It was worth it

Well, that wasn't my favorite 48 hours, but it could have been a lot worse I suppose.
Turns out I am my father's daughter.
I have the same chronic condition he has- diverticulosis(sp?). I am sure I will learn a lot more about the specifics when I do my follow-up visit with the Dr., but, if I understand correctly, it is basically inflammation in the diverticulii(found in the wall of the colon). It is potentially dangerous if the inflammation turns into infection. If they do get infected, the diagnosis changes to diverticulitis- which my dad has has struggles with more and more the older he gets. If it is caught early, they can treat the infections with antibiotics, but if not abscesses can form and that is the dangerous part.
I am young and reasonably healthy though, so we should be able to manage it quite nicely. I will have some dietary restrictions, but it won't be too bad. Hey, I'll take it over some of the other problems I could have had!
The Doctor gave me some medicine to start taking to heal the inflammation. I'll start that today. I'm hoping for no side-effects. If there are side-effects, I usually get them- even the weird ones.
So, a lot to be thankful for- including peace of mind.:)
p.s. I have had a WONDERFUL time making up for all of the eating I didn't do all day Wednesday and half of the day Thursday!!!
*Update*
I do have diverticulosis, but I was wrong about a couple of things(guess I should have waited till the follow-up visit before I gave all that info.!). The diverticulosis is not what they are treating for, nor was it the problem causing my symptoms. I have some mild inflammation in my diverticulii(sp?), but it isn't a big deal at this point. The condition causing my problem is ulcerative proctitis(again- sp?!). It is related to ulcerative colitis, but it is much less scary. Ulcerative colitis happens higher up in the colon and is MUCH harder to treat. Many people suffering with ulcerative colitis spend a lot of time in and out of the hospital. My ulcers are found lower down(in the rectum to be precise. Sorry if the terms bother you. I myself, am past all that.) and it responds well to treatments. Like ulcerative colitis, it isn't curable. It will come and go throughout my life. When the ulcers are present they will use drugs to try and speed the healing so I won't have any complications(abscesses). So, it isn't fun or pleasant, but it is manageable and for that I am thankful.:) I really hope I got it right this time. A third correction would just be embarrassing.
And as for side-effects... I have been getting a lot of headaches since starting the med.s. The Dr. said that is a common side effect. Unfortunately I will probably just have to put up with it. I guess there are worse things!

Getting ready for the best day of my life

I just had my last meal until Thurs. afternoon(earliest).
Lentil soup, salad, garlic toast(millet and flax bread), peach medley applesauce topped with blueberries, and some fancy pants cheese from Switzerland.
Soon to follow: chocolate "ice cream" made from coconut milk with banana slices.
It is a meal to be proud of, but what I really wanted was greasy pizza.

Tomorrow the fun starts.

If you haven't had a colonoscopy before you don't want to know.

Think of me when you partake of... really ANY sort of food tomorrow. If you can chew and swallow it, I will probably be hungry for it.
Nite all

Goals for May(been thinking about them for a while now, just not POSTING my thoughts;)

May's focus: Having more fun
I'll be honest. I just can't get on board with this one. I am spending this year trying to become a happier person and I want to look to the Bible to learn how to do that. The Bible says very little about this topic. Does the Bible say that we can't have fun? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Buuuut, having said that, I think that the pursuit of fun is too much of a priority for most Americans. If we don't have enough fun, we tend to feel persecuted.
The Bible does talk about joy. We are capable of being joyful people even if we don't have an ounce of "fun" in our lives. That joy comes from having a relationship with God. It comes from knowing that we are heirs with Christ, and we have a Father that loves us. Paul and Silas had that joy even in prison and they sang songs of praise to God instead of falling into depression. I can't think about this topic without thinking of some of our brethren in Ethiopia today. Some of them spend every day working hard just to survive. They don't go to the movies, or start book-clubs, or try out trendy new restaurants, or go to amusement parks but, as a rule, they are a joyful people. Maybe the lack of "white noise" in their lives makes it a little easier to focus on God. I know that I spend an awful lot of time trying to be physically comfortable in this life and I think that it causes my spiritual self to atrophy. Does that mean that I am going to try and have a miserable life so that I can better focus on God? No. But I do want to get my priorities straight.
Joy can be mine no matter what life brings me. Right now, life is good. The blessings are pouring in. How much easier should it be right now to want to "wake the dawn with praises"?
There it is then- I need to focus this month on counting my blessings. And if the near future finds me with no physical blessings to count, that doesn't leave me empty handed. The lack of physical blessings will just make the spiritual ones shine that much brighter. I am a child of the Most High God and heaven is mine!
So, here's to the first real post in a while... It feels nice.

Little flowers waiting to go to their new homes.

Seersucker cabbage rose for my hair...Yum!

My sons "ordered" flowers from me for their teachers(it's Teacher Appreciation Week). Isn't that cute?