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 footies. 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 new 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, 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!
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! Give me a moment while I shore myself up, to make the best of this mess that I can!
Then 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 mea 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…
