My health continues a slow decline. Although medication I was prescribed in late August 2023 finally worked to prevent migraines, I caught covid in September.
For a few weeks the only headaches were related to that. And then gradually, they came back until by January I had migraines several days a week. They were far less disabling than before, but that also changed. So I have started to seek medical advice – again. I will make it through this school year, and have taken more days off than in any other year, but the last few teaching weeks were exhausting.
So I didn’t get the classroom/filing cabinets/bookshelves/cupboards as clear as I wanted. I didn’t get parts of the house cleaned or organized even a little bit after spring break. I didn’t get any real traction on the patios or yard. It was colder and grayer than normal for springtime – in part a relief since it meant the classroom wasn’t oppressively warm until almost the very end of the year. And since it was darker, colder, and wetter than normal many plants started their blooms/fruit-setting/growth between 6 and 8 weeks later than normal. The day after the last day of school I did manage to get a covid booster, and that weekend wrote to my doctor to request a change to the migraine medicine…
Of course, that first week after school let out I did very, very little. I did manage to go into the classroom a couple more times and got a little more cleared out – but that meant bringing a lot of things home to sort through (full disclosure: as I type, I have done very little sorting or organizing of school-related materials). And I slept a lot. And the week after that, I made it outside a few times, and started moving things around in the kitchen and a few small corners of the house. The week after that…. I worked 6 days in a row and got the living room and dining room areas “decluttered” and reorganized. It is so nice to walk into a room and know I don’t have to shift things over in order to rest a few minutes.
And the next week…. I spent a lot of time sitting and crocheting. It was lovely to have the space and time for that. On the other hand, the reason I did that was a massive allergic reaction on top of the physical exhaustion (ALL my joints hurt after lifting and moving things the previous week). Apparently, I had pushed myself too hard. I did pull out the fabrics I set aside for the ball in October, and the pattern books – I have a plan! I also deconstructed 2 dresses that didn’t quite fit to get them ready for alterations. Progress…
So this coming week (it’s the penultimate Sunday of July) I have a couple of online workshops I signed up for, and I have set a goal of getting my studio ready to use by Wednesday or Thursday. Today I was able to move a lot of materials out of the studio (and into the hall, and the bedroom, and the library) so I could clean the dog door, move the dog crate out, shift a bookcase over, and finally install a standing desk to use for cutting. Right now it’s a door on large shelf brackets, but if it works okay, I’ll replace it with an adjustable desk (hopefully on casters) and remove the large office desk.
And the week after this, I will be working on sewing, gardening, and putting the materials together for my team at school. I was trying to do them in May, then June (but you know how that turned out!). I promised myself that July would be schoolwork “free” unless I had a moment of inspiration, and it has been marvelous to focus on things for family and myself.
The migraine medicine increase is working much better, although the weather/air pressure makes things a bit harder to maintain. I am feeling stronger and getting a good bit done most days since Thursday (when the laryngitis went away, I also felt significantly more energetic). And I am cautiously optimistic that I will be rested, recovered, and ready well before the kiddos arrive at school in one month and one week.