"It's been one week..."

It's been a week. I got distracted...and then I went away...and then I got insanely ill. I mean ill. It was awful. I haven't experienced that kind of pain in gosh-knows-how-long.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll explain everything one thing at a time.

First, I got distracted. An opportunity arose--I don't want to go into it too much because I don't want to jinx it. And right now, it's a big bundle of potential with very little action. There are supposed to be conversations happening...they haven't. So I'm just waiting to see how things pan out. It could mean a lot of things...which is how I got distracted.

Second, I went away. I went to Maine on Friday to see one of my dearest friends. We've known each other since high school and she's one of my favorite people in the world. She lives with her hubby and two kids (who are my favorite children in the world) in South Portland and I haven't been up there to visit yet.

It was a great weekend. Mostly it was so great to see my friend so happy. She and her husband have such a great relationship, and she's a tremendous mommy, too. Their kids are little darlings, brilliant and expressive. I really was just happy being in the middle of it all...and watching what it takes to be a family.

It made me appreciate the whole idea of really knowing who you are and what you need before committing to a marriage. It's an incredible commitment that takes a lot of patience and negotiation and a rock solid foundation of love and trust. And they have that...and I haven't seen that very often.

It bothers me when people (men and women alike) feel that getting married will end their fill-in-the-blank-here....loneliness, depression, insecurity, need to be loved, etc, etc, etc. That's a lot of pressure to put on a relationship. It's a lot to ask of someone else...to solve something so deep inside of oneself. And usually it's something only the individual can solve...

But when the foundation is right, I totally saw how having a family could be totally doable. And could be really fulfilling. I'm not sure that I had that perspective before...I thought I did...but really I think I was scared by the prospect of it all.

That's the biggest thing I got out of my time in Maine. The other thing I got was the norovirus...otherwise known as the "Norwalk virus". It sounds so cute and friendly, right? WRONG. It's nasty. It's a mean little shit that tears your insides up and makes you want to surgically remove your stomach so you will never have to deal with that kind of pain again. It gives you a headache and a fever, it makes you vomit and the pain makes you delirious. Talking made me want to throw up. Seriously.

I was able to drink one ounce of Pedialyte all day on Sunday. By Sunday night, I was able to hold down about another 3 ounces of Welch's White Grape Juice (this is now my favorite juice in the whole world).

My fever broke at 3:30am on Monday morning, but the appetite didn't return until 12 hours later (when I had some saltines). I could, however, keep down Gatorade and Ginger Ale...so I loaded up on those at 7-11 and started the 4-hour drive back home. Luckily, with no traffic and short stops (since I wasn't hungry), I made it in 3.5. Then I took a nap. And last night, I slept eleven and a half hours.

I'm still only able to eat plain food, and I'm still exhausted, but it's on its way out. Finally.

So that's it. That's my long-winded explanation as to why it took me a whole week to post something new. I'm going to eat more saltines now...