New Year's Day Ruminations!

Every year, since I was a young girl, I approach New Year's Day with my mother's message ringing in my ears.It was, "Whatever you do on New Year's Day, you'll be doing the rest of the year".  Therefore, she didn't want to cook, do laundry or any menial things in an attempt, she said, to prevent her having to do those things all year long.  Now, of course, I realize that it was her way of getting a day off.

So, I awoke yesterday thinking I would sit on the bed and watch the Rose Bowl Parade.  I had made the cornbread dressing the day before along with the dessert for our meal later in the day.  All I had to do was season the pechuga de pavo  (turkey breast) and put it in my little oven.  My son refers to it as my Easy Bake Oven like little girls used to play with.  It IS a slight bit bigger.  I also needed to boil the red potatoes, season the black eyed peas and heat up the English peas.  Simple tasks.  I could make this meal almost blind-folded, I've done it so many times.  Even had cranberry sauce.  A once a year pleasure.

I lasted on the bed watching the Rose Bowl Parade for maybe five minutes.  Other things to do.
When I finally got to watch the Rose Bowl Parade, it was a synopsis after it was over.  Oh well, maybe next year.

This meal had been intended for a group of people.  Two who had traveled down from Texas.  Others who had no place else to go.  The two from Texas headed home sooner then expected.  The locals, for one reason or the other, changed their plans and it ended up that my son and I had a delightful meal, alone, where we could talk and relax.

It was a delicious meal and good conversation, if I do say so myself.  It's strange to have a meal with just two  people as in past years that kind of meal always had at least fourteen or fifteen or more around my table.  That was back in the USA.  I do miss the big family gatherings, but at this point, I think they need to be at someone else's house.  The oven thing is one reason as I have to cook for days due to only being able to put one thing in there at a time.  This adventure is no longer fun.........

Then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, something happened yesterday that was unexpected and unpredictable.  I was standing in the kitchen, putting leftovers in containers when I was struck with such an intense pain that I headed downstairs to the bano.

It intensified.  It was wrapped around my stomach as though I was going to give birth to an alien through my stomach.  Believe me, I would have done, so if it would have relieved the pain.  I quietly laid on the bed waiting to see if it was going to go up my back or across my chest.  It did not.  Finally called John downstairs, and said we might need to call an ambulance but that I wanted to see if the pain subsided.
Needless to say, he was freaked out.  I've never called an ambulance in my life.  Plus my kids always talk about how high of a threshold for pain I have.  Which I do.

Finally, with the pain staying only in my stomach area, I knew I wasn't having a heart attack.  When it finally subsided after about forty-five minutes, I was relieved.  It came back but, was more localized, not as strong and it was on my right side.  Then I knew what it was. I had passed a gallstone.  Lordy, let me just say, it was more painful then childbirth!

I'm fine now.  I'm just hoping and praying that since this happened to me on New Year's Day that that doesn't mean that I have to go through that again in 2014, or ever again, to be sure.  And yes, I do have an appointment with Dr. Barrera today just to confirm my self diagnosis.  I have no residual effects today.

I do admit I'm moving slower today.  Maybe THAT is the lesson to begin 2014.

SLOW DOWN.