Friday, October 31, 2014

Bubble Bubble Toil and Bah Humbug


It's that day again, the one day out of the year when I am certifiably cool because I am owned by a black cat. I used to be excited for today but, as I sit here, looking out my office window at precipitation-laden clouds, I'm about as amused as Pilchard is.

It could be because I was gone at the end of last week to be with my daughter. The original intent of the weekend was to be at the Central Virginia Celtic Festival and Highland Games. Since it was held in Richmond, that gave me an excuse to see her again. But I was weirdly affected by this trip.

My knees, on Saturday, were painful. Ironically, I got the most relief from standing. As long as I stood and could take my time to move about, it wasn't bad. But I can't stand for long periods of time so I had to sit and sitting without elevating my knees caused pain. I'm assuming it was related to my RA, but I don't completely know. I haven't had that kind of pain in years. Later, as I was getting ready for bed, I noticed my right knee was swollen and slightly discolored. It was gone in the morning, however. We wound up leaving the event early because I simply couldn't tolerate it.

My allergies acted up, big time. I got out of the car at my daughter's on Thursday night and my head instantly filled up. She said the weather had been cool and damp prior to my arrival. The weekend was impossibly beautiful with a wind on Saturday and a breeze on Sunday and highs in the upper 70's. The sky was clear and although the trees were just beyond their peak color, it was so pretty out. But, there wasn't enough allergy medication on the planet to keep my sinuses open. I have a cough now that can wrack my body and make my chest hurt. I know that this will pass but, man, it's not what you want to happen when you go visiting.

So, I don't want to be getting up and down all the time to answer the door. I don't want to open the door and dissolve into a coughing fit. Parents have no idea if it's allergies or the flu or a cold. Why scare them? And this allergy reaction has me tired. Being over tired leads to RA flare ups. I want to get better, not prolong this.

But perhaps my deeper reason is that it's not fun anymore. It feels like there is a great deal of pressure to pass out candy. It feels as if it's required. If you give something else, as I used to do, you run the risk of being called something unprintable to your face as you close the door. Why can't I give out pencils or stickers? I don't feel like contributing to nutritional deficits by giving mini-Mounds bars. I also don't feel like having left over bags in my house where I will eat them. If I'm going to have candy in the house, it will be 50% off holiday M&Ms. I have standards, low ones, but I have them.

I don't like that kids lean on the doorbell if you don't open the door within 3 seconds of the initial ring. I don't like that if I don't have my front light on, which has always been the standard for knowing which houses were participating, kids still stomp up on the porch and ring the doorbell. Then they stand there and ring it three or four more times. If there are more than one child in the group, over the age of 8, they all ring the bell. Would it be bad of me to disconnect the bell tonight?

This holiday terrifies the girls. It's always terrified all my cats, except Shakespeare. For some reason, he was never scared. Everyone else hid. I've got Pilchard, right now, asserting her irritation with me for being gone by peeing at the edge of the litter box. This is a known habit. I'll be switching this litter box out for a clean one and the availability of my lap will cause this behavior to go away over the weekend. Not having additional stress in her life would be very welcome for both of us.

Maybe it's because I'm older now and I'm not taking a little one around. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had an under age 8 who wanted to go out. I didn't drag out my minion costume from last year. The cat pumpkin I made still sits on the table in the living room. I love it, but I never did put it on the front steps with the spiders from 3 years ago, as I envisioned I would. I was too tired to decorate when I came home. Maybe if I simply felt physically better.

Whatever the root cause of this, I just don't feel Halloween this year. I have this big "back off" vibe going on. I just want to go home, make myself some hot cocoa and be all nice and quiet in my house, without stomps on the front steps and ringing doorbells.

Beverage:  Dunkin Donuts Tea

Deb

1 comment:

  1. Enjoy a nice quiet Halloween without guilt.
    Sometimes you just need to be nice to yourself :)
    Happy Halloween and hug your cats !
    Nancy and the kitties

    ReplyDelete