A New Normal

Having a routine gets me through the week on budget and with minimal stress. 

Life transitions modify the routine, sometimes for a season and sometimes for good.  Short term activities like seasonal sports or long training/work hours for a particular project will modify the routine for a season.  Most of the time, these seasonal transitions are known in advance.  For example, when I sign my kid up for an art class or sport, I usually know the event dates and times.  I put them on my calendar so that we can plan around them.

In May of last year, a wrench was thrown in my routine that may last the rest of my life.  Ten months later, I am still attempting to adjust.  In October, I mentioned that I have been diagnosed with RheumatoidArthritis and I gave a bunch of medical information on the situation. 

Since the October post, it has been discovered that one of my medications was causing the stomach sensitivity.  I no longer have to worry about whether my food will resurface because that medication has been removed from the regimen.

What I am still struggling with is rest.  While I have always required a fair amount of sleep, I have also always had plenty of energy.  It was common for me to have a variety of activities and to do them all well. 

I remember when I was in grad school, the pastor who used to attend our Cru group in college came to Colorado for a conference.  We got together for dinner as his conference was just a few blocks from campus.  He asked me what I was up to and we discussed school and work.  Then he said, “What else are you doing?” and we talked about mentoring students, Bible Study, church.  Then he asked, “What else are you doing?” I said, “Isn’t that enough?”  And he said, ‘I know you.  You have other things on your plate.”  Well, that was true.  I had energy to keep ahead of all the activities and do them well.

The activities had to be cut back when my son moved in, as might be expected.  But I still had enough energy to keep up with the crazy that parenting and trauma throw in the mix.

Over the last couple of years, I have had more pain and required more rest.  Since discovering that the pain was related to RA, I have been actively finding ways to help my body function as well as possible. 

I find that I need to sit down more often and rest my legs.  My ankles become painful and swollen if I sit too much without movement and they become painful if I stand on hard surfaces too much.  Supportive shoes help enormously.  (Unfortunately, I haven’t found a good pair of supportive dress shoes yet.  Brand recommendations are welcome.  My ankles cannot handle heels so they must be flats.)  I’ve researched anti-gravity mats for the kitchen.  I think I am getting close to making a decision there. 

The biggest change is the volume of sleep I need.  I used to be able to get by on 8 hours of sleep, while 9 or 10 were a nice luxury.  Now I really need 9-10 hours of sleep a night to function well.  If I have days where my sleep cycle is broken for more than 30 minutes (such as night work) or where I cannot get at least 9 hours of sleep, I have to schedule in rest days.

In the not too distant past, I could have done a full week of training with short hours of sleep, gone to bed early on Friday night, and been ready to run around on Saturday with energy. 

This week I had a full week of training with short hours of sleep (about 7 hours a night).  I was in bed by 9 PM on Friday.  I got up about 7:30 AM on today, got my son situated and out the door to his class, and went right back to bed by 8:30.  I got up around 2:30 PM.  I accomplished only helping my son clean his room, warming up leftovers for dinner, and a very slow (painful) grocery shopping trip for the week’s produce.  Back in bed before 9 PM.

I’ll probably have to take a nap tomorrow.

Factoring in rest days that I can use to sleep feels disruptive to the rest of what I want to do in life – like spend time with people and be active.  It really just means that I have to be more intentional in how I spend time.  Taking care of me requires rest.  Spending time with other people can be planned in a way that allows rest and is intentional. 

So, while the newest “normal” in my routine has to include a lot more down time and significantly more sleep, it also has afforded me the ability to have more meaningful time with those around me…. Including my super-cute poochy who thinks that mama’s rest time on the couch is intended for throwing balls and playing tug.... Well, why not?!  I have to play sometime.