Monday, Monday and other deep thoughts

Our torrential downpour/freezing rain/fog fest has lifted and Monday is proceeding in a cloudy, gray, warmer but oh-so-much-muddier fashion. This morning I could have ice skated on the driveway, and now, although it is safely thawed, my world is full of mud.  Should I rename my blog Bitching about the Weather? Sometimes I think Yes.

I've mentioned my towel fixation, and this is why:

Mr. Tucker becomes Mr. Muddy Paws on days like this, and apparently he has to pee as often as I do, which is way too often. Or maybe he just needs fresh air, like me. I should find my mud boots.
Or call the carpet cleaner and also mop the salty, muddy front hall. She said still in her pj's at 2pm.

Sunday we spent 12 straight hours sitting on metal benches and chairs at a sports center for a volleyball tournament. It helped that our daughter and her team played great and beat out 16 teams for first place. It was as much fun as those things can be, and the girls, their families and the coach are all a pleasure to be around. It's a new spin on an old story for us and we're enjoying it. So not bitching about that, except it was chilly, but they had hot chocolate so it evened things out. These girls are adorable, and their coach is such a calm, nurturing zenmaster. He named this team Zen, and he is teaching them nutrition, fitness, meditation and yoga on top of volleyball. Love him.

My daughter text hassled me all morning though, because the half of her team that didn't skip school went in late, or so she said. But I got up with her this morning and drove her and our neighbor to the bus stop at 6:30 am. It was brutal, but we're all fine. Only she has to practice another two and a half hours tonight and won't be home till 7pm, her norm three days a week. I don't know how she does it, but so many student athletes do these days. When she fusses at me I tell her she is young, she can do this! Not to mention she wants to do this. We just hope her body holds out and forgive her those cranky spells, and hope she forgives ours.

We saw a chiropractor this weekend for some aches and pains she'd been having, some growth related, some posture, some sports. The guy is very thorough, very holistic and very into homeopathic remedies, which is where I scratch the needle across the album.....

I'm not much on medicating or supplementing teens, except for immunizations and vitamins. Good genes, good diets and exercise help most things, I believe, but he was recommending this plant to alleviate growing pains, this herb for circulation and cold hands, what turned out to be a calcium supplement to promote bone growth. Here's the thing. I think the drug industry is a racket on a good day, and our system of getting drugs to the market and prescribing them is wacky, but at least the FDA tries to monitor production for quality and purity and alerts us when a wonder drug turns out to cause holes in your heart or tumors or blood clots or suicidal thoughts, or so on.

I have a level of comfort with the awful machine that gets drugs on the shelf.

But with homeopathic remedies, I don' know if I'm satisfied without actual ingredient dosages listed, or without results of double blind studies on adverse affects or reactions. I like to know what I'm putting in my body and especially into my kids. There's a reason every other body is getting sick or developing cancer, and I'm sure we don't really know what the hell we're doing, because humans can barely see past the nose on their face, past now, now, now, always being surprised at long term outcomes. Also I'm just a super cautious mom. I was a very reckless teenager, so I earned it. I asked the people at the counter what the two different strengths were for, and their answer didn't make much sense to me, just that one was for milder symptoms. Then they told me how complicated the training seminars were for the homeopathic products. Ya think? I know a little what it takes to get through pharmacy school, and I'm not sure a seminar or two is enough to recommend what dosage is best to put in your body. The bottles sure aren't specifying.

My personal list of drugs sampled is staggering. The drugs I was prescribed as a teenager for a variety of maladies - so many of them, with so little discussion or supervision - could have killed me if i were an inch dumber or more reckless, or if I didn't have a great puke reflex. Somebody should have paid better attention to what I was taking, especially me.  As a menopausal crazy older woman, I've been prescribed a lot of drugs over the years by the revolving door of primary care physicians that have paraded through our lives. I try to believe in modern medicine, I really do, but it's been a huge disappointment to me so far.  So I'm leery of the notion of a quick fix for anything ache or pain management related, especially these new offerings in pelletized and mysterious forms. New to me anyway.

I'm trying to teach my daughter to know her body, respect it and take care of it. And to remember that coffee is good for you. Or bad. Pom juice prevents cancer. Or does nothing. Ginko helps restore your memory. Or not. Alcohol helps you live longer. Or die sooner. Estrogen supplements are good for you. Or they give you cancer and blood clots. Coconut oil helps slow the progression of Alzheimers. Or not. And so on. Different studies show different results. I know. I've read them. A lot rides on who's funding the study and who's desperate for a cure. Sometimes it's all good, like aspirin from tree bark, penicillin from bread mold. Unless you're allergic, maybe. But I like knowing a drug has been through some testing, has a track record. Oversight.

People can show great health improvements for almost anything given the placebo effect, I know that too. So, what if you're a person who doesn't really believe in the power of herbal remedies, beyond needing the basic vitamins and minerals, unless they're for catching a buzz or having an out of body hallucinatory experience? What do I believe besides trying to stay hopeful, relaxing as best I can, eating less fat and cholesterol and more grains, fruits and veggies, sleeping well, hoping for luck? Or that I have to try really hard to keep my kids from equating pain relief with taking a pill or a drink? Or worse? Some of the genes we have both contributed, some going back for generations, the easily addicted kinds, they are worrisome. But I also want to be sure we fix what we can, when we need to. I don't want to see my kids suffer, so I tried to keep an open but cautious mind.  

I'm just not sure about the shiny array of overpriced products I saw at the Fruitful Yield store after our visit with the doctor. I do buy a lot of healthy and organic products and I know who sells them at a huge mark up vs. a fair price, and this place was ridiculous. I did buy two remedies, and tried to buy the rescue remedy Dr. Oz recommended, because Dr. Oz recommended it, but they were sold out to the masses like me who wish for either a rescue or a remedy in a bottle. The ones I bought turned out to be calcium and comfrey,  and I'm ok with the calcium and trying to decide about the other's claims to alleviate growing pains. Life is full of growing pains, I remember. Are we supposed to medicate those away? 

I wish so many things could be fixed or cured or alleviated with a pill, and maybe if you believe they will work, they will work. I just didn't get the optimist gene. Just the dreary realistic one and some of the easily addicted ones, which I hope I didn't pass along. She said wondering if it is really wrong to drink a glass of wine with lunch, home alone, allegedly working, in her pj's. Wishing to retire in a medical marijuana state on the days the nerve pain is excruciating. 

So I'm curious, do any of you find any over the counter herbals or for that matter, prescription pills to really work for much of anything? My experience is not so much, but it could be me. I struggle with should I encourage my daughter to think this will make things better, so she will feel better? It's complicated. It really is.

I did like the doctor, though. He recommended arch support which I believe to be problem Numero Uno for the tall one's aching backs and knees. And he doesn't want to see us for the next year, just a few visits. With lots of recommended stretches and exercises. As always, I'll keep you posted.

That's the news and the thoughts from my foggy brain and world today.

Oh, and if you managed to slog through all that density, here's a gift, a picture I stumbled on today, working on my daughter's volleyball blog. A blast of spring hopefulness. It made me happy.

And so you can hear the song too: