This and that

I'm reading Sarah Palin's book. Crazy, yes. I am no supporter of hers, but I have always found her life interesting. I remember first hearing her name when her fifth pregnancy became public while she was governor of Alaska. I found that just mind-boggling, as I attempted to keep my life together during my second pregnancy. Any woman who can navigate a successful career while managing a large family is a hero of mine. I want to know how they do it and glean any bits of wisdom from them I can. Plus, she is polished and stylish, and I just like that.

Her book has its interesting parts, but she lays on the political rhetoric extra thick, and that is a turn off. I wish it was a bit more autobiography and a bit less propaganda, but what can you do.

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On a related note, I am weighing a return to a full-time job. I applied for one yesterday and am considering pursuing TV news again. I constantly vacillate. Another salary would be very nice, and I often feel confined and half-crazy in my mostly stay-at-home life. Then people tell me I am lucky and doing the "most important" job, and I wonder why I don't feel more fortunate. Maybe I will never be satisfied? I don't know. I have a lot of thinking to do.

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I am still crooked. After several manipulations at my doctor's office, I thought I was getting better. But the last few weeks I have been in a lot of pain, with nerve sensations shooting down the front of my thighs, my right hip sticking out and my back hunched over. It is so difficult to teach my classes and even hefting R out of the crib is a major undertaking.

This weekend I tried alternating ibuprofen and Tylenol along with half doses of muscle relaxants. I ended up passing the weekend in a delirious zombie state and with an upset stomach to boot. I expressed my frustration to my doctor, and she referred me to physical therapy.

I just finished my appointment, and I feel like I may be getting somewhere. She said my joints are more flexible than the average person, and my hips and pelvis are especially loose after giving birth twice. So I have to learn specific strengthening exercises to counteract this instability.

We'll see how it goes. I have been in pain on and off for almost four years, so I am about ready to figure this out.

--MM