Dreaming of A Forest

Finally Sleep and Dreams

Haven't been sleeping much this week, but I finally was able to sleep last night. As sometimes happens when I get extremely tired, I had a dream about The Headache.

I was in a wet rainy woods, with leaves falling all around me. A woodpecker flew by and settled on my head. I was enchanted by the bird and kept trying to grab it because it was sooo beautiful, but everytime I reached for it, it would flutter up and then land again when I put my hands down. The rain started coming down more quickly and the woodpecker started rat-a-tat-tatting on my head, making water fly. Then I woke up. The Headache was in one of those sharp piercing pain modes, so I think the woodpecker was The Headache.

The Headache is not nearly as bad as it was last year this time. The occipital stimulator seems to be helping (unless that's just a placebo effect), but twice in the last two days I have had moments of extreme white hot piercing pain on my right side of my brain. Left voice mail at my headache specialist, but they have not returned my call - which probably means the specialist and/or the nurse took the week off. Not sure if there is any way to medicate for these swift stabbing pains. At least the pain no longer keeps mounting into the stratosphere when the hot icepicks start piercing my brain. I can bear pain if I know it will end.

Worked more than full time the last few days. Got a lot of work caught up this week, probably will be looking for extra projects in a couple of weeks.

The Headache is slightly worse because of the activity and maybe the wet weather. I am getting back in the mode of travelling for work next week, with a couple of days onsite at a new client, then off to Cleveland on Thursday, and back to Kansas City Thursday evening. I don't know if I will stay in KC Thursday evening or not. I suspect I will because I won't be hitting town until almost midnight. My flight leaves at 5:00 am so it will be a long day for me. I have scheduled Friday off, but may work part of the day if I can.

Because of my schedule I'm not sure if I will be blogging much next week. I'm hoping The Headache will be behaving itself much better, especially if I get full programming from the St. Jude representative instead of just the four programs I have for the study. Not sure what to do if the right side problems keep up - but at least the pain on that side is not continuous.

Fall is my favorite time of the year. I live too far south now to have early frosts, but I remember waking up as a child in the morning when there was an early frost and the crispness of the air and the crunchiness of the grass underfoot. We mainly have oak trees here, but I grew up around mixed hardwood forests where fall meant hundreds of shades of color as the leaves turned.

I must be homesick a little since going up "home" for the family reunion. I miss the closeness of living in a small town. The town I live near now isn't so large either - about 5000 people, but the town I grew up closest to had a population of 25. A world of difference! At the general store (which reminded you of Drucker's store on Green Acres) you could buy original Studebaker parts in Studebaker boxes from when they had a Studebaker dealership. I bought some elastic there in 1978 that the store owner's wife discounted from 10 cents to a nickel because it had been water damaged in 1956 when the roof leaked. The elastic was 3 years older than me!!! They had a checkboard out, and rang up your purchases on a big fancy old NCR cash register - hand cranked and went CHING when the cash drawer opened. They carried Dad's Root Beer in glass gallon jars, and had penny candy of all sorts. We used to tease my father (as soda pop was not often served at our house) saying "Buy us some Dad's dad, how about some pop, Pop??" Ah well, its all closed down now, and has been for many years. I'm feeling my age tonight for sure. Must be because I grew up in Hooterville and not Pixley.