Goodbye Winter, hello Spring.

Today is the last day of Winter. This makes me happy. Very happy.

Every year I excitedly anticipate the arrival of Winter.  I lovingly look at my winter clothing and can not wait to wear it. Buy by about one month in I am craving sunshine and warmth and a lack of umpteen dozen layers. And coat. And scarf. And long boots.  And the need to put on and take off said layers each time I go form outdoors to indoors and back again, which as a Kinder teacher can be a lot.

Here in the hills Winter can be beautiful.  Mist and cloud rolling in enveloping the tall gum trees.  The chance to rug up and walk briskly to a local cafe to sit in warmth with food and drink. The ever present glass of red wine and heart warming winter cooking.

But it also brings with it a lack of sun, and no sun means no vitamin D.  I like the sun,  I need the vitamin D. It makes me happy.  It helps my bones to not hurt, and in monitored doses it makes me look less pasty.

There has been a definite lack of sunshine this Winter.  There has been a lot of rain here in Victoria… and while I am among the first to welcome the rain and it’s reservoir filling ways, the grey clouds have been hanging heavily overhead for too long. Spring will be a very welcome addition to the year, that’s for sure.

Spring brings warmth and the promise of sun kissed days to come.  I begin to lean more towards white wine. Clothes that have been tucked away come back to mind.  Sandals and thongs (flip flops not underwear) come out and so do sun hats.  I begin to think about outdoor gatherings with friends… and the days seem lighter.

The sun makes me happy.  So does it’s warmth.  It lifts my spirit.  So Spring, nice to see you, put your feet up and stay a while xxx

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Tags: arthritis, Clothes, freindship, weather, wellbeing

Dear wheat, so long… and thanks for the memories.

Tonight I am tired, sore, aching.  I have not felt this way for some time.  My knees are stiff, and going for a run today was an exhausting and rather short experience.

I have rheumatoid arthritis.  Earlier this year my blogging and tweeting friend Thea discovered that not eating wheat made a difference to pain levels.  I gave it a go, and after a few days I felt so much better… much less pain, much more mobility.  I went from popping panadol and nurofen almost daily to just about never.  But  I fell off the wheat free wagon.  I had a tiny piece of a date scone, and some naan bread… OK I had naan bread two days running.   I can feel the difference.  I am tired, a tiredness that comes from pain and stiff joints.  I lulled myself into a false sense of security.

I will not do this again.  I’m lucky, I can control the disease I have with medication and by not eating wheat.  Simple.  So, dear self… just keep doing those things and no one will get hurt? OK.

So, when I have slept, been to work, and the wheat has been removed from my system, I’ll stop this self inflicted pity party and get on with things.

Wheat, I love you.  But you don’t love me.  So bye.

Image source

Tags: arthritis

I. Am. Exhausted.

Well, it’s been a long time between posts.  A very long time.  It’s not that I don’t want to blog, I do, I really, really, do.  It’s just I don’t have time, or energy.  I am, for all intents and purposes working full time at the moment and studying.

I have been sick, and still am not well, but the chance of just resting up are slim to none really. Having rheumatoid arthritis means that often if I do get a cold, it take me longer to recover, my immune system not being what it should be.  Again, the solution is rest… pffft.

I have not been for a run for over two weeks, everything hurts.   I have a blocked nose, my ears ache, my head hurts.

I am exhausted. All. The. Time.

I have to do 2 assignments for a uni course I don’t really want to do, but due to a difference in what deems you as a qualified teacher BETWEEN STATES OF THE SAME COUNTRY I have to.  I could just quit my job and start working in a primary school, but I want to keep teaching kinder.  I could take leave without pay and do the practical component in 4 weeks straight, but then there would be no income for a month… ah, nope, not an option.

It’s the start of the school year still, and I have a class of children who are still settling in, some well, others less so.  On Friday I was, for the first time in many, many years at a loss as to what I should do with a class of over tired children, unfamiliar relief staff, and myself having had no lunch break… what I wanted to do was sit on the mat and cry really.  Not an option.

I remained at work long after my required time trying to come up with solutions for the less settled children, but really what they need is a teacher with enough energy to focus just on them.  Which, by the middle of the year I will be, with  the uni work behind me.

So really, it will be OK.  This will pass… life will resume to it’s former rhythm. This I know, and it’s what keeps me going.

So now, I’ll take a breath, wipe the self pitying tears, and get on with it.

Or, as my darling Best Pam says, I’ll build a bridge and get over myself.

Tags: arthritis, build a bridge, school