It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. The main reasons are I haven’t been feeling inspired to write and I’ve been busy with homework from my therapy sessions. As much as I want to inspire others, it does no good if I’m pulling from an empty well. 2021 has been a DOOZY of a year. I’ve come to realize how much the pandemic has affected my family and I. We’ve been together everyday for over a year, I’ve juggled telework and managing my family’s needs, the political environment has been tense, and we’ve experienced collective trauma as a state (Texas – Is this Texas?), country, and world. To add insult to injury, I’ve come down with an insidious virus that has me burning up from the inside. Literally, I have a fever of 103.9 in each ear! The soles of my feet are burning, my body is aching, and I feel overall TERRIBLE. In consideration of all of this, I’m extending myself some self-compassion and grace. I developed a plan to be more self-compassionate as a homework assignment from my therapist. It does me some good to practice self-compassion. I recommend the same for everyone.

I’ve mustered up a little energy to let you know that I’m still here – determined to inspire and share light lessons in the midst of an illness. We’ll see how much I’ll share. I’m so tired, but I suddenly have so much time on my hands and typing does not seem to hurt that much.

I’ve slept most of the day. Though I haven’t exercised since Friday, my FITBIT sports watch has been logging Zone minutes. I got 83 Zone minutes today, 65 yesterday, and a whopping 170 on Friday. Those are pretty significant numbers. Interestingly, FITBIT interprets labored breathing and physical exertion as being in the Zone. When in fact, my body has been working extra hard to just breathe and fight this virus. The corona virus test I took at the Urgent Care Clinic yesterday was negative. I think I’ve had 3 corona virus tests since 2020. In my posts COVID-19 Chronicles: I took the test and COVID-19 Chronicles: Test results are in, I write about an acute case of bronchitis I had last year. In February 2021, I also had a corona virus test as part of the protocol prior to my first colonoscopy. It was also negative.

I’m so thankful, Bryan, my husband, has been taking care of me. I’ve been staying hydrated with coconut water, regular water, tea, and fruit. What are some of your favorite ways to take care of yourself when you’re sick?