Dearly Beloved: Getting Through This Thing Called Life
Living with vestibular migraines: real-life coping strategies, flexible plans, and finding small wins on hard days.
Dearly Beloved
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.”
— Prince, “Let’s Go Crazy”
Yesterday was one of those days Prince talked about—just getting through this thing called “life.” When you live with chronic migraines, vestibular migraines, or anything in that spectrum, you don’t know what one day will bring. Sometimes you don’t know what the next hour will bring. You have to live in the moment. Oh, you had plans today? Cancel them. It feels like someone took a sledgehammer to your head and the room is spinning like a runaway merry-go-round.
Luckily, when you deal with this 10–15 days a month, you know the drill. Dinner plans change—since I cook 95% of the meals in our kitchen, that usually means calling an audible. Pretty sure over the last four years of medical issues we’ve given DoorDash enough money to earn a statue of us at their HQ.
“We’re all excited. But we don’t know why. Maybe it’s ’cause we’re all gonna die. And when we do, what’s it all for? You better live now, ’fore the Grim Reaper come knocking on your door.”
— Prince, “Let’s Go Crazy”
I think about this a lot—especially when I’ve got time to ponder. Once I accepted that this might be my life for the foreseeable future, or at least until “the Grim Reaper come knocking,” I told myself I’d keep doing the things that bring me joy in this thing called life.
That means trying to carry on with day-to-day plans assuming I’ll be able to participate. When something gets in the way, adjust. That’s how I have to live. Yesterday was one of those days. Fortunately, those days don’t turn into weeks anymore thanks to a new medication. It cuts down the bad days and lets me get back to living as best I can—’cause we’re all gonna die.
Sports Takes
You’ll probably know the result by the time you read this, but my Wazzu Cougs are on the road at James Madison in Virginia—the last road stop in this Johnny Cash–style schedule during a year when my alma mater was a team without a conference (outside our ride-or-die, Oregon State). It’s been a long, painful year with a lot of boring, bad offense and some brutal losses that should’ve been wins (Ole Miss and Virginia). But I think the future is bright for Coach Jimmy Rogers and my Cougs.
I was happy to see my Seattle Mariners do the right (and obvious) thing and sign Josh Naylor this week. I just hope the Mariners don’t do Mariners things—put their feet on the desk, call it good, and feed the fan base the usual “we’re ready to take the next step” line. That mindset is why this franchise—my baseball team—is one of the five worst pro sports franchises historically in the United States. It pains me to say it, but it’s true. They’ve gone decades between postseason appearances twice in nearly 50 years.
I didn’t watch or pay to stream them until the moves at last season’s trade deadline. They usually cannot be trusted. For me, this ownership group has to keep proving they’re serious about winning a World Series before I buy in. If they’re not invested, I won’t be. I’ve got other things to do with my summers in Seattle.