Kicking the Box - Poison Ivy & Death Not Necessarily Together

In the never ending search to Kick the Box--all those stereotypes and preconceived notions, I had the chance to look at poison ivy up close and personal and the death of a friend.

I've been ill for the last two weeks. For me, the poison ivy rash doesn't go away under the usual treatments. It spreads. Forget about itching. I don't itch. I burn. I needed a doctor's help and a severe med to begin to recover, which I have. The funny thing about this, was that I couldn't figure out how I came in touch with poison ivy. Then I remembered. I was in bed on a Monday two weeks ago and realized that I hadn't put out the garbage for the collectors. I jumped out of bed and ran out to pull the cans up to the street. One lid fell into the grass and overgrowth of the woods. I searched for it in the dark. When I came in I washed my hands, but by the rash in the morning the poison ivy must have brushed an arm. What followed was a hectic, sleepless, and painful two weeks. All along I tried to maintain my normal life--do chores, work on the websites I maintain, and write. Between the pain and the med interfering with my ability to concentrate, it was difficult to do. I was incredibly grateful when my vacation started. Though the medication made me sleepy, tired, and nausous in addition to creating brain fog, it has beaten the poison ivy.

I look at it this way. The poison ivy kicked me and I kicked it right back. While the medication had the reverse reaction on me, it gave me much needed sleep. Even though I had planned to do a ton of things in the last two weeks, my plans changed. I guess they were supposed to and that's okay.

Death is something else I've been kicking around. Friday a dear friend of mine died. When I received the email from another friend, I sat stunned reading it. This friend named Tom was very close to my family. He was a geniunely kind person. When my husband was in the hospital, it seemed that everything in the house began to break. My computer went out and after trying everything I could think of, I called him. He came over and opened up my computer. There was a screw laying on the motherboard. He looked at it and said, "You have a screw loose." We laughed and laughed. A thousand memories went through my head as I read that email and thought about him. I am glad he came my way. I don't know what you believe, but I know deep in the core of my being that death is just a door to another realm. I know that those he's meeting now will be glad he came their way too.