Chicago Record: Broken

Thanks to the polar vortex, currently in Chicago, it is -16° F degrees outside, with a wind chill factor that makes it feel like it’s -42° F.

Today, Chicago Public Schools are closed. That’s all but unheard of in a city where they bust out the salt and plows at the first sight of snowflakes. Many people are missing work today because some of the public transportation trains aren’t functional in this weather. Heck, even our local YMCA is closed! (No gym for Adam and me today.) The weather has actually broken all of this city’s previous records for cold. It snowed for 3 days straight, but now that it’s actually at its coldest, the sun is shining brightly. I’m definitely not complaining about that. It just deceptively looks like a good idea to go outside.(It’s not. You can get frostbite from being outside for 10 minutes!)

Sounding like a broken record… The Whole 30

Adam and I have been doing well on the Whole 30. I can’t believe that it’s only 1/6. How is that possible? It feels like we’ve been on this diet for-ev-er, and not just 6 days. There were 2 things that made it really tough to stay on track during the last week – but I am really proud of Adam and myself for staying true to our course.

First, we received a box of chocolate-covered strawberries from Sherrie’s Berries. Fortunately, we were able to give them to Adam’s folks, and they didn’t go to waste. Receiving chocolate strawberries and not eating them felt wrong. On the one hand, I felt a moral imperative to eat them because they were a present from my parents, and I *love* chocolate strawberries. On the other hand, I wanted to maintain integrity to the diet because I’m trying to help my blood pressure so that we can get pregnant sometime soon. Apparently, I’m really dedicated to this kid.

It was even harder to keep the diet on Saturday night when we went out to Chuck’s BBQ for a friend’s birthday. I didn’t have a hard time with avoiding the 120 beers on tap, but the pervasive smell of sweet BBQ sauce made my brain want to go splodey. Appetizers were ordered: BBQ nachos and cheesesticks. The nachos smelled so good, I actually whimpered. Surprisingly, I didn’t care about the cheesesticks. Fortunately, there were a few dishes on the menu that were paleo-friendly. Adam got the roasted chicken with salad and I got cochinita pibil with cajun green beans and salad. Were they delicious dishes? Yes. Did it make it any easier to not think about the plates of BBQ nachos on the table? Not even kind of. Thus, I think I’m going to try not to go to anymore restaurants this month. The temptation is just too intense.

We haven’t kept true to the meal planning chart that I made because we’ve made food as we’ve felt like it. We also managed to source some ingredients at Trader Joe’s that we weren’t expecting to be able to find, so we got to try some recipes for which I hadn’t planned. BTW, if you’re curious, Applegate Organic Beef Hot Dogs are totally yummy, and Paleo Parents recipe for “Not Beenie Weenies” is totally good with a little mustard.

Stationary Bike Personal Record: Broken

The plan of doing 45 minutes a day of cardio may have been a bit lofty. Ok, so it was totally unrealistic… but good things have come from trying to achieve that goal.

Last week, we went to the gym 5 times. One of those days, I had to quit 20 minutes in because I was so fatigued, but I hit 45 minutes the other days. As for breaking my biking record: in the past, I have, at the most, been able to use the stationary bike to go 6 miles in ~30 minutes. On Thursday of last week, I biked for 30 minutes and made it 6.7 miles! Sure, it’s only another seven tenths of a mile, but it shows me that I’m getting stronger and faster. It encourages me to keep going.

Just for the record…

As for overall health, things have been really wonky this past week. Monday, I was too fatigued to keep going after 20 minutes at the gym. Thursday, I was so fatigued from MS that when I woke up, I couldn’t physically get out of bed until 2:30 p.m. (And *WOW* did I have to pee when I finally managed to move.) I felt better after lunch, though, so I still did 45 minutes at the gym that day. I felt good for a few days, but then yesterday, out of nowhere, I had a ton of seizures.

I really hate the rare occasions when I don’t have an aura and just spontaneously have seizures. I actually fell yesterday. That hasn’t happened in a long time. I only know this because today, my left knee and hip are hurting, and I have a vague recollection of waking up on the floor.

So, there was no gym this weekend, and there won’t be any today. Life goes on. At least, I’m doing the best I can. Maybe I’ll do some yoga here at home.

Spinning round and round…

I’ve been really struggling to not relapse into depression recently. It’s sometimes very tough work battling irrational thoughts.

My mom unintentionally pushed one of my FML (fuck my life) buttons hardcore a few days ago by sending me a job posting and suggesting that I apply. We talked, and I understand that she was only suggesting that I apply for the job because she was thinking how lucky the company would be to have me on board, but her explanation didn’t change the fact that being sent a job opening and suggestion to apply highlighted the facts that I am both disabled and am not working.

One of the things I really devoted myself to learning with my therapist last year was finding my worth without employment. She consistently made me acknowledge the fact that having a job doesn’t give a person any more or less worth to the world. I worked hard to be able to say and believe that my worth as a person exists in the fact that we are each unique expressions of God that can only be experienced for a limited time. Even a clone wouldn’t be the same me.

I think one of the hardest things that I’ve had to accept in the last several years is that all of the planning in the world doesn’t really matter when reality smacks you in the face with an impediment. What matters is how you react to the impediment. What matters is resilience.

I have a hard time coping with the reality of not only not being employed, but also not actually being employable. On the rare, wonderful days when I feel well, I irrationally feel like I’m stealing… like I should magically have a job to go to… as though I should only have financial support if I’m feeling bad, which is ridiculous, because with MS, I *am* genuinely always ill. On the days when I feel particularly bad, I am intensely grateful to not have the added responsibility of a job to deal with.

When confronted with thoughts about employment, I immediately flash back to the countless lectures Mom and Dad gave me and my brother while we were growing up about the importance of personal financial responsibility, stability, and independence from others… and I feel deep shame that I haven’t figured out a way to be the independent, self-sufficient woman that my parents wanted me to be, and who I aspired to be, despite my health complications. Not to mention the promise I made myself after my first husband gutted our bank account when he left – which was that I would never be dependent on anyone ever again. That was my whole reason for going to law school. Oops. Guess that didn’t exactly work out.

It only complicates things for me emotionally when friends-of-friends do any of the following: 1.) Ask me what I do for a living 2.) Go on political rants about makers and takers 3.)Talk about how their relative with MS works just fine. Nevermind the fact that I have seizures or that MS is different for everyone who has it. All 3 of these things have happened in the last 3 days.

Living with intense shame is miserable. There’s only 2 ways to fix it: either live in concert with your integrity (which is not an option here) or change your attitude. Changing your personal views about something that previously was such an integral part of your identity isn’t easy. It takes time, and there are always relapses to your old way of thinking that you have to fix.

So, I’m doing what I can. I’m staying busy. I’m trying to focus on things I can do, rather than what I can’t. I’m looking to the future with hope.

And my inner-juke box is playing Are You Satisfied? by Marina and the Diamonds on repeat.