Yesterday the I felt a little light-headed when I bent down to pet Wiggles. I thought that was strange, but figured it might be from leaning over. Then a few hours later, I got up from a nap and the room was spinning. Sh*t. I recognized the feeling immediately and knew what this was – a blocked Eustachian tub.
I had this happen to me twice last year. The first time I was dizzy for days, nauseated at times, spent an an entire day in bed and eventually went to urgent care. The next time it happened a few moths later, I was able to manage it by taking Mucinex for a few weeks. So this time, I immediately took two Mucinex and resolved myself to the fact that I’d probably taking it for a while.
I don’t love taking Mucinex because it makes me gassy, burpy and bloated. But it beats having the room spinning so I deal with it. Then last night, I ate too much for dinner which resulted in fitful sleep, acid reflux and stomach cramps.
To top it off, our forecast is for 3 straight days of cold temps and rain.
So of course this morning, I was thinking – I should move to Florida. Recently I was checking out “The Villages”. It’s an over 55 community in central Florida of 100,000 homes. The houses look nice and are reasonably priced. There are tons of amenities (77 swimming pools, golf courses, recreations centers, stores, hospitals, etc.). It’s like a Disneyesque planned community for adults.
I was thinking how nice it would be to not have to deal with winter weather ever again. I was thinking how my allergies in Florida were never bad enough to give me blocked Eustachian tubes or require year round allergy medication. I know I could handle the heat in Florida, I lived there for 12 years.
I used to say I’d never live in a seniors community. But now that I am 55, I think about it sometimes. Kids are annoying. They freak out my dog. Their swim teams and lessons crowd me out of the pool. Older kids drive recklessly and occasionally cause trouble.
The problem for me with the Villages are:
- Home Owners Insurance is ridiculously expensive (as it is throughout Florida)
- It’s in central Florida (I’ve experienced enough hurricanes for my lifetime)
But there’s a bigger here:
I don’t want to move again!
I love my home. I love my neighborhood. I have created a home here.
I don’t love the weather all of the time, but mostly, I enjoy it – including the change of seasons.
The thought of moving again is like a nightmare. I’ve done it so many times. The thought of starting over, again, with everything give me a stomach ache.
So this morning, after looking at a few homes for sale online, I stopped myself.
Because I had a bad night’s sleep, a stomach ache and blocked ears from allergies I was under stress. When I’m under stress, my natural instinct my head immediately goes into “run away” mode.
This time, I stopped it by telling myself, I don’t need to move anywhere. I just need a nap.
My stomach ache will go away in a few hours. The Mucinex will keep my allergies at bay. Summer is around the corner – the rain will end and the sun will shine again soon.
I’m not going anywhere.