Spring Break and Pain

Today is the official last day of Spring Break '11. I truly enjoyed my week, but it went all too quickly. A recap of my frivolity:

Monday
I broke into spring break with a BANG! I guarded at the JCC in the morning, hit up the chiropractor in the afternoon, and got shellacked with Mike at night. (Thank you, lemony vodka concoction!) I was in a lot of pain, but said lemony vodka concoction took away the pain. We shared iPod playlists, talked, and ended up at Billy's. It was a fabulous night.

Tuesday
I slept in and guarded at the JCC at 3. My back was killing me, but the guard chair and then the hot tub helped. I still think that I should purchase a guard chair for my living room...

Wednesday
This was a fantastic day! I started it off by getting my butters whipped - I cut off 6" of my hair and took away those pesky grays. Then I met up with Jen L. at Wilde Roast Cafe. Heavens to Betsy, what a great place! I got a delicious mac and cheese with a side salad and then we split the sumptuous carrot cake. In the parking lot Jen gave me this:

I then went to Kohl's to pick out a dress for Saturday night's trip to Ruth's Chris before heading to the chiropractor. Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory with Chuck, some of her work friends, and new baby Evelyn. Total calorie count for the day: approximately 500,000.

Thursday
This was kind of a slow day. I slept in until 11, which was bliss, and then went to complete my Lifetime tennis desk training. I celebrated spring with a new pedicure, which I LOVED! They also matched my dress for Saturday night. I iced my back for the remainder of the night while sipping on some Yuenglings and a delicious Odell Myrcenary.

Friday
Oh boy was I crabby on Friday. I guarded at the Depot from 11:45-5 after yet another trip to the chiropractor. My back was not any better and I had cried myself to sleep the night before. I wasn't looking forward to being social that night, but I'm glad I was able to. I went to Carly's and hung out with Chuck and her sisters and Matt. We had dinner and played Battle of the Sexes. It was so much fun and it was great to be around people who know me, accept me, and can make me laugh so hard that I snort. The girls won with a classic question - What was Rambo's first name? Of course, John. When I got back home I took my 4th muscle relaxer of the week and was still in enormous pain. Finally, I got an ice pack, took a lot of deep breaths, and fell asleep.

Saturday
I awoke on Saturday to an almost pain-free back. I was shocked and couldn't believe my luck. The shooting pains up my back weren't there. I don't know what did it - maybe it was the constant icing at Carly's, maybe it was the muscle relaxers - but I finally felt a glimmer of hope that I might actually be able to play tennis again. I guarded at the Depot from 8:45-3:15 and it was glorious! While standing I made sure that I kept my hips moving in a figure 8. That seemed to keep my back from freezing up. We even got 40-minute breaks and it was sunny outside! I sat outside during my breaks and read Jane Eyre, which I am enjoying immensely. After work I came home to get ready for my big night out on the town with Mike. I had a $50 gift card to Ruth's Chris courtesy of my credit card points and we had a reservation for 7 pm. I got all gussied up and totally wow'd Mike. We had a great night out - steak, mashed potatoes, au gratin brocolli, and then stops at the W and Nye's. I had the most delicious cocktail at Ruth's Chris - citrus mojito. I had two! We had a terrific waiter named Bjorn, who was obviously gay, and kept calling Mike "Mr. Byron." He recommended the specialty mojito. At the W I had the pomegranate martini, which was also very yummy. We took it down a notch at Nye's and had Mich Golden Lites. It was such a fun night out on the town and it made it very hard to wake up on Sunday morning.

Sunday
This morning came way too early. I had to be at Lifetime by 8 to work my shift. It was still fun, but not as fun as sleeping in. My drawer balanced and I didn't have any problems. An afternoon nap with a cute Polack and a Punch pizza later, I decided to ice my back yet again while catching up on TiVo.

My back is better and I no longer have pain shooting down my legs and wrapping around my pelvis. I'm not sure why this episode was so much worse than it has previously been, but it sure makes me appreciate my health. I've been so jealous watching everyone play tennis, pain-free, while I am gritting my teeth and wincing at every step. I have another appointment at the chiropractor tomorrow afternoon and I'm looking forward to recovery. I've been pretty down in the dumps this week about this whole situation. I've cried myself to sleep twice and have been in a bad mood. I think I've explained the whole extra vertebrae thing to about 20 new people. I've considered back surgery and the thought that I might never play tennis again. Just thinking about that makes me tear up. The thought of taking something out of my life that is such a big part of it scares the crap out of me. I will do everything in my power to get my back back on track. I will do my exercises religiously. I will ice every night. I will not sit on comfy chairs (aside from at Ruth's Chris and the W...darn those comfy chairs!). I will sit on the floor in my living room for the rest of my life. I just want to be able to play tennis without pain. My friends have been good sports - Jodi has been cool with me missing softball practice to go to the chiropractor. Mike has given me stiff drinks and has helped me tie my shoes. I'm supposed to partake in a 5k on Saturday morning. I will be going, even if I have to walk the whole thing. I hope I can jog a bit though. We'll see.

Tomorrow I go back to school. I'm not looking forward to it, but I have to go. Bridget Jones says that when one thing starts going right in your life, something else tends to fall apart. That's how I feel right now. So I will go upstairs, take my muscle relaxer, snuggle up with my blankies and an ice pack, and get ready to face tomorrow. One quarter left until summer...