About Last Night
AKA: This is what can happen when I take Sundays off from blogging.
I woke up first, with a headache and the spinning realization that my vertigo had returned. My husband, becoming aware of my stirring, soon opened his eyes and smiled at me. We exchanged morning greetings and checked-in with each other.
His report: Pleasantly calm…drifting from sleep…full steam ahead for the day.
My turn: Seasick on the deck…man over board.
He: What? Are you hung-over?
Me: No, this is pretty normal for me.
After nearly 20 years of being together, I continue to wonder, how is it that my husband wakes up feeling great, and I never do?
The Spoken Word Open Mic night I participated in the night before was so well attended and richly entertaining that it ran over by about an hour-and-a-half (more on that later). After 30 years of dealing with some genre of Chronic Fatigue, I am aware of how easily I can become “overdone.” For me, one fun night out tends to result in a full day of rest and recovery the next.
After a mug of tea and our morning meditation, my husband offered to give me a full-body Tai massage. At one point, while my head was resting in his lap and he was massaging my temples, I asked, “Can I tell you what I want for Christmas now?” He bent forward and listened. Our faces, only inches apart, were facing upside down from each other.
“I want a kaleidoscope. Not the prism kind that you have to move around the room, but a real kaleidoscope. The kind we grew up with that you turn, and brightly colored pieces drop down making beautiful patterns of which no two are alike. They were made of cardboard tubing back then,” I remembered.
I named a few other things on my Christmas wish list, but it was the kaleidoscope I really wanted. We talked for a while, laughing at how funny mouths look while talking upside down, before heading into the kitchen to make breakfast. On the way to the kitchen, I passed the stairway that led up to the compuer room but was able to resist the urge to go up to check comments and emails.
After our breakfast of farm fresh eggs and stoned ground wheat bagels from The Harvest Moon, we retired to the lounge chairs on the sunny side of the front porch, each with a notebook to catch up on paperwork. My kind of Sunday morning activity!
Now it was my turn to look over to my husband and smile. From what I could tell, I don’t think he was enjoying his kind of paperwork (counseling case notes) as much as I was enjoying mine (blogging, afer all).
November 21st, 2005 8:50 am
I am glad JOE takes such good care of you.
Cute post, but it makes me miss you!!xo
November 21st, 2005 8:57 am
Sherry, I miss you too! My vertigo is better this morning, but the headache remains!
November 21st, 2005 10:19 am
I LOVE kaleidoscopes…! I have a small collection of them..mostly the kind you are talking about..The cardboard with the little colored pieces of glass….There is something so satisfying about the patterns made each time you twist it a little…When I was in my early twenty’s I did a series of small Poster Paint paintings that in retrospect must have been inspired by Kaliedoscopes…. hope your husband finds a really swell one for you!
November 21st, 2005 12:50 pm
I was just going to say I hope you are feeling better but I see that you replied to another comment and it looks like you are getting there! Continue to feel better!
November 21st, 2005 2:50 pm
I have a cardboard kaleidoscope! They are so fun.
Think it was some pollution or weather system contributing? I came down with a migraine, back attack and dizziness too. It’s finally abating.
November 21st, 2005 2:51 pm
I had a kaleidoscope like the one you described… made of cardboard with little plastic gems inside that made cool patterns. Instead of turning mine, I would shake it and then hold it up to my eye to see how the pattern had changed. I also looked at the “wrong end” of it (there was an opaque plastic screen through which the colored pieces could just barely be seen) and marvel at how these random little bits of color falling about could form such a beautiful pattern on the other side. I also remember having a foot-long, plastic “magic wand” that had liquid and colored glitter and confetti sealed inside it. I used to stare at that for hours… there were little confetti stars inside that glowed in the dark, so sometimes I would go in the bathroom (the only room in our house without a window) and sit with the lights off to watch the stars float back and forth.
Thanks for a great post — brought back some cool memories!
November 21st, 2005 3:57 pm
OH, I want a kaleidoscope, too. Hope you are feeling better. That massage sounds so nice.
November 21st, 2005 5:52 pm
Glad you’re feeling better Col. BTW, funny how we often end up on the same wave length. I’ve had a catalog on my counter for over a week now, open to a page with kaleidoscopes. I thought they’d be great Christmas gifts for my 5 grandchildren (even though Amelia won’t appreciate it just yet) and I want one too!
Kathy
November 21st, 2005 9:32 pm
Years ago a friend gave me a wonderful 5-inch-long brass kaleidoscope that you twist. It was manufactured by Van Cort Instruments (which I learned also makes telescopes). At that time they were in Northampton, but a web search shows they’re now at 110 Lyman St. Holyoke MA 01040-4613, phone 413-538-9100.
Love the massage and the upside-down smiles! I hope that headache clears up soon.
November 21st, 2005 11:02 pm
Now I understand your comment on my kaleidoscope post. I must take a few more pictures and tell about Nyssa’s. It is a tube. You may get different tubes that are filled with an oil as well as confetti of different sizes and colors. This tube goes into a slot at right angles to the length of the viewing tube and you just hold it up and let the confetti slowly float down with gravity, making the always changing patterns. It’s great.
November 21st, 2005 11:09 pm
Ahhhh massages. What a wonderful hubby you have. I am fortunate as well. My hubby gives me massages and back scratches.
I hope you’re feeling better.
November 23rd, 2005 3:25 pm
I, too, have suffered from vertigo in the past. It is not fun!! I hope you are feeling better.
Your husband sounds like a very nice man. 🙂