Grace and Back Pain

Of the many un-lovely things I inherited from my mother*, a very weak trapezius muscle is one. Every so often, with no warning and seemingly without cause, one or the other of my shoulders (and sometimes both!) is rendered useless and painful, affecting my neck, back and arm. I can barely lift myself, can't turn my head, cannot get comfortable in any position, and the only medication I can find that will help it also puts me instantly to sleep.

Today is one of those days. It is also the day I chose to have 6 guests for Sunday dinner. Poor Nathan has had to do the work of three people, both his own, mine, and that of my personal servant. At this very moment, I am eating a piece of pie with whipped cream that he dished up for me. He puts straws in my drinks so I don't have to tip my head back. He picks up things I drop. He rescues me when the stubborn cat keeps crawling on top of me every time I lay down and I can't defend myself.

I feel like a major Ms. Whiny-Butt. It isn't that I am overplaying my pain, it's just that it is ever-present. Earlier when I tried to sit up I said, 'This REALLY makes me want to say bad words!' (I said this instead of the bad word that I wanted to say) and Nate clamped his hands over his ears and said, 'Go ahead, but repent when you are done!'

He's a sweet kid.

*(in the interest of being fair...I also inherited a very nice, um, set of mammary glands from the same parent, and I do frequently wonder if the two are related...no, not those two, the two inherited traits)