A dream within a dream

I woke up yesterday in an awful position. I was lying on my side and my neck was supported or, to be more accurate, bullied by three pillows. I'll let you conjure an image of what that looked like. As far as how it felt, well, let me explain.

I've woken up with a stiff neck before, but it usually returns to its hale self in a matter of hours. Not yesterday. No, before the day was through, I could barely move it any direction. I imagine the stress I was experiencing (financial, always financial) didn't help matters. I'd never in my life experienced that type of pain. It made me feel for the many who experience chronic neck and back pain.

After work, I called Spira to get details about her graduation. I discovered, much to my lament, that the ticket she had given me a week before, the one she told me not to lose, had gone awol. She told me she had an extra one, but I'd have to go to her place to get it. The prospect of going anywhere while in such pain was unappealing, but I had to do it. At least I got a massage out of the deal. Unfortunately, the pain didn't go away as a result.

My neck is better today, but it was tough going there for awhile. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to visit the doctor. Debbie, my coworker, told me she always gets concerned when her kids have stiff necks. When I asked her why, she told me a stiff neck is a symptom of meningitis. Oh, great!

Anyhow, as I said, I feel better, but I'm pretty tired. It took me an hour and a half to get to Salem for the graduation. It should have taken me a half hour from Andover, but the traffic was a cruel mistress. I ended up missing some of the ceremony, which was ok, because most of it was rather boring. I sat with Spira's boyfriend, Sean, and once she received her diploma, we went outside and got some fresh air. We met up with Janelle and it wasn't too long before all the graduates poured out of the building. I'm so proud of Spira for getting her Masters. She downplayed it, but it's quite the accomplishment. Seeing her in her cap and gown, smiling, made the long, arduous, drive worth it.
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Ok, I'm done here. I'm tired; didn't get much sleep last night. Mara stayed the night (no, I'm not tired because of that) and it was tough finding a position in bed that didn't hurt. I slept in spurts and woke up way too early because Steve, my neighbor, loves to make as much noise as possible when he gets in his car to go to work. One of these days, I'm going beat the shit out of him for all the sleep I've lost because of him. I'll have to ambush him if I expect to stand a chance. He's a pretty big guy. Oh, well, it wasn't so bad waking up early---I got to lounge around with my girl for a while longer.