Hi my fellow warriors, family and friends new and old!
First off - our love goes out to our friends in Florida & the Carolinas-heck, all of the areas affected by Hurricane IRMA!
The world is with you.
It's been a while since my last post....there has been much to process for our little family! No worries - everyone here is healthy and that is the best thing in the world! Our children grow and grow each day it seems and Clayton and I are too (in other ways). When life gets too cozy, curve balls are a must to keep things interesting, I guess.
It's easy to get overwhelmed by the stress and let my autoimmune condition get the best of me. For those unfamiliar, anyone with an autoimmune condition that has a tremendous stress mounted on them will begin to have immune system problems if steps aren't taken to relieve it. Sickness will mount in the form of colds and flus until you can get back in control and put your stress in check. It's not only important for me but also my family that we spend a few moments every day for ourselves without the thoughts of what might be.
There are strategies we can all utilize when life's situations can get up in your face and shake things up. Stress cannot be avoided, but it can be dealt with in a healthy manner.
Some tips from the National Institute of Mental Health include:
- Recognize the Signs of your body's response to stress, such as difficulty sleeping, increased alcohol and other substance use, being easily angered, feeling depressed, and having low energy.
- Get Regular Exercise. Just 30 minutes per day of walking can help boost your mood and reduce stress.
- Try a Relaxing Activity. Explore stress coping programs, which may incorporate meditation, yoga, tai chi, or other gentle exercises. For some stress-related conditions, these approaches are used in addition to other forms of treatment. Schedule regular times for these and other healthy and relaxing activities.
- Set Goals and Priorities. Decide what must get done and what can wait, and learn to say no to new tasks if they are putting you into overload. Note what you have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you have been unable to do.
A big change for me is not being employed at all this year besides the occasional freelance work....I've always held even a part-time job (usually 2-3) as I raised the older girls and this is a new concept! How exciting and FUN it was to be able to just be a mom for a while. And then this happens--- your partner's position of over five years gets yanked with less than a week's notice..right
around the day after his birthday. Sometimes timing stinks.
Thankfully, with both of us used to living on the edge with no real salary to speak of, we had a nice little cushion in the bank. After the initial panic subsided (and let me assure you - we are talking a few days), we tried to enjoy a little vacation time. It has been literally years since we've enjoyed even a weekend off together and even with the arrival of Finn, Clayton was granted three days off of work only. Such is the life of the hourly employed.
This happened August 1st and it is now mid-September. We couldn't afford to spend too much while we wait for our opportunities to reveal themselves, so we chose to enjoy the scenery around the area we live. Hiking seemed to revive us and open our minds to big changes.
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Chica, Finn and I
Lost Cabin Trail, Black Hills, South Dakota
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Clayton has secured a temporary position through a Veterans program and we are so grateful for that. It is, however, significantly less an hour than what we are used to making and he has an hour commute each work day. We have all switched over to days....that's a big change. We always have enjoyed operating on a schedule that less people take. We loved operating in the minority. Now we are a weekday family. I have lost my yoga and swimming partner for the time being. We get to swim together once a week - sometimes less due to our new schedule.
There are positives that we have found with this scenario, however. We really had to sit down, examine and be open about things we really want. We looked at what we thought of ourselves, see how we saw ourselves in the mirror...our qualities, our experiences. We actually used this as yet another way to learn more about each other and somehow I think we appreciate the other even more....if that was possible! This was another instance that we were each other's solid foundation in another one of life's lovely whirlwinds.
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| My person :) |
We both have been offered job opportunities and we are carefully deciding if that is the direction we are thinking is best for us and our family. Some of my fellow Hashi warriors have reached out to me and I might be joining up with them on a little business venture....if I pull the trigger, you'll be hearing about it for sure!
Hiking has been a great tool for me...I feel grounded, stronger, get fresh air and our girls really love being in the wilderness. It's great for all of us! We also have connected with friends with hiking - it's been a win/win.
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Hiking a National Park a few hours
away from where we grew up.
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| Badlands National Park, South Dakota |
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| Black Hills, South Dakota |
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| Mommy & Me yoga at home |
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| Hiking the Badlands with my pal Amy |
Until next time!
Blessings!
Stay strong, my friends!
