Life Goes on and Old Routines Return

As this brief background has been laid out, I started to learn more about nutrition and how to eat better.  A little bit of different reading material now.  As the inflammation decreased, the pain decreased, my hands and feet returned to normal, and life moved on.  I wasn’t on any type of medication except for an occasional Advil.  All is good…hmmm.

Isn’t it interesting how quickly we can get back into our old patterns?  Other than I was doing a better job with our family nutrition, I was still working full time, the kids were growing up, they were involved in competitive sports now, and we had farm animals.  I mean big farm animals: pigs, lambs, dairy heifers and calves, and then goats.  That meant we were full into county fairs, state fairs, and everything it takes to get the animals ready for that time.  LOVED IT!!!  It was a way our family spent time together.  We worked together, we fed the animals together, we shared so many experiences which have given our kids life skills and memories that will last a life time.  Oh yes, and there was also football, basketball for both kids, and volleyball - practices and games.  Did I mention the fact that my husband’s job was on the business side of athletics?  That meant he had football, basketball (men and women), and volleyball games too.  Often times the games, bowl games etc. etc. were family affairs although the kids and I got to play while my husband had to work.   

You can guess, however,…the focus once again became what everyone else needed, and I began to slip into some of the old routines. 

Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 36?!

At age 36, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. It started in my feet later spreading to my hands.  God has an interesting way of getting my attention once again… I wasn’t taking care of myself.  That episode lasted about 4 months where I paid more attention to my body, what I was eating and getting some exercise (besides running after kids).

The tough thing about paying attention to my body and what it liked and didn’t like was this was all new to me.  I didn’t have a clue what that meant. Listen to my body?  What was I suppose to feel?  What were the specifics?  Really?  I wasn’t raised knowing about those types of things.  Guess now’s my time to learn. 

One of the side effects was I was extremely tired.  How do you take care of two children ages 6 and 9 who are full of energy and a husband that can go full speed all day?  I was picturing myself being an invalid and being a burden on my family.  I’m use to waking up with my To Do list and getting everything done before going to bed at night.  Now I have to take a nap.  What?!  The physical and emotional challenges were intertwined.  Fortunately, I have the most amazing friend, partner, and soul mate as a husband.  He was an encourager, took over many things that I couldn’t continue doing for awhile, and kept up a positive attitude for all of us.  The kids were the nurturers now too.  WOW!

One day a week and one weekend day, I would go to a therapy pool.  The water was warm, I went through the exercises my PT had given me, and did feel better afterwards as my body was getting stronger and the inflammation was decreasing.  My challenge was not in the exercises, it was being there with other women – much older – who had deformed feet and hands and could barely walk.  I was 36!  Is this what I had ahead of me?