Spiralling
October 27th, 2008
Activity around here has been turned up to eleven as we realized we’re moving in like, two weeks. Which, uh, OMG. Add the packing and utility switch and general moving-related crap with random phone screenings and scheduling people to look at our house in Florida and my head is sort of spinning as I collapse nightly into a pile of exhausted mush. And I haven’t even thought about the fact that we’re having a baby and I’m guessing she’s not going to a) go naked; or b) sleep on the floor. Mercifully, I have a few months left to do all that stuff, but lord knows I don’t want to do it all at once.
*breathes into paper bag*
One of the things that I struggled with today is not being able to do a lot of the things I used to. I was shocked — SHOCKED! — at how quickly I tired out, or the fact that sciatica had my ass radiating in pain after five minutes of sitting on the floor to file some work papers. Since when did FILING become a heavy-duty physical activity? I’m not even that big yet, which makes me wonder if I’m going to find myself laid up next to a Snoogle in the final weeks of my pregnancy, too immobile to do anything but watch WifeSwap and suck down oranges.
I hate not being able to totally help with the move by lifting things. Let’s not overstate my capabilities, however, as it’s not like I was single-handedly carrying the bedframe down the stairs on my trapezoid shoulders in my pre-pregnancy state, but I was at least able to lift a box before becoming crippled with amber waves of pain in the lower back and ass-region. Nowadays, I’m waddling as I load books into boxes, pausing only to feel the baby kick, as I wonder if she’s totally pissed off at me for making her suffer through such jiggly activity.
And in perhaps the worst segue ever, I’ve recently been reunited with two women I went to high school with who, as it turns out, also blog. One of them, at least, runs in almost the same bloggish circles that I do, and it’s very strange that I didn’t we didn’t run into each other a lot earlier than we did. Oddly, too, it was a random Facebook thing (oh, Facebook, how you haunt me), wherein she became a fan of The Bloggess, and I was all, wha? You read The Bloggess? I love her! And so on.
Facebook is so fucking weird. I will say that I like them both so very much, and that we ran into each other only tangentially during our high school days, but now I wish I’d hung out with them back then, too.
Anyway! They reminded me recently that we went to high school with several children of Klansmen. Yes, that kind of Klansman — in fact, if I’m not mistaken, the son of the, uh, lead Klansman (?) for our area was a year or two younger than me, and oh yes, I remember his name now . Dude, I’d TOTALLY forgotten that on a few occasions I could, in fact, see burning crosses from right near my father’s house. I have mostly fond childhood memories, but wow, I must have deliberately blocked that one out entirely. I had COMPLETELY forgotten about all of it.
But it does explain why when John Murtha said what he did, my first reaction was not righteous indignation that he would say such cruel things about the people of my beloved native state, but was instead, reluctant understanding and resigned nodding, because I’d seen a little of what he referred to. Pennsylvania isn’t all bad, not by a long shot — in fact, I’ve said before how much I love it — but it isn’t exactly 46,055 square miles of grace and open-mindedness, either. But really, what state IS?
It all makes me grateful, however, for my upbringing. You know, no one had a perfect childhood, but my God, I can, among other things, be grateful that I wasn’t raised in one of ignorance, like several of my contemporaries were. And for the record, all three of us — the women I refer to above and myself — were, at least from my vantage point, raised in very similar environments (ultra-liberal and at least a little crunchy). I only say that, lest you think I mean THEY were raised in ooky, ignorant environs, which of course they weren’t. That’s not to say that anyone who wasn’t raised in a crunchy-ish liberal environment is a Klansman. Or anything remotely close to it. Not all of the above statements are related! I’m rambling! I … I’m backpedaling and weirdly covering my ass, but God, I don’t want any of these statements to be misunderstood.
And on that happy, awkward note, have a great Tuesday!
Entry Filed under: Nuttin'
21 Comments Add your own
1. slynnro | October 27th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Apropos of uh, something, the Klan is always trying to recruit my dad. I guess because he is really big and really white? A tall man is an asset to the Klan? Thankfully, I don’t know.
2. Trina | October 27th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Jeez. I remember once in high school, my mom and I were going somewhere and there were Klan members on both sides of the “main street” of my town, passing out fliers and shouting ridiculous things. My mom rolled up her window and told me to do the same, and we glared at them from inside our minivan. This was in a very racially balanced town, in a very racially balanced state. It disgusts me that they even thought they would be listened to there.
Oh, and tag! If you’re up to it LOL!
3. H | October 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Sciatica sucks big time. That was the worst part of my pregnancies and I still struggle with it every now and then. I hope you get by with only a tish of sciatica.
Wow. The Klan. I’ve only seen them on TV, thankfully.
4. She Likes Purple | October 27th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I couldn’t even bowl the other night. BOWL. Because of the back and groin aches.
Also, I don’t know about Pennsylvania, but Texas is TOTAL GRACE AND OPEN-MINDEDNESS, obviously.
5. Nora Bee | October 27th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
You know, I had forgotten about all of that Klan stuff too, until the whole FB thing of which you speak. At the time it was some weird kind of normal, you know? Not really, but it just was. And the guy was in our classes at school, and he seemed normal enough, if a bit, you know…manly. Now that I have some perspective and distance, I can see that NO, it did not have to be like that. It can, and should, be different.
6. Sadie | October 28th, 2008 at 3:23 am
God, it’s too bad you’re just so damn bored and idle this pregnancy, I mean really. !!! I hope YOU RELISH the fact that you have the *most* legitimate reason ever not to be moving the heavy shit.
Yes, sometimes I forget that there are other, more ignorant and intolerant places in America where things like Klan activity and use of the “n” word (in other than a Jay-Z song) are commonplace; places where a name like Barack Obama is so exotic that it seems perfectly reasonable to assume its bearer is a (gasp) Muslim who kills babies. I know that is not where you were going with your mention of Pennsylvania, but it made me think about my many Southern relatives, in Louisville and Nashville, who despite living in major metropolitan areas, still have a completely different (and to my mind, frightening and narrow) worldview. It makes me really sad – but then, I am sure those Southern cousins of mine think the same thing about their liberal communist n*****-lover Yankee cousin. *sigh*
7. Emily | October 28th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Pregnancy makes me feel helpless, and I HATE feeling helpless. I’ve had to stop walking the dog, because it makes my back hurt so bad that I’m unable to do anything physical after 5pm, and it turns out that people need to EAT and I’m the one who feeds them. I need a Rascal scooter for the kitchen or something.
Other things that it pains me to not be able to do on my own: Get up off the floor, carry laundry baskets down the stairs, SIT UP IN THE BATHTUB. (That last one is extra embarrassing, so I have stopped bathing and will shower from here on out.)
8. TwoBusy | October 28th, 2008 at 5:45 am
“I could, in fact, see burning crosses from right near my father’s house.”
Wow. Damn. I guess I should just be grateful that an experience like that is completely beyond my frame of reference. Not that there aren’t vicious rednecks in New England, but… damn.
9. -R- | October 28th, 2008 at 7:23 am
I used to sit on the floor to fold laundry, but I have not been able to do that for months. I don’t think you’ll end up stuck in bed for the last month or anything. You will just figure out new ways to do things. Why am I pretending like I have this vast amount of knowledge?
I am very glad that I have no Klan experiences. I think the head guy is called Grand Wizard or something weird like that.
10. -R- | October 28th, 2008 at 7:24 am
What is your new place like? Did you find another cool country house?
11. Jeanne | October 28th, 2008 at 9:14 am
But who sings the song??? Inquiring minds need to know….
12. Amy K | October 28th, 2008 at 9:37 am
My upbringing in St. Louis was fairly culturally diverse and Klan-free, but my paternal grandmother in Florida will shout obscenities at black people if she sees them on television (I won’t even tell you her name for Tiger Woods). Her other granddaughter (my cousin) from Alabama used to have one black Barbie doll in her collection “to be the maid” for her white Barbies. It’s horrifying. It was horrifying when I was a kid, and it’s even more horrifying now that I’m older. My parents don’t seem to understand why I avoid that side of the family.
Pregnancy backache…gah. I’ve had it since about week six due to the relaxin hormone working more on my right side than my left, resulting in a pelvis that’s way out of alignment and a tailbone that feels like it’s been kicked. The physical therapist taught my husband how to pop my pelvis back into place twice daily, which helps some, but I’m not seeing much lifting or bending over in my near future. Hope you find some relief! Lying on ice helps a bit.
13. Jenny, Bloggess | October 28th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I just walked in and my coworker was all “DID YOU KNOW THAT JONNIKER JUST MENTIONED YOU?! JONNIKER!!!!”
You are huge in Houston.
14. Leah | October 28th, 2008 at 10:17 am
SCIATICA. Aaaaaarrrrggghhh. Mine was crippling last night, and Simon told me it was because I was overextending myself again. Overextending myself by sorting paperwork while seated at the dining room table. Yes.
I felt kind of silly doing so much prep work for the baby during the second trimester, when I still had SO MUCH time to go, but now that I’m helpless and constantly fatigued, I’m glad to have most of the lifting and shopping done. All I can muster the energy for these days is scrapbooking (oy), and even that can get tiring. Honestly, I used to think a lot of pregnant women were just lazy; now I know the truth.
15. ali | October 28th, 2008 at 10:33 am
facebook has done that for me too. reintroduced me to people i totally should have been better friends with back then.
16. jonniker | October 28th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Jeanne: Crap! It’s Erasure. I forgot
R: My God, quite the opposite. We’re moving into a condo building that is all shiny and new. I love older homes, but I realized I don’t like RENTING older homes when you can’t make the kind of improvements you want to make. It’s best to rent shiny and clean, buy old and unique, I think.
17. mar | October 28th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
i like your philosophy, jonna. i should tell my bf that. he’s renting crappy & old (frat boy-types lived there before & it’s over 100 years old). he seems to think he’d want to buy the house to fix it up. you know, if we won the powerball. i think i will try to convince him of shiny & clean when the lease is up next summer.
i like the facebook connect, but then again, i don’t enjoy being attacked by people i went to hs with over political leanings. especially the one hick boy who now lives in alaska riding me about sarah palin’s experience.
and thanks to r-wizard! i could not think of that word when i first read your post this morning. even growing up in the barren wilds of north dakota, we only had a more muted racism. no klan up there. (okay, probably is. i don’t want to know about it)
18. ZestyJenny | October 28th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I’m sorry you are in so much pain. Have you considered trying chiro? It has totally changed my life. Three weeks ago I was yelping in pain whenever I got up from a chair, and now, just yesterday I spent the whole day walking around DC being touristy. I never could have done that before.
19. willikat | October 28th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
oh god, this post alternately had me in laughing fits and moments of jaw droppingness, but mostly laughing. i don’t think anyone will misconstrue your comments. unless they are klansmen, in which case they might be a little miffed you called them ignorant, but i mean…sometimes the truth hurts.
20. Kristabella | October 28th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I love and hate Facebook. I mostly hate Facebook when someone tags me in a high school band photo, which NO. Or when all of the high school people that “friend” me are married with kids. And I am not.
21. Amy | October 29th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Oh gawd. So it gets worse. Here I was, all grumpy and shocked (SHOCKED) that I could barely stay on my horse while it flung itself over wooden fences (I know, but I was shocked. SHOCKED) and then was equally incredulous when I tried to go running and turned around like a tenth of a mile later because oh ho! I was going to be ACTIVE PREGNANT WOMAN. Uh-huh. I was going to run and ski and ride right up until giving birth goddamnit…sure, right after this second nap of the morning and third pickle of the day. I’ll be right on that. Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. Nap nap drool…
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