Mountain Music

Day 37

"Oh, play me that mountain music
Like Grandma and Grandpa used to play
Then I'll float on down the river
To a Cajun hideaway"
-Alabama

Leslie and I got back from Gatlinburg yesterday. It feels good to be with the Murmels (our kids... more later) again. I missed them. There is a sadness, though, that lingers at our house. We found the beginnings of some real healing down there and a longer stay would have been nice. We're planning a family trip for the summer - I look forward to returning. There's something about seeing mountains that reminds you of how there are bigger and more important things than the daily crap you face.

Leslie went with me to see Coach today. She's on Spring Break and I'm glad she had the chance to meet him. I think it was good for him to see our relationship in action as well. He seems reassured that our marriage is strong and that she is on board with this whole "getting better" thing. We discussed side effects of the medications and how to deal with re-entry (coming home to work and life again). We talked about finding ways to go back there in my mind when the freak outs come. That's where the music and the food come in. These are my two greatest sources of comfort. I'll have to work on ways to bring Gatlinburg back to Ohio - even if its only in my mind.

For now, I'm still sick every morning from the medication, I have no appetite, and I'm buried in projects with insane deadlines, but we just muddle through, right? On a positive note, I noticed that my thyme and oregano plants are coming back alongside my chives. Also, my apple trees are blossoming and the bumble bees are hard at work helping them make babies. I love the fragrances of spring. Soon the lavender will bolt and the mint will take off. Before you know it, we'll be planting tomatoes and peppers. Maybe, when the medicine evens out, I'll feel like cooking. How's that for positive thinking?