As I hear the stainless steel cup come crashing down, I know the catastrophe before I see it. The cup, full of milk that I had just poured two minutes ago, is on the floor, white splotches and streaks on the table, some on the chair, some on him; but again, all over the floor!
As I exclaim, exacerbated at my five year old, telling him he needs to be more careful, he laments that he was afraid his bowl full of frozen blueberries would fall on the floor! He loves frozen blueberries above all else. The milk is obviously the lesser sacrifice.
As I continue to lament at the work that will need to be done to clean, the “spoons” I hadn’t planned on spending, to clean up this mess! Then the old adage “No use crying over spilt milk,” pops in mind. We come up with a plan, paper towels for the table, cleaning spray, the fuzzy mop socks. I think about the learning experience as my son delighted at wearing these bright orange, oversized, fuzzy mop like socks, and sliding all over the floor with them. We sprayed and set to work. Those mop socks are indispensable to a mom, when spilt milk comes into town.
I lay down on the bed to recover, aimlessly going to IG and seeing my friend Cathy Chester’s post. Christina Applegate was just diagnosed with MS. This news ran through my head, and the spilled milk, running in rivulets down the table, dripping on the floor ran through my mind.
I watch a short news story on YouTube of her diagnosis and her positivity. They always focus on the positive attitude, that’s what sells. With Selma Blair it was the overcoming. The strength of these women to take it, and keep going.
I think of the new stories I have needed to retreat from hearing, for a little while. I’ve been having a bit of MS in public space burnout. I’m an ambassador for MS Healthline and part of our reach is to new patients, new people on the app, people going through a new relapse, or who just found the app.
New stories can feature devastation, exasperation, and the “Gosh Dang it all!” of the milk dripping all over the place, leaking on our brains and spine the rivulets of milk soaking in, unreachable. That deserves a recognition of the despair. This needs space! Newly Diagnosed people need space!
It happens, again and again, the recurring nightmare that never stops. It seems like a new person diagnosed everyday and now end to the perpetual climb in MS diagnoses in sight. 2.5 million worldwide. 1 million in US. When I was diagnosed 17 years ago it was 200,000 in US, and I don’t even think there was a worldwide count.
The disaster has just happened! Give it a moment! The milk just fell; it still is running everywhere.
Anyone who has pumped their own breastmilk for their children knows the phrase “Crying over spilt milk” has been bastardized. Interpreted as milk being spilt isn’t that big of a deal. When it is! It is such a big deal! For mom’s, that is the nourishment to their child, breastmilk, formula, or cow’s milk as they grow. My Grandma grew up milking cows. When I was young she had a dairy farm. Though I never liked cow milk, I know lost milk is a big deal! I saw the effort that went into cleaning cows teats, the smell of the milking floor. The sound of the suction as it sucked the teat in and extracted the milk. The huge stainless steel milk drum. The bottles my Grandma filled and gave me to feed to the calfs, separated from their mom’s. The way they sucked on my fingers when the milk was gone. The comfort given them by a seven year old when they hungered for their moms.
Milk is a big freaking deal!!!
My Grandmother showed me her injury to her thumb. Because of the injury, she couldn’t show me how she milked the cows when she was a little girl. But she showed me how it was a daily task. She taught me how precious milk is. So when it’s spilt, it’s a loss.
Grab a friend, a family member, and make a plan. Clean up all you can. Lay down. Rest. Recover. Repeat.
Best wishes to you , Christina Applegate. Like many fans, I love Dead to Me. It actually helped me through a bit of my life. It gave me bit of joy. I am happy you have friends to help. Take care. Take time. I’m so sorry this happened to you.
May God be with you til we meet again…
ms GUIDED Bits 
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