Catch 22

Dear Mom,
The thing about blogging is when you are busy and have lots to blog about there is no time to actually do the blogging. Or you have the time and nothing to say. Kinda like getting a job to have yarn money and then no time to shop for yarn or knit.
Thankfully, I have had time to knit. And spin. And dye wool.

This is that time of year where planting the garden and keeping up with the outside has a negative impact on the messes inside the house. Once the inside is almost caught up the lawn needs to be mowed again and I need to get out there and water the flower boxes. (Current flower box count is 55, and Patsy still finds a gap where she can jump over the fence. We are closing in on her, though, and hopefully one or two more flower boxes will do it.)  And then I sit down to knit and it is time for bed. But, my veggies are planted. The beans and corn are emerging, the tomato plants appear to be very healthy and the rabbits have already found a way in and eaten one of my cabbages. I am afraid to go out there and check to see if anything else disappeared overnight.

In the last month I've had a life-changing diagnosis.Don't panic. It is good. I've spent most of the past 6 months feeling very tired despite getting plenty of sleep. I needed a nap (or two!) just to get through the day. At first I blamed it on a sinus infection, then decided I was still recovering from a sinus infection, then that I was probably just affected by the winter's lack of sunlight, and then decided I was just in the Habit of Napping and being Lazy. During my annual physical, my doctor asked the right questions, listened intuitively to my answers, and after ruling out any other causes for my fatigue, sent me off for a sleep study.

I'll just pause here to say that the result of a night's sleep in the sleep lab is NOT a Good Night's Sleep.

Anyway, the results of my sleep study revealed I have sleep apnea. Not something I ever considered, but easily remedied without drugs. The cure? A CPAP machine. CPAP is an acronym for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. While I sleep, I wear a mask hooked to a machine that delivers enough constant air pressure to keep my airway open. The result is good, restorative sleep, through all phases of the sleep cycle.

Two weeks ago my CPAP machine was delivered. I feared that I would be sleeping like this.

But if this is what it takes to feel better, then I would make it work.

Fortunately, this is what my mask really looks like.

And let me just say right here, that the mask is PETITE!!!!! I have something that is size PETITE!!!! I was feeling pretty good about that mask already!!!!!

The PETITE mask fits comfortably over my PETITE nose, and the straps hold it snug to my head. As you pointed out, it is a good thing I didn't want anymore kids, because this thing is not sexy, but a tired woman taking naps all the time isn't sexy either. And at least a well-rested woman is happy.

First night with mask? Good.
Second night? Better than Good.
Third night? WOOHOOO! I feel great! I feel like Kim again! (pretend you hear James Brown singing "I feeeeel good!") REALLY good. Like CPAP is my new crusade and I want everyone to get Real Good Sleep.


Because I like to give names to just about everything, and especially since I will be sleeping with this every night, the mask and machine deserved to be called something better than "my cpap machine".

I've named it Johnny Depp.

Just so I can say I sleep with Johnny Depp every night with My Hero's blessing.

Love,
Kim