Icky 'ol Florida

Oh, the storms are killing me. We've had storms lingering, hanging around...just waiting to burst but never quite getting there, for the last four days or so. But today is finally a pretty decent day in spite of it. It's not burst-into-flames hot for the first time in a couple of weeks, so I guess my only complaint is that it's frickin Florida and storms are always lingering on the horizon. I don't like it here anyway, so I always have something to grumble about. 
Yesterday was a rough day for me. It's still a couple of months until July and July 17th is usually not a happy day for me. I hate that I'll be in Florida on that day this year, and for some reason that was really bothering me yesterday. It's not just before my period (I know you totally need to know that) so I'm not sure why I was feeling so emotional yesterday, and stuck on July 17th.
July 17th is the day my Angie was born. She's buried here in Jacksonville. Normally this is just something that lives in the back of my mind and after almost nine years, I'm healed up (for the most part) and okay. But yesterday, for some unknown reason, it all reared up on me and I would have been perfectly happy to hide under my bed for the day. My best guess is just that I left Florida in 2004, thinking I would never be back, and now I'm just counting down the days until we leave for Maryland in August. 
In other, and more positive news, the shots I had in my neck have been a good thing, and I'm starting to move back through the pain scale into old familiar before-the-botox pain. I go in next week to have the second shot, and I am really thinking that I am going to be in good shape for the drive up to Michigan for my daughter's graduation. I know now that about 12 hours later, I'll probably have a pain spike, so I can be better prepared this time. 
I'm grateful to have found a procedure and an anesthesiologist that offer relief. I'm grateful for my friends and family that always seem to make me smile just when I need it the most, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to write for you, and to share my story.