Read Between The Lyme

We enjoyed our winter break. It was a quiet Christmas with good food and good company (my mom and J). We made a pretty simple meal with a small turkey. My mom made some yummy dessert: it was like a pumpkin pie, but with a ginger snap crust. Oh, and whipped cream on top! Holy smokes!

J left for Colorado on Dec 26th with E and her BF. They drove and had an easy trip. Long but uneventful, so that was good! They did some hiking and took a couple of trips to Denver. My FIL is doing well after his Thanksgiving hip surgery. Using a walker and having PT 3 times a week, he is making progress. Just not as quickly as he would like for sure! The traveling party returned about 2 a.m. New Year’s morning to a very quiet house. The dogs and I were fast asleep LOL

I just tooled around while J was gone. I was definitely not very productive. I decided not to make a To Do list for the break and instead, pretty much did what I could and what I wanted. Last winter break 2021, I ended up in a severe fatigue, EBV, and fibromyalgia flare and was unable to go back to work until February. Who knows what triggered that, but I wasn’t pushing myself this break at all.

We’re back at work now, and I’m there this year, so that’s a win! This past week went well. All of us, especially students, were struggling to get back on the school schedule. Y’all, our high school classes start at 7:15…..7:15 a.m.! It’s kinda nuts. After all the research out there that concludes teenagers need more sleep ….not less….and we still keep doing things the same old way. *Sigh

Our new semester for the college portion of this class starts up in a week or so as well. Usually, this semester can be a real struggle for some students. It’s a bit tougher curriculum, and they are burned out. I’m hoping that the way we’ve structured things (with the burnout and stress in mind) that we can keep all of our students in the class through May and that they can be successful.

With work starting back, I’m doing my best to let things go and also to make sure I rest as needed (and to not feel guilty about resting). I’m almost a decade into this chronic illness journey. You would think I’d have it down to a science by now. But, I don’t.

I still struggle with giving myself permission to feel how I feel and to not do certain things if I just can’t or if I know it will push me over on the energy limit I have for that day. I’m not sure if that makes sense. It’s still all a learning process for me dealing with the ins and outs of being chronically ill, and there are times I myself am just not a good student!

While I know the holidays can be tough in so many ways, I still hope everyone had some bright moments and good cheer. Happy New Year, my friends. May this be our best year yet! Do you make New Year resolutions or not?

Take care and peace to you – belle