Good Friends

As you know by now, I have had the recent misfortune to have bulged a disc (again) in my back last week. Though my recovery is progressing well, I am obviously limited in my movement.

As a result, two of my friends offered to finish hanging the doors on my shed for me. I was moved by their generous gesture, and I jumped at the offer!

Many thanks to Ryan Highley and David Dees for their fantastic work on the doors! I really couldn't have done it without you!

THANK YOU!!!

Show Stopper

I mentioned in my last post that the shed wasn't completely finished yet. All that is left is putting the doors on the front. Initially, I was waiting to get a second set of hands to help me get the doors hung. However, my back had different plans.

For those of you who have known me for at least 4 years know that I have had a bulging disc in my back. To use an analogy - to have this affliction is a bit like being an alcoholic: you will forever be an alcoholic and can never be "cured," though you can control your symptoms by continuing the 12 steps... likewise, I will always have a bulging disc, and I always stand the risk of re-injury, but I can keep it under control by continuing my physical therapy exercises.

Friday afternoon it became VERY painfully obvious that I had not been keeping up with my exercises like I should have been. I was in my new shed sweeping... that's right, sweeping... when I bent over to pick up the dust pan and felt a pop in my lower back that stopped me in my tracks.

If you have ever had severe back pain, then you know that there is no way to adequately explain the amount of pain I was feeling. Not to mention the fact that your back is so integral in every other movement your body makes. I passed out in the backyard due to the extreme pain, and couldn't even get upright (whether on my knees or my feet) for almost an hour because I would begin feeling faint each time.

With a lot of help from my wife, I finally made it to the doctor's office. When asked what the problem was, I told her that I had a bulging disc, and she very flatly told me there was no way I could know that diagnosis if I hadn't had an MRI to tell me so. I wasn't so much a fan of her. She wanted an x-ray and since I couldn't even walk across the doctor's office to their x-ray machine, they ended up calling 911 to have an ambulance take me to the ER.

I spent the next 8 hours in the ER trying to explain that I had a bulging disc to anyone who asked what the problem was... but no one believed me there either since I hadn't ever had an MRI to diagnose it in the first place four years ago.

I finally got my MRI around 8:30, and guess what it said? I HAVE A BULGING DISC!!! I was very frustrated, but at least now I have confirmation that it really is a bulging disc... more specifically the disc between L5 and S1.

I have since been spending most of my time laid up on my back while trying to help out (although I'm hardly helping at all) with the kids, dishes, etc.... When you have restrictions from sitting or bending from the waist, that limits you more than you would think. I feel even worse since I'm only able to give limited help my pregnant wife!

The only solace I get from this is that it happened during the summer... I don't have anywhere that I need to be on a daily basis, and thankfully neither does Beth. Although the obvious downside is that it has now made the remainder of the summer a wash, but I don't have to miss any work for it. I am ready to be back on my feet, but if this goes anything like 2005, then it won't be until it's almost time for school to start when I'll be all better.

Bask In the Berridge Manliness!

Last weekend, my brother Jason came up to help me build a shed. He was under the illusion that it was a pre-built kit where we would just assemble the parts... well he was half right. We did assemble the parts, but there was NOTHING that had been pre-fabricated. His face fell at the sight of all of the parts of the shed being loaded into the back of the trailer by forklift. All of the measuring and cutting had to be done by us!

If you know anything about Jason and me, then you know that we may be many things, but we've never been accused of being carpenters!

We knew very quickly that we were in over our heads, but fortunately for us, Jason's in-laws happened to be in Lubbock that day shopping. We could not have gotten started on the right foot if it were not for his father-in-law (Hat tip to Jerry Jacobs!) He helped us get the foundation built up correctly, and from there, it was just a matter of following directions.

Once we got going, I was very surprised at how far we got before they left on Sunday evening. All we had left to do was to put on the roof (which I did on Monday) and hang the door (which still isn't done, but I'll expain why in my next blog post!)

Overall, I was very impressed with us. For not being at all constructive, it looked great, and is extremely sturdy. Everything lined up, and it actually looks like we knew what we were doing! Who'da thunk it?!

Funny Things Jarrett Does

I have been playing Mr. Mom since Monday while Beth teaches at her annual music teachers' workshop. So while I was making a pass through the living room (while dusting and vacuuming, I might add....) I spied a little boy curled in a ball and talking under his blankie. Click the "play" button to watch!

Uncharted Waters

It's becoming a blog-fest around here.... we haven't posted since February, and now twice in one week! What's the world coming to?

We went to Odessa yesterday to visit my brothers and their families... but more specifically we went for my nephew Hagan's birthday party. We had a great time at the party, and then went to dinner afterward before we came home.

Aunt Erin asked us to stop by her house after dinner so she could give us some clothes for Jarrett, and while we were there, she asked JJ if he would like to stay at their house for a couple of days and play with his cousins. Without hesitation, he said, "Sure!" We thought he would change his mind in a few minutes (as "almost-5-year-olds" usually tend to do,) but he was very confident that it was something that he wanted. It didn't matter how many times we asked him if he was sure... he knew he wanted to stay there!

This brought back memories of when I used to do this with my cousin in Lubbock when I was growing up in Odessa. It happened much the same way the first time... our families met in Lamesa for dinner and very unexpectedly they asked if I wanted to spend a week with my cousin Jim. I had the clothes I was wearing, and that was it... much like Jefferson last night: He had his PJ's that we were going to change him into for the late night ride home, and the clothes on his back. He should be ok since his cousins are not that much older than him... he could probably share clothes with them. What a fun experience!

Beth asked if I was ready for this... I asked her right back if she was ready for this. Turns out, we should have asked Jarrett if HE was ready! He has never known life without JJ! He has been fairly melancholy this morning, continually asking about where his brother is, and being generally sad about his brother's absence! It's pretty sweet, but at the same time, kinda heart-wrenching. As I write this, he's asking for "JJ to play football with me!"

I imagine JJ is having a blast right now... it will be cool when Jarrett can do this, too.

Ahh... Summertime!

It seems as if our only posts come as we get the chance to take a break from work. So, that must mean it is officially the start of the most magical time of year: Summertime!

After a killer last few weeks of school and a trip that started the day after graduation, I have finally returned home to now begin tackling that long list of honey-do's. The capstone of which will be the building of a shed in our backyard with the help of several family members (hint, hint) and some of my closest friends (whom I hope will remain close after the completion of this project.) :)

Beth and I have a whole laundry list of things that we are planning on doing to our house over the next several years... many of the things are dreaming, but some are just plain practical. For instance: replace ceiling fans throughout the house (practical), it would be nice to have windows that actually open (practical); it also would be nice to have an addition to our master bath, and a bathroom and closet added to our den/guest room/computer room/office/sun room (unfortunately, dreaming.)

However, we should most likely be able to knock down two of the biggest items on our list this summer! Not only the afore-mentioned shed, but we just had an A/C repairman come out to basically tell us that our A/C cannot be fixed. We are hoping that our Home Warranty will cover the costs of a new unit! It seems to look very promising from this end!

On a separate note, Jefferson has now begun playing T-Ball. It's so funny to watch those little kids play this game. I don't know where Jefferson got it, but he seems to have a pretty good knack for all things athletic. He's fast as all get out, and he seems to know (relatively) what he's doing. He's making some good decisions out on the field.

Jarrett is still as much of a handful as always... he definitely keeps us on our toes! Our last post dealt with his potty training. We are, unfortunately, still dealing with accidents and occasional messes! Jefferson had only a couple of accidents, and then he was all done. Jarrett is having a much more difficult time with this process than his older brother. It's very frustrating at times, but then we just get over it!

Both of the boys have really gotten into playing baseball. They love to go outside and play catch with each other or with dad...

It certainly is a magical time of year when I can drop everything and go have a catch with my boys.

Spring Break at the Berridge's

Happy Spring Break to all!

I know that not everyone gets to spend the week of spring break taking it easy, but those of us in the teaching profession relish the chance to take a week to recharge the batteries and get some long-needed household projects finished (or maybe just a little more started than before...)

Amongst the much needed times of R&R, we have been harping on a little 2 year-old to begin using "the facilities." That's right... potty training!

Beginning on the second day of PT (because we aren't even going to talk about the dreadful first day) he pretty much got the hang of it and didn't have any accidents; thanks to the good folks at M&M's and Dum Dums for the bribery materials. Of course, there have been couple of days since with a few more accidents than others, but overall he's doing a great job. We're a little anxious about sending him to school in undies next week... but he ought to be doing great by then... right?

Wish us luck in the rest of this endeavor and have a spectacular rest of Spring Break!