The Challenge.... I did it

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
The Challenge.... I did it
10
Sat, 11-27-2004 - 10:39pm
The thing I had not done because I had nobody to do it with was go to NY City. I have lived in Philly for 6 years and never went. My parents are in town and we were talking about what to do this weekend after dd went to her dads, so we planned a quick day trip up there!

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Avatar for cl_tcranky1
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sun, 11-28-2004 - 8:22pm

Good for you! What did you do while there?
I was going to post today actually asking if anyone had followed through on the challenge besides Lori. I'm trying to figure out when I'll have an afternoon again sans kids to go to the movies or something alone.

Hugs
Tara

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Sun, 11-28-2004 - 10:51pm
Since it was a quick trip, we just went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My mom is an artist. Of course we didn't have time to see everything, but we did see a lot and we had a wonderful lunch there. We both have rheumatoid arthritis and the trip wore us both out, but we were glad we went.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 11-29-2004 - 9:25pm

That's awesome. I'm glad you could share that with your mom.
I have a question for you, hope it's not too personal. Is rheumatoid arthritis hereditary?

Tara

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Tue, 11-30-2004 - 12:02am

No. It is genetic, I have a gene that predisposed me to getting it. The vast majority of people who have rheumatoid arthritis have no family member with the disease at all so for the most part it is not believed to be hereditary. However, you need more than just the gene to get it (this is the prevaling theory, the one I believe in). If you have the gene, you also need an environmental trigger to bring the RA on. Usually it's a period of high stress and severe illness. For me, it was a high stress job and then 6-day period with two deaths in the family, one out of state trip, one wedding (SIL, out of state), two funerals (one at home, one out of state), no sleep, caring for a 2 year old with a horrible stomach virus (she got sick while I was packing and on the way to the plane, and on the plane) and then getting the stomach virus myself. What supposedly happens is your immune system is overworked and it's trying to fight the illness (could be any illness) and when the illness starts to go away, the immune system never shuts off. The immune system starts attacking healthy cells in your body. Basically RA is an overactive immune system. So the drugs I take supress my immune system, which reduces the pain, stiffness, swelling and fatigue, as well as helps to prevent severe disfiguration of my joints (my mom is disfigured and disabled, but with the drugs available today this is not my future).

Was that too much information? I had only a slightly higher chance of getting RA because my mom has it. But really her and I are just both that lucky I guess.

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Avatar for myprecioustwo
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Tue, 11-30-2004 - 8:42am
I think that's great that you did that! By the way, is your mom a professional artist or a hobby artist? Because my mom is a professional artist. Yeah know the Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet kind.... Starving! LOL.
No wonder we get along!
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Tue, 11-30-2004 - 8:49am
Well, she started out as a hobby artist and I guess that is what she mostly is. She is on disability so she spends a lot of time working on her art and she is part of a artist guild. She has never tried to sell anything but she has considered trying that in the future.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-25-2004
Tue, 11-30-2004 - 8:58am
Wow - that is something we have in common. My mom is an artist, too!! I grew up attending a lot of art shows and all the paintings in my house are free :-)
Avatar for myprecioustwo
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Tue, 11-30-2004 - 10:47am
Yeah, so did I. My mom dragged me to every exhibition or artsy she could. She was the president of the artist alliance in San Antonio, so we had to be EVERYWHERE and since she had no money for a babysitter, I went EVERYWHERE with her. LOL Like you, I get to keep the art, but my mother REFUSED to sell anything! It was awful. She got stuck on everything she painted and when she got angry, she used to burn her stuff in the fireplace. GREAT! Yeah, a bit crazy. That's where I get it from!
Avatar for cl_tcranky1
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 11-30-2004 - 5:53pm

No, thank you for sharing. I never really understood what it was. I'm sorry your mom suffers so badly.

It sounds like you've had a very stressful time lately! How are you feeling emotionally this week? Any better?

Hugs
Tara

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Tue, 11-30-2004 - 7:17pm
I am feeling much better, thank you. Last week was a stressful week, but it's not bad compared to before I was divorced when life was stressful all the time.

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