So, I guess I’m taking a brief study break. Yeh, that’s what we’ll call it. If you’re fairly familiar with my blog, you know that my posts may be deep, intentional, random, silly, etc. This probably falls somewhere in the category of random . . . and rambling.
Yesterday, we took a short family trip so my mom had a rare opportunity to visit with her siblings, specifically my aunt whose life has been significantly impacted by multiple sclerosis. My hope for the day was that I would make it back to campus by 8 or 9 p.m., so I had some time to finish some reading for my Tuesday morning class – and then could get to bed at a decent hour. Things didn’t quite work out that way. I didn’t make it back to campus until almost 11 p.m. I didn’t go to bed until I knew my sister had made it back home – close to midnight.
I woke up this morning, sore and exhausted. I’m out of milk because I can’t get the lactose free kind from the store on the corner and haven’t had the time in my schedule to make a longer trip. So I couldn’t eat cereal for breakfast. My body is inconsistent when it comes to accepting or rejecting eggs, so I didn’t dare take that chance. I settled on English muffins and green tea – hoping the caffeine would help me get through a three hour class on Christian theology.
Speaking of class. Today’s discussion focused solely on Augustine’s “On Christine Doctrine.” If you’re not familiar with Augustine – or this book – the experience of reading the book moved back and forth between “oh, that’s a great example/analogy/though” to “huh?!” I’m not a morning person – physically or mentally, so early morning classes that require deep thought are always a struggle.
As soon as I walked out the door to class, I experienced a horribly strong wave of Crohn’s-induced nausea. I didn’t have time to go back, so I hoped that I had replenished my stash of Peppermint Patties – either in my purse or my backpack. I got to class, feeling feeble and not ready for the day. Then I misunderstood my professor’s comment to a visiting student. I thought she’d said we were having a test on the text. I found a Peppermint Patty and nibbled slowly, praying it would help – the nausea, that is. I had no hope for the test on Augustine. Then a classmate sat down next to me with a huge cup of coffee.
The smell of coffee often turns my stomach.
So now I’m sitting there in the first 2 minutes of class, trying to suppress the urge to run to the bathroom and puke while also trying not to hyperventilate over the sudden decline of my academic career that will come as a result of being tested on Augustine’s book. And I’m trying not to gag from the smell of hot coffee. I was *thisclose* to being “that girl” and asking my classmate if she could move her cup to the other side of the table because it was making me even more nauseated. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was a Monday!
Luckily, I realized early into the lecture that the professor had said “text,” not “test.” Creative breathing techniques dealt with the strong smell of coffee, and the Peppermint Patty eventually soothed my stomach. And Augustine even started to make enough sense for me to actively engage in the discussion.
There’s no point to this post, just a random peek into the mild insanity that is my life with Crohn’s.
P.S. If you stuck with me to the end of this 600+ word post, kudos to you!