Beyond Just Mom

**Warning:  this is a whiny post, and it’s sort of gross.  So if you’re not in the mood, click away!  I’ll understand, as long as you promise to come back another day.  I usually write more uplifting posts, but this is all I can think about right now.**

::sparing you the traditional opening picture–you’ll thank me later::

I was feeling like an annoyed teenager when I noticed a weird acne breakout on my neck.  Sometimes the harsh, dry winter weather combined with lots of moisturizer wreaks havoc on my dry  oily never-a-dull-moment skin.  It kept bugging me, so I put on a turtleneck to keep my hands off and let it heal. 

But it kept getting worse. 

I tried to ignore it, but I was ridiculously sensitive to the super soft turtleneck, so I figured it must be some kind of allergic reaction. 

But it kept getting worse.

Then my loving family started the comments–kind words, such as, “Mom, what’s up with your neck?” or “You might want to cover that up.”  It felt prickly, like a fuzzy cactus that hurts when you brush it oh-so-gently.  My dear husband finally encouraged me to visit the doctor. 

Have you guessed? 

It’s shingles.  Yep.  Not teenage acne, but chicken pox for senior citizens.  How random is that?

How did I get it, you ask?  I got this gift from myself.  From the chicken pox virus that’s been swimming around in my body for 30-some years.  It just decided to come out this week to play.  You can’t get shingles from me, but if you haven’t had the chicken pox or chose not to vaccinate (a significant percentage of my crunchy chewy town), you better beware.  I’m comin’ at cha with a scary neck. 

Actually, I’m not going anywhere right now, because I feel lousy, I hurt and I’m a blistery mess.  My appearance makes my daughter cry (I can’t tell if she’s sad for me, or just sad for herself that her mommy looks so ugly), and I get to take the most humongous pills I’ve ever taken (even bigger than prenatal vitamins–1 gram–that’s 1000 mg) that will hopefully reduce the duration and severity of this joy:

But now, I look for the gifts.  So far, this really isn’t as bad as I thought it might be.  It’s in a localized area.  It’s temporary.  I’ll be back to normal in a few weeks.  My family is taking good care of me, and I my commitments can be rearranged.  I have a really good excuse to sit around at home.  I had a wonderful bloggy day yesterday, which I’ll have extra time to write about next, now that I’ve gotten this rant out of my system.

So really, this is a blessing.  I’m so glad my chicken pox came out to play.  Well, maybe not.  But it’s going to be okay. 

Thanks for listening.  I feel better now.