Gonna be a Crazy Month!

Ever since I quit working . . . OK, let's stop right there. Quit working just sounds so . . I don't know, like I just decided one day that I didn't want to work. How do I say that I stopped working because I was hurting all the time? That's pretty wordy. Now that I'm approaching 50 (but still only 48!), I could say I retired. I don't like any of those. Let's try again.

Ever since I left the practice of medicine due to illness (wordy, but precise), I've tried to keep life a little more simple. It's hard to make firm plans when I don't know what kind of pain I'm likely to have on any given day. Homeschooling was a godsend for us. We didn't have to work with the school's schedule; we made plans that worked for us. Even when Wild Man joined choir as well as band, it was just a few extra concerts. I've missed the occasional concert over the years, but the kids are understanding.

The next month, though, is just ridiculous. We have graduation, dance recital, graduation party, going home dinner, my parents visiting, and I'm sure a few other things. Somehow, I have to remember to breathe. 

Literally breathe. Meditation is one of the things that I do almost every day. When I have a bad migraine, my meditation is short. Otherwise, I do about 20-30 minutes of meditation and prayer. I start with the Lord's Prayer, then the Gloria Patri, then the Jesus Prayer for several repetitions and then everything backward. Then I just chat with God. Then I meditate on a piece of scripture or a prayer.

Other than that, I am going to keep anything extraneous out of our lives. I'm going to cook simple things. I'll make some casseroles or multi-day meals. And I'll give myself some grace when the house is a mess or things don't get done because we're busy or tired or I'm headache-y.

This is a time for family and celebration. It's not a time for stress or perfectionism. We're going to love each other in spite of migraines and deadlines like God tells us to.