sun is back out but it’s also still raining! And that’s just in a single day. We haven’t experienced wintry elements this early in a while!
I would be out photographing every sunbeam, raindrop, mushroom, and moss-covered everything, except I’m down with an excruciating flare-up. I would make more of an effort if Emilia’s energy wasn’t also low because of her “I-don’t-believe-it’s-not-not-COVID” persistent cough. We mask 99% of the time in public places, but I may have taken a miscalculated risk recently. If that’s what we have, despite negative test results, it’s a reminder of how prevalent the virus continues to be in our communities. Further on that point, I was watching part of a live-stream of our local Unitarian Universalist sermon and was so grateful for the message that “masks are not required, but are still welcomed.” They went on to say that with plenty of COVID going around to please stay home if you’ve been exposed or feel sick and join the service via ZOOM. In the words of our beloved holy spirit, Lafayette (from True Blood): Hallelujahs! Hallelujahs!
As someone who prefers staying in, I’m mostly bummed out by being forced to take it slow from, um, slow living. To be honest, I anticipated a much worse flare once the adrenaline of months of packing and unpacking and putting the house together came to an end. So I’m trying to stay optimistic and take this time to get health issues addressed and healed back to my baseline by the holidays. Oh, which reminds me — if you or someone you know takes Duloxetine (the generic equivalent of Cymbalta), be aware that thousands of bottles are being recalled because they may contain a potentially cancer-causing agent. Please consult your doctor and do not stop taking it without medical guidance! I dealt with three weeks of harsh withdrawal symptoms earlier this year when I took it upon myself to wean off Duloxetine used for my nerve pain and fibromyalgia. I chose to discontinue taking it because I could not lose the twenty-five pounds I gained seemingly overnight when first prescribed the year before. The weight is now coming off, but the pain remains.
Which brings us back to me writing this while curled up on the couch with a heating pad. Yet, looking around the room, I see that somehow in my pain-haze, the goal of making it feel warm and inviting has been accomplished! There are a few things to tidy up, but as someone with chronic illness, it’s such a relief knowing there’s a spot to chill that’s easy to keep decluttered so it always feels comfortable. And maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I’m getting the feeling we’re in for a long stretch of wet weather. For now, I am going to finish my cup of coffee and see where this rainy day takes us (but not too far from this heating pad)!
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