Life has its compensations

I've spent the last four days with another migraine. This is getting tedious, especially since I can't get any more Imitrex until July. I've been surviving on aspirin, which doesn't do very much.

Before the migraine hit, we had signed up to do another one of our Designed Dinners things. Their June menu was pretty good. We chose:

• Adobo Rubbed Sirloin Steak -- Full of flavor with garlic and a mildly spicy South American inspired adobo rub


• Asian Inspired Pork Loin Chops -- The sultry flavors of soya, orange, ginger, special seasonings and black tea come together for a great marinade


• Calzone Creation Station® -- Fresh dough, Designed Dinners signature basil pesto, herbed marinara and an array of fillings to choose from to build 4 custom calzones


• Chicken Wellington -- Breast of chicken, button mushrooms & swiss cheese baked in puff pastry


• Grilled Moroccan Style Breast of Chicken -- Ready for the BBQ with the robust flavors of red wine, coriander & cumin


• Grilled Tiger Shrimp -- With fresh rosemary & garlic


• Honey Ham Steak -- Glazed with molasses and rum


• Jumbo Meatballs in Sweet & Sour Sauce -- With pineapple & mixed peppers


• Mahi Mahi Fillet -- with pine nuts, lemon, herbs & chives


• Mojito Marinated Chicken Wings -- Mildly spicy, bursting with bright citrus flavor


• Savory Polish Style Smoked Sausage -- Premium skinless sausage with Designed Dinners signature beer braised onion compote


• The Ultimate Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Burger -- Lean ground chuck mixed with herbs, garlic, aged cheddar cheese and minced jalapeño bacon

(We get two meals out of each one, so that makes 24 meals. I usually make three a week, which means this will last for 8 weeks.)

I wasn't sure how things were going to go this morning. The migraine was gone, but I always have a day or two of being really weak when they're over. We got to the place and got started. By the time we'd finished putting together two meals, I was ready to pass out. I know it was air-conditioned in the building, but I was drenched in sweat, the whole room was spinning and I had a horrible pain going across my back. I get that pain a lot when I'm feeling weak. So I found myself a stool to sit on and Jim went ahead and kept putting things together. He was so serious as he measured out the ingredients and made sure he had everything right. The chicken Wellington may not be the prettiest that anyone has ever seen, but I know it'll be edible and he did the very best he could. I was quite impressed with the way he dealt with the dough for the calzones.

At one point, I was sitting in a back room that was cooler and had real chairs instead of stools. Without being able to watch the goings-on, I found myself waxing philosphical (to borrow a phrase ;)). I'll admit I was feeling sorry for myself a bit, bemoaning the migraines and the Crohn's disease and all the other shit. I sorta felt like Job, with the gods picking me at random to mess with and make my life a hell. Then I thought about Jim and realized that, if the gods really had decided to mess with me, they at least gave me Jim so that I could bear it. I thought about a trade. Would I agree to lose Jim if it would mean that I was completely healthy? No. As long as he'll hang around, helping me to deal with it, I'll deal with it. Nothing in the world would be worth losing my guy.

So, we're home, we have 24 main dishes in the freezer, Jim's watching the World Poker Tour that he recorded while we were out. It's supposed to get over 80 degrees today and warmer each day through Tuesday. For those of you who are feeling that this is nothing, remember that we have no air conditioning. We have open windows, fans and shades to try to keep from ending up as little puddles on the carpet.