Let's talk about Closing Weekend, okay?

Here we are, just over a week after our three-day closing weekend at Bristol. I've still got callouses on the arches of my feet (yes, on the arches!). And I'm still struggling with random bouts of fatigue. (and that fatigue may or may not be related to closing weekend, I mean, it has been over a week now).

But let's talk about closing weekend... Why? Because that's what I put in the title, we have to do it now. People are expecting it.

Saturday morning, I awoke to some mild all-over ache-y-ness. Sort of a pre-flu feeling. You know it well- the muscles are sore and tender to the touch. You feel hot, but when you actually touch your skin, you feel cool. No problem. I just moved a little slower than normal on Saturday. I got home and was exhausted from the day- expected, but I was so exhausted that I fell asleep without issue. If only I could have stayed asleep.

Sunday morning, my body screamed me awake with muscle pain and my right hip grinding in such an un-sexy way. I struggled to stay awake for the hour and fifteen minute drive to Bristol from my house. I dragged myself through Sunday, taking my Vicodin on a schedule. I remember moving slow, walking slow, not rushing around.

Monday morning greeted me with a full-blown flareup. I could barely move. I forced myself to my feet. I winced my way through my shower. My joints felt like they were on fire (even the cyborg joint). At the last minute, I opted to wear my thick-soled hiking boots (my favorite pair of Dr Martens). At first, my body was all: "Yo, bitch, watchoo doin? You expect me to drag all this extra weight on my feet?" But after a few minutes of walking on the Bristol dust and gravel ground, my body was all: "Well, my dearest, you are such a clever little thing..." because my body changes its vernacular when it shouts at me.

I moved slow through most of Monday. I chose my photo vantage points for the joust based on how far I had to walk to get over to the area. (and in one case, someone else stood where I was going to stand before I was able to get up and walk over). By the time the closing time came, I was running on auto-pilot. I barely hugged anyone, I barely said my farewells. So, basically, I owe everyone a hug. (you hear that, everyone? You have to come back now!).

I went through the entire closing weekend in varying degrees of flareup pain. And this past week- which one would think would be a week of recovery- hasn't been much better. The weather has been playing with my body like a cat with a housefly. It pulled my wings off and now its just batting me around on the floor. And this floor really needs to be vacuumed. This week's hot-spot is my lower back and right hip. So every step is a delicious reminder of how much this stupid disease sucks.

As I sit here, in my central-air-conditioned house (and the weather outside is in the 90s for heat), all my muscles are stiff and sore. I took Vicodin to go to the grocery store today, so my lower back isn't quite so bad right now. Just don't ask me to turn my head with any kind of speed. Much like closing day, I'm moving in slow-motion today. And unlike closing day, I'm not having any fun doing it.

And, if you'd like to see my faire photos- I have a lot of them uploaded here on Flickr. And that's about 1/3 the amount I shared on Facebook. And as of this typing, I still have one day's worth to upload on Flickr. (I'll be getting to that on Wednesday- which is tomorrow, and it won't be till the afternoon because I have a product shoot in the morning).