All right already! I went to the doctor!

Like most women I know, I am stubborn and a little stupid when it comes to taking care of myself. Take this whole sciatica situation, for example. It all began with pain in the ball of my left foot probably a month or more ago. I didn't think much of it. It went away. Then there was the pulling sensation in my lower back, down the back of my thigh. That went away after a few days.

So when I went to help spruce up the new rehearsal space the theatre company acquired, it didn't dawn on me to sit back and let someone else lug out the 5 gallon buckets of dirty water from the steam vac. Nah! I knew I could handle that. I am, after all, WOMAN! Foolish woman, but WOMAN, nonetheless.

Had I not learned? Had I not learned from the occasional bouts of back pain brought on by similar chores? Obviously not, because a few hours after the lugging, the pain in my lower back... oh wait! No... that's not really my lower back. It's my entire left buttcheek! Oh, and now it's shooting down my thigh, and zingo, skips the knee and goes right out the ball of my foot.

I am not a wimp. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain. When I write that the last two weeks I've reached level 8 on the pain scale, I'm not exaggerating. For those who have listened to me whine endlessly for days, I'd apologize except I know something you don't know. The whining is the only outlet that has kept me from tears, and I feel like I've kept going pretty well and been toughing it out.

Pleh. Well, now the real toughing it out starts. I've been given a mild painkiller to take when I really need it. I'm to call a chiropractor, recommended to start yoga, and, of course, I need to get serious about weight loss. Somehow, I've gotta' do that while not stressing my back. (That means no walking, no treadmill, no aerobics, no... uh huh! You've got the picture!) I wonder if I have the fortitude to return to the modified fast that led to my 100+ pound weight loss 20 years ago. (Time flies when you're eating chocolate!) I'd only do that until the back eased up, and I can really move again. Hmmm...

Welcome to 2010 and my 50th year! The year of my rebirth!

But no. Despite today's blah blah blah about my sciatic and moo-cow-weight issue, this is NOT going to become a diet blog. There are already many of those in the world, and though the weight loss is essential, there are headier and more spirited aspects of my life I'd rather share with anyone who cares to read them.

Mostly I just want to get in the habit of writing SOMETHING every day. Because I do have, somewhere deep within me, a really, really good book.

Until I write again...