* Disclaimer: This post is full of health-related over-sharing. Proceed at your own risk.

Though I took a small break for Zoë’s birthday festivities, it feels as though once again most of my time is dedicated to navigating my health issues. Last week I had a double colonoscopy/upper endoscopy, which was, um, lots of fun. Really, the actual procedures weren’t bad. (I was happily sedated.) But the prep—my God, people. Not to mention that I was teaching the night before, which involved a half-hour drive to and from a church in Edina. That I didn’t have a messy accident on the way there or back is a minor miracle. Luckily, the class was with a group of understanding and laid-back women who didn’t seem fazed by my frequent disappearances.

The tests showed that I have some “baby” ulcers in my duodenum. (On hearing this, a friend of mine told me that she thought “duodenum” was the most beautiful word she’d ever heard; i.e. “Vittorio liked to serenade the young American señoritas with a duodenum from his home country.”) She thought it would sound like this.

I love that—LOVE it—despite the fact it doesn’t actually make my baby duodenal ulcers any sexier.

Anyway, I’m on omeprazole for eight weeks to try to heal those tiny suckers, but I still have something going on with my gallbladder, so I’m still plying myself with tinctures and herbal supplements and doing my twice-weekly acupuncture. The pain persists on and off throughout the day, and it doesn’t seem to correspond to certain foods or drinks (though the gallbladder triggers, if I “accidentally” eat any, definitely make it worse).

The good news is that my mental state seems much improved. (If you can’t tell from this post, well, read the earlier ones and imagine me writing those with a grimace. Today I’m actually smiling. Really.) I know I’ll find some answers and recover eventually, even if that involves more food testing and giving up more of things I love (which I’m hoping won’t be the case).

But what I need now is a break. A real break. A no-email, no-work, no-computer break. Which I’m taking, starting tomorrow. So I will be quiet here for the next two weeks, but then I’ll be back, hopefully miraculously transformed, dancing to the serenade of a dozen duodenums.

When I’m back, I look forward to doing a book giveaway of Silent Running, which is now shipping from Amazon and has been getting lovely responses from readers. And I’ll also be reporting from AWP, which will be here in Minneapolis for the first time ever. Until then, I hope spring appears at your doorstep.

Oh, and I still have a couple of spots open in both my online Motherhood & Words class that begins April 15th and my spring retreat, May 14th – 17th. Let me know if you’re interested. (Though I won’t respond for two weeks. Just know I’m not intentionally ignoring you if you don’t hear back from me right away.)