Last week I got into the poison ivy
again. Now, I have it for the second time in my life. The first time was about
this time last year during the fall yard cleanup.
My husband, self confessed as never
having had the itchy breaking out, told me I’d get over it if I’d quit
scratching. He read up on the internet about several remedies. I tried
cortisone cream, cortisone cooling gel, aloe gel, etc, etc. Anyway, before I
broke out the baking soda/vinegar paste, in desperation I called my doctor’s
office. The rash had stayed a week and I wanted it to be gone.
“Any questions about the
prescriptions?” the girl at the counter politely asked.
“No,” I answered as I swiped my HSA
card and rubbed my arms trying to relieve the itch.
Back in my car, I read the
complicated directions: Take four pills today…blah, blah, blah. I hadn’t eaten
much so I downed two pills and figured I’d take the other two after real food.
I seemed fine throughout the day.
Toward evening, my tummy was a little upset, and I went to bed early because I
was so tired. Being tired doesn’t equate falling asleep so I read until about eleven
o’clock. At one o’clock, I awakened with an acidic burning in my throat and
made a dash to throw up. It seemed to be my old nemesis acid reflux on
steroids.
Since I couldn’t possibly lie down
with the burning, I read the paperwork that came with the prescription. Golly
gee, some folks have nausea and vomiting with this medication. Aren’t I the
lucky one?
After breakfast this morning, I
took today’s pills. I immediately noticed a bitter taste. “Wow, that was a
bitter pill to swallow,” I said. I hadn’t even noticed the bitterness the other
time.
Talking about bitter pills to
swallow, I thought about it figuratively as well as literally. The expression “A
bitter pill to swallow” means something unpleasant or painful but has to be
accepted. I thought about bitter pills that I’ve had to swallow in my lifetime.
The bitterest of all was when Jim was diagnosed with dementia. Oh, neither of
us accepted it at first, and that’s not such a bad thing. We explored all the
other possibilities—a stroke, blood sugar, vitamin deficiencies, depression,
heart problems—through an endless cycle of testing.
The rollercoaster of emotions came
to a screeching halt when an MRI revealed brain shrinkage consistent with irreversible,
unstoppable dementia. Big bitter pill to swallow.
We all have our own bitter pills.
Some of us have broken relationships, undeniable mistakes, failures, heartache,
illness, pain, suicidal thoughts, stress, bitterness, self-loathing, or many
other human emotions.
Emotional victims can be emotional
survivors with the correct resources or support. Life throws pills at all of
us, and full bottles at some. It is so important not to lose our way or give
up. Fortitude is the antidote for the poison of adversity.
When going through difficult times,
I have always been thankful that I’m not famous. Just think of the stress on
movie personalities, politicians, famous athletes, and others in the public
eye. Not only do they have to deal with their own doubts and embarrassing
moments, all the armchair pundits worldwide have to throw in their
holier-than-thou tweets, Facebook posts, blogs, op-eds.
We are creating an unhealthy
virtual environment. People used to do their rants and raves in the privacy of
their homes where only family and close friends knew how bizarre they were.
Now, the internet explodes with conspiracy theories, blatant lies, and
innuendos.
Friends and family use expletives
in angry, small-minded conversations with others who aren’t of the same
political persuasion, religion, ethnic group, or were born with a different
color skin. It’s disturbing that we feel that rudeness and hatefulness are
acceptable.
As for my bitter pills, I remembered
that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. What kind of sugar do I
have in my house this time of year? Candy corn! Two pieces of candy corn wiped
the bitter taste from my mouth. I’ve solved the literal bitter pill problem. Even
a semi-load of candy corn won’t help the hurting people of the world to figuratively
swallow a single bitter pill.
Copyright © September 2016 by L.S.
Fisher
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