Windy
This week started off with a trip to the urgent care clinic after work on Monday because of shoulder pain so intense I couldn't lift my arm.
"I think it's arthritis," I told the doctor, explaining my reasoning.
"No, it's not arthritis," he said. "It's probably a tendon or something. We'll do an x-ray and we can rule out arthritis."
They did the x-ray, and then 15 minutes later the doctor came back in.
"OK, it looks like you've got some arthritis in your shoulder."
The good news is it was already starting to feel better by that point. The doctor gave me a prescription for naproxen sodium and a referral to an orthopedist if it gets worse. I hurt my shoulder in a bad fall a few years ago, and ever since then I get these occasional flare-ups, although not usually as bad as the one on Monday. Getting older, huh?
Smooth sailing on the shoulder front, but then I picked up some nasty bug that was going around the office. I kept testing negative for Covid and it didn't feel exactly flu-like but I was feeling rotten for a few days. I'm just now starting to see the taillights of it, I think.
And then, this morning, I heard some wild crashing noises outside the house as the wind gusted up to around 50 mph. I'll spare you the lengthy buildup:
https://twitter.com/TJBreen/status/1606285319686348800?s=20&t=sOFoeJ_gwA4nKMD0pYGEmg
"That's suboptimal," as my old editor Evan used to say when something had gone horribly wrong. I had been eyeing what I thought was a loose panel of siding on that part of the house for a few weeks, but I thought, What's the worst that could happen? It can wait until spring.
Well. Let this be a lesson, I guess. Did I mention the temperature is going to drop into the single digits tonight and stay that way through Christmas? It's a good thing the only rooms up there are a spare bedroom and the attic!
So this pre-Christmas week has been, I think it's fair to say, a little bit trying in some aspects. I'm not too upset, though, because firstly, what's the point, and secondly, I'm in a really good position with all of these things.
I have health insurance that will pay for stuff like random x-rays at the walk-in clinic; I have an employer flexible enough to let me work from home when I'm feeling crummy; I have the financial security to pay whatever it's going to cost to slap insulation and siding back on that part of the house. I'm grateful, actually.
Last year at this same time (a year ago yesterday, in fact), I had to rush my cat to the emergency vet hospital because he had a urinary blockage. That led to a $3,000 bill and a fun week of trying to give him pills three times a day. Compared to that, a little siding damage is a walk in the park.
A guy is actually coming later this morning to do an estimate; he did some siding repair and repointed my chimney last month, and I had the good fortune to be the first person to call him this morning.
"I know you're not going to be able to do anything until next week, because of the holiday," I said.
"No, no," he said. "I'm Russian Orthodox. It's not Christmas for me." Three cheers for the Julian calendar!
But, if not the Western Devil calendar, the weather will keep him off a ladder this weekend. Still, it's reassuring to call someone about a home repair and have them not only take the call, but schedule an estimate for later in the day. Normally this is a process that takes 3-5 days and as many phone calls to different places.
I think he likes me because I paid cash last time. Listen, I'm just going to assume he's diligently keeping track of his income and expenses for tax purposes.
Speaking of which, instead of flying into a panic at the prospect of home repairs (a) at Christmas and (b) two weeks before I'm scheduled to board a plane for a guilt-inducing tour of the Holy Land, I just called my financial planner.
"Hey," I said when he picked up.
"Merry Christmas, my friend! How are you today?"
"Well, Scott, overall I'd say I'm good. But my house has been damaged enough by the wind that I'm going to be on the news*."
A momentary pause.
"And you need money?"
"And I need money."
I did the same thing last year when my cat was in the hospital. I'm coming to think of this as my annual semi-emergency call to Scott the Financial Planner. I recognize how fortunate I am not to have to fret about things like this, and just being able to call some guy who will wire money to my checking account for me to pay the nice Russian man and his strapping sons to fix my mangled house.
So, no, I'm not too bummed out by the week's mud puddles. I know I have a lot to be thankful for. I hope you, wherever you may be, also have a lot to be thankful for.
Asterisk
* This is true; a producer at the local CBS affiliate saw my tweet and asked if they could use the picture on the air, and did a quick phone interview with me. I hope they use the part where I said I got to introduce myself to my new neighbors because big shards of my house blew onto their deck.