Sunday, March 28, 2010

We have a good time and we pay for it?

A big resounding YES to that question.  Now- I know that most people do too in some form or another (remember Hangovers?) but for those of us with chronic pain, our "payment is entirely different. 

Last week I had a wonderful time.  I went to our annual company manager's meeting in Orlando.  I got to spend time with the other managers in my region (the BEST region full of folks in the company TYVM) and network with the terrific folks that I went to "new manager's training" with a couple of years ago and their friends.  I ate terrific food- they feed us like every meal is our last- and enjoyed the entertainment.  I saw all of my regular vendors and checked out a LOT of neat products.  I even ordered a few. 

Then came the payment side.  I was in the air probably 30 minutes on the way there and some of my joints started literally screaming at me.  I will assume that was related to the cabin pressure.  I enjoyed my flight but I have never been so glad to be off of a plane.  By the time we landed and got our luggage the pain had subsided so I was good to go.  The next few days were fine except that I was beyond exhausted.  They kept us going from 7:30 am till 10 pm and beyond every night.  That's pretty late for me to be go,go,going.  It would take until midnight or so to decompress and get to sleep and being that it was late and I had to get up early I didn't sleep well.  There was also a lot of walking involved.  Walking from the hotel end to the conference end of the resort, walking from one area to the other.  Walking the trade show floor.  By Thursday after lunch, my feet had had enough.  The swelled up so much I couldn't even think about wearing shoes any longer.  I had to run (ha!) to the gift shop and pick up flip-flops and just pray that there wouldn't be any consequenses professionally.  Fortunately- there was only one class left and then our very casual end-of-meeting party to attend. My dad sent me a message via facebook to use the hot tub to soak my feet- and I jumped on that until the lightening got so bad that it was almost daylight when it flashed.  I also gave thanks that I had thought to pack my spa socks because they were a godsend in the airport and on the plane home.  When I got home- I was exhausted.  The trek to the far side of the parking lot had me using my "smartcart" for support.  Yesterday I spent the majority of the day re-charging.  I didn't change out of my pajamas until 5pm when I woke up from my nap.  I finished the day with some power-shopping for stuff we needed for the house and then let PF Chang's cook my dinner.  It is now 10:53 and I haven't even changed out of my jammies yet and only plan to throw on some sweats to go to the grocery store. 

Today I am back to my routine and reflecting on my last week.  Was the experience worth the pain- absolutely, 100%, no questions asked.  The only question is- what will I do differently next year?  Well- it's time to talk to my doctor about a cane and a handicap placard for when I go on trips.  I think I will have to pick up some new "stylish" crocs  and shoes this year so that I can have the comfort and still look somewhat professional.  I will bring shorts and *maybe* even my bathing suit so I can spend time each evening soaking in the hot tub.  I am also going to plan on bringing my backpack on rollers instead of my laptop case so that I can use that to carry all of the samples and things they give us- because lugging that stuff gets heavy really quickly.  More importantly- I am putting it all on paper now so that when I go to pack for next year- I don't forget! 

Tomorrow it is back to work for me- and back to my normal routine. I hope everyone has a lovely palm Sunday and is busy making plans for a terrific Easter next week! 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Glad you had such a good time at the conference, Jules. It's a good thing you had a couple of days home before starting work again so you could decompress, rest and relax a bit. I recall going to a huge computer fair in Bonn not long before I was diagnosed with RA; my right foot flared terribly and about all I remember about it is walking and walking, wishing they'd thought to put benches out for people to sit on. I ended up spending a good deal of the time in the cafe', nursing coffee and wishing the clock would run faster (my collegues were out there somewhere in the acreage and were my three-hour ride home...

Traveling with RA (I can't imagine it with Fibro, too) really is a challenge. But most of the time, it's also worth it. Hope your Sunday is lovely.
-Wren