A charley horse and my friend, Ronny

Today was the day! This morning I woke up in PAIN...pain in my calf. A charley horse. I have been waiting for one to occur and dreading the day it came. I have even been eating bananas for extra potassium, which supposedly helps prevent them. I get them towards the end of EVERY pregnancy. They usuallly come when I am half asleep, but as soon as that pain hits I am WIDE awake...writhing in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, owwwww," I said over and over again to my sleeping partner, who didn't wake up. Probably the same thing I will be saying in a couple months from now when I am in labor. Maybe I have just forgotten how bad they hurt, but this charley seemed to be particularlly painful. Even after a couple of hours of stretching and massaging, my muscles were still so sore that I had to limp around.

Jason took the kids to school for me... AGAIN. Then I called my friend, Ronny, to let her know I wouldn't be helping with flowers this morning for tomorrow's big May Day celabration at school. In a matter of minutes Ronny was at my house with her ancient Chinese herbal cure...brought over to Kauai from China by her great grandmother. Ronny gently massaged my calf while applying the medicine. Then was off to do her magic with flowers...decorating the school for the big day.

As I limped around the kitchen baking zuchini and banana bread for Relief Society enrichment tonight. I thought about Ronny. She is a true friend...not just to me, but to everyone. She is always helping others with no expectations of anything in return. She is such a giving person and I truly admire her. At the beginning of my pregnancy when I was so sick, Ronny made dinner for my family many times...she is an amazing cook by the way. She didn't tell me she would cook for us...so that I couldn't turn her down. She just did it. Before we came back to Kauai, Ronny found us a house to rent and got Sadie into pre-school (which was full at the time) I could go on and on about ways she has helped us. The thing is she does things like this for everyone she knows. Ronny and I often go walking in the mornings together. Almost everyone we see along the way, except for tourists, knows her. They usually stop to say "Hi" or chat for a few minutes. She is loved by many.

As I thought about Ronny I realized I wasn't limping anymore. My calf is still very tender to the touch, but I am now walking normally. Normal enough to collect flowers to make leis this afternoon with my boys for May Day and normal enough to fulfill my responsiblities at enrichment tonight. Ancient Chinese secret just might have worked. Hooray for Ronny!