Joys for the Week Ending February 14th

 Valentines Day. A day to celebrate love. I think we should celebrate love every day. I also think we should celebrate joys every day. So here we go!

I received my second covid vaccine. Did I have side effects? Yes. Was it awful? Yes. But..... I knew it was temporary and the protection it provides me, those around me, and especially Mark is well worth it. 

My Aunt Brenda passed away this week. While we are grieving here, she didn’t suffer long, and peacefully passed with her family there. She joins her husband and other sister brother and brothers in law in heaven and they are singing in beautiful harmony! My cousins have decided to do a graveside ceremony this summer on their wedding anniversary. What a beautiful idea to celebrate their many years of marriage. 

It’s February break this week and I have nothing planned and that brings me joy!

#Findyourjoy

Joys for the week ending February 7th

 Wow, I cannot believe it is February already! About two weeks ago, it seemed January was crawling, but now it's February!!!! It's very cold and snowy, but we are one step closer to Spring! 

Here's my joys for the week.

1. There were two times when I was driving to school, that I saw a peek of the sunrise! Just a little bit of light, but these days are getting longer!

2. It's also light past 5:00pm now!!! Longer days means Spring is coming.

3. I had the privilege to attend a dear friend's memorial service. We were social distanced in the church and masked. She was an incredible woman who fought cancer with grace and dignity. She was kind, put others before herself, and had incredible faith in God. I love you Doris and now you are whole again. 

4. Mark is doing better every day. Now to wait until all of the radiation is cleared from his body and he will be eligible for the vaccine. 

Look for those joys, they are there! Even in the midst of losing my friend, I find joy in the legacy she has left with her family and the goodness she spread while here on earth. I can only hope to do the same. 

#Findyourjoy

Joys for the week ending January 24th and January 31

 As you can see, it was a very busy week because I didn't post last Sunday. Both weeks have had many joys.

Here they are:

Mark had his big dose of radiation for his thyroid cancer and had his scan. HE IS ALL CLEAR!!!!

We added a new member to the family.... Remington!  He is a German Shorthair Pointer just like Jaeger. He is doing really well with potty training, and Jaeger is getting used to him!

My neuropathy has been crazy with these cold days, but it will be warming up and I know how to deal with it when it flares up. I have to rest. That isn't always easy, but necessary, so I do it.

I'm so thankful for Mark and Nate's help when I need it. 

Have a great week..... You have the choice to find joy or not, but it's always better if you do!

#Findyourjoy

Joys for the week ending January 17th

 Wow! We are more than half way through January!  That seems crazy! The first semester is almost done, and I've learned a lot about remote and hybrid learning. I will be making some changes to next semester for sure. 

Mark started his treatment this week. I'm so proud of him. This diet he is on is hard.... really hard. It also wreaks havoc on his body which they said is normal and that is a good sign that he will be able to sail through the last part of this and be done! He has his big dose on Wednesday. Then we have to stay distant from him a little. We can be in the same room, just not sitting next to him for hours on end. I can't sleep with him for a week. He's so strong even in his hard moments like he had this week. 

I received my first Covid vaccine, so did Nate. My parents have also received theirs, so everyone that is consistently around Mark is on their way to being fully vaccinated which makes me feel good because we are not sure when he will be able to be vaccinated.  

Moving forward one step at a time.

Joys in a nutshell for this week

1. Mark- he is strong and resilient

2.  The doctors at Roswell and all of Mark's other doctors who are helping him. 

Purging first then onto the Joys

 Warning! I literally need to write down my feelings and get them all out before I can list my joys. If you need to.... skip to the bottom where my joys are (they are in the bold)!

This was a HARD week. I hit a wall. I'm super frustrated over quite a bit. Most I cannot control, so I need to get rid of it. Second warning.... skip if you only want to see the Joys!

I am frustrated with teaching in this pandemic. I know I'm not the only one at all... but I was doing well. We all have bad teaching days, but the kids are really restless and well... being Middle Schoolers! Except... many of them are now just moody and angry because their parents are telling them things like... Don't worry about your exploratory classes... they don't count anyway. I knew that this perception has been out there my whole career, but THAT HURT!!! This is my passion and my love and what if I said that about your passion and love?  I know you are frustrated.... but hurting others is not the way to make you feel better, and now you are teaching your kid that. Knock it Off! You are the adult. All classes are important. 

Unfortunately this is happening with some of my colleagues as well. I knew that perception was always out there too, but most kept quiet about it until now. They don't always verbalize it(sometimes they do though), but their actions speak way louder than words. I feel like I'm not being heard at all some days.  

I know this will end, but this week it was hard. I wasn't even in school for most of the week because my sciatic nerve decided it was time to flare up(probably from my frustration) and I couldn't do very much. Again frustrated. I just decided it was time to take care of me. I'm super fortunate to have my dear friend and colleague Donna teaching with me, because I couldn't do this without her. 

My hip is back in, and I'm just sore, and doing all the things I should to prevent it from going out again. 

The events at the Capitol this week were sad and crazy. All I have to say is that I'm glad Facebook has a snooze feature. People I know from liberals to conservatives have truly shocked me. No matter how frustrated and upset we are... being Nasty or mean or accusatory, or insulting to another human should not be your first choice to make you feel better. 

Okay... now I am feeling better so on to my Joys for the week.

Yes amongst all of that I had Joys.

Mark is doing well on his no iodine diet. It is hard and he misses dairy the most, but I'm so proud of him for being so strong.  

We have had sunshine in the last two days... that makes a HUGE difference in how we feel. Bring on the vitamin D!

And lastly.... I have a job, a home, food on my table, and companionship.... I am truly blessed.

#Findyourjoy

Joy and Blessings Jar online

 I'm moving my Joy and Blessings jar online. Last year I wrote them on a slip every Sunday evening but now I'm going to do them here. I had someone ask me how I remembered every week. I simply picked another thing we have to do weekly and did it then. Every week, we have to fill Mark's pill case. It's quite extensive just because he has to take things at certain times and in certain orders. So after that task was done, I would do the slip. So, here I am, pill case is done, and I'm ready to do my first online Joy and Blessing Jar.

My joy this last week: A wonderful quiet week that was purposeful. We rang in the new year with a nice dinner at home. We made it through 2020 and looking forward to 2021.

This week.... back to school, and Mark has started his diet for Iodine radiation therapy. This diet is no joke. It's hard. No iodine anything. No salt. No dairy. No seafood. I did a lot of research, and shopped very purposefully this week. We will make it through this, then after this treatment..... our new puppy will come to live with us, and Mark can get his thyroid medication regulated so he's feeling better. 

Have a great week and #Findyourjoy

Purpose

 I spent an hour or so journaling about 2020 and setting some intentions for 2021. Basically, what came out of my time was that 2020 was a year of further learning for me. I almost feel that what has transpired in mine and Mark's life since the end of 2015 truly prepared us for 2020. Yes, things were scary, things were uncertain, but that is the road we have walked prior to this year. We learned to walk in Joy. So, we were prepared to find joy in this last year too. As I wrote about the things that have happened, there have been way more good things than bad for us. 2020 wasn't without struggles, but constantly looking for and finding joy has put the good things in the forefront of my mind.  2021 will start with treatment for Mark. He has to start his no iodine diet the 2nd(so we both will, as that is what you do for those you love). He goes off his thyroid med for the month as well(that part worries me more as I'm not sure how his body will react), but.... once he is done, he sees the endocrinologist and they will start working on the right dosage of medication .... and our new puppy Remington will be ready to live with us! 

2020 brought the seizure that found Mark's thyroid issue, which turned into surgery, which had complications along the way all while going to multiple doctors and hospitals during Covid. It was scary and unnerving but necessary to get where we are today. Forced to eat differently for a solid month which might just set us up for success since it takes a month for a habit to form. 

My biggest take-away from 2020 and the word I kept coming back to.... PURPOSE! 

While working from home from March through August, I noticed that everything I did began to have purpose. I planned lessons with purpose, I grocery shopped with purpose because I didn't want to make multiple trips to the store, I spent a lot of purposeful time reading, sipping coffee on my deck, doing yoga on my deck, sitting around the campfire, talking to my neighbors, re-imagining Halloween, buying purposeful Christmas gifts, making sure I budgeted purposefully so I could help out local businesses. I feel really good about all of that, and that gives me JOY!

So, my 2021 will be lived with purpose. I will find purpose in the things I choose to do, because that is what gives me joy. 

Watch for a weekly blog as I go on this journey. I'm simply moving my Joy Jar to online. 

Happy New Year and #Findyourjoy