Life has felt very full for the last year so I recently have begun setting a theme for each month and building some goals around that theme. The idea is to focus on a few related projects and actually get something done rather than have a long to-do list with little actually finished.

It started in August when the theme was built around whether or not to keep or trade in my old car. After weighing the evidence, I ultimately traded in the nerdmobile and have been happily zipping around, living with that decision in a new car I’m calling White Lightning.

The September theme has been far more complex as it has dealt with getting my health in order. The most important part of this has been some doctor appointments as well as researching what a new and improved anti inflammatory diet needs to look like. My sluggish thyroid is chugging along with help from a prescription medicine but I think a holistic approach to health and wellness will be the only route to actually feeling good since I’m feeling cruddy even though the labs are fine. 

The thyroid is a notorious pain to adjust. I know people who say they have felt great for twenty years and others who say they’ve spent twenty years struggling with exhaustion and weight gain. These last three years have been pretty awful and I hope to not continue struggling forever. 

Despite my best laid plans for a road to better health, I managed to pick up bronchitis somewhere along the way. I wrote this missive from what feels like my death bed even though I’m sure the sack full of medicine I brought home will pull me out of it soon. 

I tell you all of this, not for pity, but to use myself as an example. 

An example of what, I’m not yet sure! Ha! 

We plan and work so hard to do the right thing, to take care of ourselves and to accomplish our goals but there are times that it feels like we just can’t get ahead. It sucks, it really does.

But imagine how bad things would be if we didn’t try at all. We must keep trying to do what’s right and to fight the good fight. 

The bronchitis will pass. The body aches will be a memory in a few days. This discouraging period will build character and make me better appreciate the good days.

In a two hour span yesterday I was diagnosed with bronchitis, hit a squirrel, ran my new white car through fresh tar (for about the 39th time in a month) and had such a coughing fit in the local grocery store, I had to leave without the oranges I needed. This was particularly demoralizing as everyone in the store and people in the parking lot turned to stare.

And then, at some point I looked in the mirror to notice a little patch of something that looked like dried blood at the corner of my mouth. It was not blood. It was a little bit of dried blueberry juice from the pancake I had for breakfast. How many people did I see before noticing this? I really don’t know.

For the mishaps, there were good things too. My parents picked up my oranges. My boss told me to take care and get some rest. A woman at the doctors’ office recognized how bad I felt and had me go first in line to check out. I don’t know who she was but I was beyond grateful. Plus, I got to sleep away the afternoon in a cozy bed. 

See? Things aren’t so bad. I’ll be better again soon and back to adventuring and unlocking the mysteries of my thyroid. And someday, I’ll be brave enough to return to the grocery store where I made such a scene!! Meanwhile, I’ll check the mirror before going out in public after eating blueberry pancakes! 

By the way, next month’s goal will revolve around Autumn activities – both adventures and work around the yard! Stay tuned!