Since I started this blog a few years ago, I’ve never been shy here about life happening. Life happens all the time. To pretend that things aren’t happening that can affect our debt free journey would be very naive. And while I try to take it in stride, I’m aware that when I get overloaded, I need to cut back on things. Sadly, updating the blog tends to be the first in that long list.
So… what’s the point of all that. The point is, I haven’t been here since the beginning of May, and here’s why.
May
Before May even started, I knew it was going to be a hectic month. Three kids in soccer, practices 4 nights a week, and games on Tuesdays and Saturdays, things get crazy. There was also three field trips, an orthodontic appointment, and my oldest also had 4 concerts throughout the month.
But on the first of the month, my Bookworm received a concussion while playing a make-up soccer game. It was the second game of his season; we had an exceptionally wet April, and many of his games were rescheduled. This particular game, I had gotten to the fields late because Lady Bug also had a soccer game that day, on the other end of town, and we had arrived at his game just at the end of the third quarter. I should say I was lucky enough to witness it at the start of the fourth quarter, but what kind of luck is that?
From that moment on, the rest of our month changed. He was not allowed back on the soccer field until he was cleared by his doctor. He missed two weeks of school, and when he went back he was under orders for modified school days and classwork since the fluorescent lights and screens were a huge trigger for his headaches. And I wasn’t allowed to give him any medication for his pain because his headaches were his brain’s way of saying he was getting too much stimulation. He was not allowed to be in the chorus or band rooms during practice, due to the noise, and you can forget about his concerts. Everything he worked so hard for all year, was gone in an instant.
By the way, his doctor didn’t clear him as healed until August. So camp for marching band in July was no longer an option either. It was very hard to see him be so excited about things he worked hard for, tried out for, practiced hard for, and only to not be able to go through with them.
June
When June came around, the kids still had school for a few weeks. I know some schools have later release dates like this, but for our area it’s a tad weird. School starts in mid-August and ends at the very beginning of June. It was mid June before the kids were out of school, and we got right into the summer festivities of attending birthday parties, and a short trip to the beach, along with a trip to see Zac Brown Band… just the Hubs and I.
Bookworm started his orthodontic treatments, and we also took time to go visit my sister, and help her prepare for her first child. I’m happy to report that my first niece arrived in late June!
Since Bookworm appeared to be on the mend by the end of the month, I had every intention of starting up my blog again in July.
July
Not even a week into July, I found out someone very close to me has stage 3 breast cancer. I won’t lie… it was rough. Very rough. I hit what I’m calling, for lack of better wording, as a black haze. Very close to a depressive state. Maybe it was, I simply don’t know. What I do know is that I don’t remember much of the entire month. A few days stand out to me, but most of the month is gone. For that reason, I can’t say much about what we did in July.
So straight into August we go.
August
When the calendar switched to the first full week of August, I don’t know what happened. Something in me decided that it was time to “wake up” so to speak. I’m not proclaiming that I’m on top of things, because compared to some, I am not by any means. But I’m in a better state than I was in July, and am ready to go about things.
The second week of August our family went to Hershey Park on a three day vacation that we paid for in cash, and the following week school & the fall soccer season started. Not even a full week into school, and my kids were home again while the district closed for mold remediation. This wasn’t unusual for this year as there were many schools that closed for the same reasons. Back in July, our area received well over a foot of rain, and since it was summer time, it went unnoticed for a bit within some of the buildings. So just like that, the kids were home again for almost two weeks.
September
Now September is where I tried to get back into the swing of things. Having the kids back in school again is helping, but our schedule still changes day to day. Bookworm has decided to not to soccer this fall, with good reason, so he’s in a Musical Theater dance class. Lady Bug is also in a tumbling class, and both are loving the change of pace. Monkey on the other hand, is still in soccer. I won’t lie, I really like being on the fields only 3 days a week rather than 8 days a week, and only having 1 game each weekend is a dream! But there’s a smidgen of me that misses it. A very small smidgen.
In the mean time… there’s a lot of things I’d like to get you all updated on, and a lot of questions you all sent in that I need to answer! And while it seems like there’s a backlog of work, I’m loving it! I’m loving the change of pace for now.
I’m so excited to get back into this and help keep you all updated, and most of all, show you all that it’s okay to get off track at times. What’s important is that you get back on your feet, and continue the journey.
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