We're making the run to Christmas. I've been busy and away from the blog for a number of reasons. NaNo came and went pretty quickly. The holiday put me behind but as you can see, it didn't stop me.We went to Atlanta on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and returned on Sunday after. During that trip, I had dinner with family on Thursday, took a plane ride on Friday with my cousin (who just got is pilot's licenses), and went shopping at thrift stores on Saturday. There wasn't much time to write but I got a few hundred words in.
Wednesday morning, before we headed down, I stopped to get my C-Pap machine and I've been breaking that in for two weeks now. With rather mixed results. Getting the right mask and figuring out how to stop leaks seem to be the biggest challenges. When it works, I feel great the next day. When it doesn't, I'm ready to throw the thing out the window. That leaky mask is my current bone of contention. Today I picked up some Remzzzs. These are triangular pieces of "t-shirt" fabric you put between your face and the mask to help prevent mask leak. We'll see.
Let me explain mask leak to the uninformed. Sometime after you fall asleep you are awakened by the sound of a fart. This is followed by a wheeze and a whistle and then the sound of rushing air. No, it probably isn't your spouse. I'm a widow, but there is no comfort in these sounds. They are repeated until you get up in frustration and try to reset the seal on the mask. You lie back down and attempt to go back to sleep. Only to be awakened in half an hour or five minutes with the same mix of sound. Last night I got up 4 times to try and fix the mask. I gave up. I emailed the doctor today and they gave me samples of the Remzzzs. As I said, we'll see.
The real problem is that a 30 day supply of those things is close to $40. So, I won't be buying them. They are made out of t-shirt material. I'm going to get some of that fabric and try to make my own . . . if these work. I can get a month supply out of one t-shirt!
I do have one comment. For something that so many people are using and that has been around for such a long time, you would think some technological genius would have figured out a way to seal a face mask. I'm betting NASA has an effective seal for a face mask. Of course, none of us OSD folks want to sleep in a helmet. However, after 4 interruptions in 6 hours, I'd consider it. Even divers have sealed face masks, right? I suppose they may let in a bit of water, but they don't have to swim up and fix it.
I've not done any writing this week. Mostly because the CPap isn't working and I'm exhausted. I did work on my anthology story a bit today and will likely finish it in a few days, if I can get some sleep. I have some critique reading to do, too.
The Christmas tree is not up. I hope to get that up this week. The Christmas shopping is not done. That is the least of my worries.
Now, I'm going to bed. I know it is a pretty boring post, but they often are. If you stumbled in by accident, I apologize. If you visit, more often, you might feel better about your life. Or you might think I'm an idiot to worry about so much of mine. Either's fine and it isn't mandatory to care about anything here. I feel better just writing it down.
In case I don't get back here this month, I wish you all a most wonderful Merry Christmas. Please remember that the greatest event in the history of the world is celebrated on December 25. We're not celebrating trees, or elves, or fat men in red suits, or presents, or snow, or colored lights. Those are just things and they have no power to do more than make us smile. They can't bring peace or good will to anyone.
But what it all means is the Savior of the World came. He had a plan to set the world right. He gave it to us, it was all written down in a book, and handed down through 2000 years, and carved into hearts and minds. If you think it failed, the fault lies in humanity, not in the plan.
And for those of you who have a problem with the decorations of the season, and those of us who see nothing but lights and tinsel, that's my tree from last year up there. Don't even go there with me. A light is a light. A tree is a tree. And a wild hair is a wild hair. And there is no power in any of them except the lights I plug in.
If you're so all-fired "faithful" and righteous about the pagan roots of the whole thing, you need to stop buying gifts and give back your gifts. And do not set down to that laden table of food. You're celebrating with food cooked for a pagan holiday. And you know you're gonna make a pig out of yourself with that same food, not just one day but right up to New Year (another pagan ritual). I got a little secret for you, gluttony is the biggest, most frequently mentioned sin in the Bible.
Swallow that camel.
I have FB friends who take the view you mention, and I won't argue about it. I've chosen to join those celebrating our Savior's birth. For me, it is the third most holy of days I celebrate. The second is Good Friday, the day He died in the cross. And the first is His resurrection - confirmation of His good news for all mankind. May your Christmas be filled with His love. God bless.
ReplyDeleteI run into both camps. I know what I celebrate on 12/25 and I don't care what anyone else USED to do on that day. Celebrating Jesus birth on the exact day is impossible. So what if someone picked a day already used. We celebrate the birth of several presidents on a single day just so we only get one day off! I'm quite sure many people are celebrating their birthday or event on MY birthday and some of them are probably doing things I wouldn't approve of. I'm not celebrating that.
DeleteI have a scripture, and I'm sure someone will say I'm miss intrepreting it, but here it is:
Jeremiah 10:3-5 New King James Version (NKJV)
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
5 They are upright, like a palm tree,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”
See, it is JUST A TREE! It has no power. Except now these anti tree folks are giving it spiritual meaning where Jeremiah said it had NONE!
They don't even realize what they've done by taking that stance.
Oh goodness, don't get me started. This is a whole new blog post!
Dixie, hang in there with the cpap. My brother got a cpap perhaps 6 or 7 years ago. Getting the mask to fit right for his face shape (and facial hair) was quite an ordeal. In the beginning, he could only sleep on his back and ended up with horrible backaches, but he says they've made improvements, and he can now spend some time on his side. He says it's a lovehate relationship, he hates all the things about it.. but he loves the fact that he has his life back. He no longer falls asleep during meetings.. he no longer worries about falling asleep while driving, he no longer falls asleep in midconversation with his wife/son during dinner, he can now attend evening activities with his son, and plan evening activities of his own. Stick with it, it will be well worth it.
ReplyDeleteI hope so. I used the Remzzzs last night. The darn machine appears to think I didn't even use it. NO report at all on the site. It is still too early to really know how I feel. The test is that 12-3 span when I usually fall asleep. It is very frustrating.
DeleteI tend to not lose sleep over how people choose to spend/celebrate their holidays as long as they don't bother me with mine. I still have gifts sitting in my apartment from last Christmas, because I didn't spend the time to go door to door handing out presents and spent most of the holiday working. I am the last to be offended by the design of a coffee cup, or how people greet me during the holiday season , it is the thought that counts after all.
ReplyDelete