The Half Past Midnight

   Where or where has our Midnight Housewife gone?  Well...to bed.  Sort of.  Since the wonderful little tumors popped in my grey matter between my ears, my Housewifeliness has taken a back burner.  Perfection has made way for exhaustion, and shiny wood floors have made way for a matte finish.  Yes, my schedules have been stashed to be admired by my daughter when she becomes a mom of young children.
   It is now four months from the Dark Side taking over my brain.  I have healed, rested, shrunk tumors, regained most of my normal vision, rested, and desperately clawed at a sense of normalcy...for the third time in two years.  This cancer stuff takes up a lot of time.  March was a month packed full of doctor appointments and diagnostic scans.  The conclusion, on the eve of my initial diagnoses date of April 2, 2009, is that I am as good as I can be.  Well, I suppose running my full three mile loop without stopping this morning and having a mopped  floor (which I did just do at 10 pm) are both pretty good markers of normalcy for me.  There is still a speck of tumor between my ears and dangerously close to my sixth nerve of my left eye, but this is as close to being done with all this current episode. 
   So the Midnight Housewife has had to find new routines.  Namely, working late in the night is not much of an option.  My body is pretty fatigued and heavy in the evening.  I try to lay down around 2 pm for at least 30 minutes everyday.  When I do this, I can more likely make it through dinner time without becoming confused when I am cooking dinner and burning down the house.  This sounds sort of funny.  The more tired I am, the more I can't sort my thoughts, stutter, and have some difficulty focusing my eyes.  The nap really helps to avoid this.  But, do remember I am a mom of two young kids.  Luckily, the kindergartner still enjoys a nap from time to time.  And, he really loves watching 30 minutes of cartoons if he isn't in the mood to close his eyes.  The eldest, however, is a different story.  Being spring break this past week, she has learned that she can't come in and wake me up every five minutes to show me what she has done to Barbie's hair.  And, she often crawls in my bed next to me, snuggles up like a little kitty, and falls asleep herself.  I am proud that my kiddos are learning to adapt to my needs.  See, napping, is a need when one is taking two chemo-class drugs and 17 other pills a day plus Zofran and Tylenol as needed.
    Another major adaption in my house keeping duties is protecting my digits.  Due to the Tykerb, my finger tips have developed painful fissures.  The tips often turn purple, pruned, and loose sensation.  My toes form blisters along the nail bed and are extremely painful when stepped on, even by a bare foot, 38 pound five year old.  I have always been very picky about my nails and hands.  I have taken great pride in the fact that my grandmother used to try to talk me into being a hand model for commercials and advertisements.  Now, when I bang my fingers during dish washing or prick my finger sewing, I just bust out crying. 
     But, enough of this sob story, this finger issue has required me to adjust my cleaning.  Having tiny hands, I hate wearing gloves that are always too big and cumbersome.  So I have opted to attempt to clean in other ways so my hands are not soaked or exposed to things that will make them sting and hurt.  Oh, and applying lots of lotion constantly helps tremendously.
   The Midnight Housewife has returned to a full day work schedule.  But, there is a lot that goes incomplete or takes longer to accomplish then in her past life BC.  One task gets done in a day that used to comfortably fit ten.  I work out nearly every day to keep this body moving and fighting.  And that takes up a lot of my time.  So the dust bunnies multiply and the spit on the bathroom mirrors mock me.  But, it is getting done.  Yes, slowly, but done just in time to do it again.  Midnight has become 8 pm. Well, sort of.  My brain is still up well past half past midnight, the body is just in shut-off mode.  In fact, it is telling me to log off as we speak...half hour before midnight.  Goodnight.