Yesterday morning I woke up in pain.
I had cramps that radiated down to my knees. We went to church and I forced smiles all through the service and the potluck afterwards.
Eventually, I could no longer feign being “just fine.”
In the middle of talking with a friend, a cramp hit me so hard I nearly went to my knees but sucked it up and went to find Howard instead.
“We need to go home…NOW.” I whispered to him as I clutched his arm through another spasm.
By the time we made it to our driveway, I was frantic. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was scared because these were supposedly menstrual cramps. Something my fellow female readers can all relate to. I’ve had cramps and they’re usually just a minor annoyance that make me a little crabby. These cramps were multiplied by about a million.
Howard helped me into the house and helped me out of my clothes and into pajamas, brought me some pain meds, and put me to bed on the couch. I zapped out for nearly 5 hours. When I woke up, I was groggy but the pain was gone.
I even cooked dinner for both of us against his protests.
This morning, the pain was back. I took 2 more Naproxen and was determined to make it through the work day. Luckily, I did.
As soon as I got home, Howard covered me with a blanket as I collapsed on the couch again. He asked me what I wanted for dinner. I felt bad. He’d worked a full day too. But he offered with a smile.
“Anything you want, baby.”
“Honey, you don’t have to cook anything for me…you’ve worked a long day too.”
“Well, you’re feeling sick…you should really be off your feet.”
I gave him a grateful smile as he made a mental grocery list. He told me he had one condition: That I change into my pajamas.
I gave him one condition: That he kiss me before he left.
He walked through the door with his bounty in hand a short time later. He handed me a bag of Cracker Jacks…”I figured this was a little healthier than a candy bar.”
I pulled him down into a big hug and whispered a “Thank you” in his ear as I choked back my tears.
Maybe it was the hormones, who knows. All I know is, there’s no better pain medicine than love.