Sick Day

My weekend started last Thursday with a mild nagging cold and a strain in my lower back. We lay low and took it easy all weekend. It seemed that I had yet again narrowly escaped the grip of a flattening illness. Sometimes I catch a whiff of whatever's going around but I almost never get really sick.This time I was not so lucky. I went to work yesterday and by the end of the day my back felt better - not picking up a 30# toddler all day was great for healing. Conversely, my muscles became achy, my nerves spontaneously gave out little shocks that radiated down my limbs and my skin became hypersensitive. I knew it was coming. I tried to ignore it and carry on with the hope that I wouldn't be where I am now: in bed, sick as a dog with the flu.

When the body needs to rest it will make it clear. In my case, it took a full-blown flu and a bad back to keep me still. Just stubborn, I guess. Ada is with her favorite babysitter for the day. Meanwhile, I slept on and off past 1:00 pm. Now, the hard part for me: resting.

A slow walk to the Randall Museum on Friday. 

We live on the top of a hill. Looking down to a street that meanders down that hill. 

I knealt to take her picture and she went down too. Compassionate heart. 

Saturday took us on an adventure over towards what might be our new hood someday. Cart before the horse much? Nothing is certain but it is our way to slowly, methodically plod along toward such changes. It's near a place called Shepherd's Canyon. How's that for irony? We went for a 4 mile hike along a crest in San Joaquin Miller Park. Tim carried Ada the whole way in the hiking backpack we got just for her. I think that was the last go for that thing with her in it. Even though I didn't carry her this might explain why my back was completely jacked when I woke up Sunday morning.

I brought the camera and was all poised to document our outing. I took a picture of Tim with sunscreen all over his face and then saw that I had forgotten the memory card at home. No pictures. Too bad as it was a beautiful hike. You would never know that less than 10 miles away was a major city: birds singing in the trees, beautiful vistas, wind in the high branches, trickling of little streams at the bottom of the canyon, and my girl humming. Every time I am in nature I know it deep in the seat of my soul that this is my church. Families do all sorts of things together but I see ours hiking together from a time when the kid(s) are very little.

The girl knows a good thing when she sees it. Chocolate-cinnamon popcicle from Nopalito. Messy, that's true. I want a box of 6 in my freezer pretty much at all times.

On second thought, it's good that we don't have these around. 

Making music. 

Offering her wooden carrots to the Gods as a sacrifice to make Mommy's back feel better? 

My little ham. I was laid up on the couch with a heating pad on my back so she brought me her favorite-toy-of-the-moment just as soon as she was done with it and ready to move on to a new favorite. 

Why do I have so many pictures of her in the tub? For one thing, she's actually sitting relatively still. In this instance she was doing something that Tim thought was hysterical. I was trying to stay upright in the kitchen for just a couple more hours so I have no idea what was so funny.