Mama Down. I repeat, Mama Down!

I’m sick. Like in the bed kinda sick. Ok, technically I have moved to the couch but there will not be much moving around for me today. I’ve got a low-grade fever, headache, and really sore throat. My eyes have finally stopped burning, which I’m hoping means the fever is on its way out!

Naturally, no one likes being sick but, for me, I know exactly why I’m sick. I’m a 100% believer that we let ourselves get sick. It’s the same reason we don’t vaccinate. I whole-heartedly believe that God made our bodies amazingly well and that if we take care of them (by resting, eating healthy foods, and exercising) they will be strong enough to fight off germs both big and small.

Our family is in a little bit of an adjustment period right now. I’ve been reluctant to write about it but since I’m incapacitated today, there’s no time like the present. Right?!

Ok, I guess it’s best to start at the beginning. Here goes.

About six weeks ago Mike lost his job. It was sudden and unexpected but we both believed that it was for a reason and that better opportunities awaited us. He had been unhappy there for a while so we counted this as a blessing. I was calm. I was trusting. I was really impressed with myself because, as a Type A, my default response is to FREAK OUT when things are out of control or different from the norm. One, two, three, and four weeks went by. We had no leads and had been denied unemployment. Mike was home every day, and while he spent a lot of time tinkering in the garage, he was still in my “place of business.” Our norm was way off kilter. During the summer, I feel like it’s all I can do to stay afloat anyway with my work, my home responsibilities, and Skylar here. Besides, now I was drumming up appointments to deal with his 401K, Cobra insurance, IRAs, and various other items that go with loosing a long-time job. I didn’t really mind hubby being around but my dreams of him being the extra help that I needed didn’t exactly pan out. The panic about how we would pay for this or that started to creep in and I became cranky. This is the stressful part.

Because Mike had no work to report to the next day, he was content to stay up late. I tried to stay up too but we’ve known for a while that he simply requires less sleep than I do. This is the exhausting part.

Lo and behold, Mike did find a job and he loves where he is working now. Granted, the pay is about half (or less) that what he was making before but the atmosphere is GREAT! He is truly happy and this is reflected in his attitude. He doesn’t mind going to work these days. In fact, he rather enjoys going in early. I love that he has found such a pleasant work environment! There are 2 downsides to this job. One, benefits are only provided to those in management positions. Two, it’s retail, which means his hours are often late and his days off may change. Thankfully, they have been giving him the same schedule so that helps me to predict for the next week. Most days he doesn’t get home until 7:45-8:00 p.m, which means he misses dinner. It’s hard for me to get motivated to cook for just me and Skylar knowing that A) She probably won’t eat what I make and B) Mike isn’t the biggest fan of leftovers. So I’ve been eating terribly. In fact, we all have because it’s whatever I can throw together. I’ve also been shopping less due to our finances. I can’t get motivated to make a meal plan. I’ve still been going to hot yoga but I can only go two days a week in the summer because it’s hard to arrange childcare for Skylar. So, this is the unhealthy part.

Basically, we are in an adjustment period trying to figure out what our “new” normal is. I prided myself on the fact that I hadn’t really been stressing out but, when I look back, the stress was always there. I just chose to ignore it but it was there deep down. From past experience, I know full well that my body responds poorly to stress. I do feel like I’ve done a better job of handing it over to the Lord to deal with but I continued to let it eat at me instead of not worrying about it at all. I’m not perfect but I have felt myself growing through this situation.

I’ve always been pretty in-tune with my body. I can notice even the small things and I’ve been feeling “off” for about two weeks now. I thought I was getting sick last week but I bumped up my herbs and it went away. Saturday I felt dizzy and sore. I also felt like my vision was blurry. Sunday, we made an executive decision that the whole family needed rest so we left church after 1st service.

Then, yesterday I woke up with a sore throat. That progressed to chills and a stiff neck. I can tell if my temp is even slightly high at 99. Mine wavered back and forth between 100-101 all day. I felt horrible! I’m not a fan of fever-reducing agents because I know that the fever has to do it’s job to heat up the body and rid itself of whatever is making it sick. But, by 9 p.m. I was done. I popped an Advil PM and headed for bed. I woke up around midnight soaking wet and changed clothes. I’m assuming this meant my fever had broken. It was a restless sleep for the remainder of the night. So far, today, my throat still hurts and my fever is wavering between 99-100. The body aches are better.

Still, I’m just so frustrated that I let myself get sick. I wasn’t taking care of my body and now I’m paying for it. My greatest fear, of course, is that because we are all in this same mode of little sleep, lots of stress, and poor eating habits that we will all get sick. Have I mentioned that we don’t have insurance right now? Good timing, huh? Not that I necessarily run to the doctor but this thing seems like its gonna get worse before it gets better. I pray it doesn’t!

So, that’s what’s been going on with us. If you need me today, you can find me in this filthy house (because mama hasn’t been able to tidy up for 2 days) on the couch. Or the bed. I might just spice it up a bit with a location change.