Love Hurts!

in 2002..

This was my chance.  Adventureland Golf - and Ben was going to be there.  My plan was to be super clever and funny. Unfortunately, the nerves kicked in.  I ended up being shy - and kind of invisible.  I realized there was a good possibility that Ben may forget I even attended this evening of putt-putt.  Five years of stalking with no results.

Ben and Michelle - 2002

To savor my time with him, I tried to stand nearby at all times.  From playing arcade games to walking the course, I was right there.  I could get whiffs of his deodorant. I could hear his breath.  It was nice.  Yes, in retrospect, I probably was standing a little closer than what would be considered normal - but not so close that our friends would notice.    

Then, suddenly, I was hit!   I touched my lip - there was blood on my finger.   The last thing I saw was a large metal putter head coming towards my face.  Shoot, I thought, I was standing too close.   I wiped the blood from my lip - Ben didn't notice it had hit, no one has to know about this. 


Two holes later, the blood began dripping down my chin and could no longer be wiped off with my hand alone.  No more dry lining in my pockets for me to wipe blood on.   I realized that he was going to notice eventually.  It had been nearly 15 minutes since I saw the image of that putter head.  I had now made the situation awkward.   There was nothing to do but laugh.  Uncontrollable, silent laughter commenced.   Blood was surely coating my teeth now, and for some reason that made me laugh even harder. 

Ben turns around, "Michelle, you're bleeding!"   I begin laugh-crying as I look at a stunned Ben.  "You hit me with your putter."   And the dreaded, "Why didn't you say anything??"  I wasn't prepared to answer that question then, but now I feel I am.

in 2010...

Nora pulled my hair . Who knew a hand so little could pull so hard?   It felt like I was Rapunzel, and she was scaling up my hair to hang out in my tower.   I tried to pry the strands from her death grip - but it seemed to make her upset.  So I stopped trying.

The Little Hand with
the Death Grip

Ben has a little carpal tunnel action going on in his wrist - when he feeds her he sometimes feels jolts of pain pulsing through.

I was rocking Nora - she seemed very content, but I had been having intense lower back pain with every rock.

My friend who recently had a baby told me she is having some stress-induced (code: baby-induced) TMJ.

Another friend stuck with breastfeeding through weeks of clogged ducts, improper latches, and mastitis.

So, 17-year old Ben, love makes people do strange things.  Whether that's putting up with mastitis or taking a putter in the face...