We reached two long-awaited milestones in our household this week.

This was a good news/bad news kind of week on the medical front. I wish I had more energy to talk about it, but I am running low on spoons and need to conserve them.

Earlier this month I mentioned that I was heading in for some long overdue checkup with the doctor. Many of you have been following my progress on Twitter. I’m a firm believer in paying it forward and that includes being open and honest about sensitive topics. Forewarned is forearmed.

I used to think I was a superhero. A rotund, pasty, privileged superhero, but superhero none the less. I’ve held jobs more or less consistently since the time I was twelve. How much I work became a running joke among my friends. I abused my body with unhealthy amounts of caffeine to squeeze more work hours out of each day, and I did this for years without much of a break.

My mom had reconstructive ankle surgery to correct some of long-term damage caused by polio so I spent the last few weeks with her, doing laundry and cooking and whatnot. I also took the opportunity to wear down my annual deductible and get a few lingering medical issues looked at. And while in Illinois, I picked up a rather nasty flu that has wiped me out completely.