Making Time For You

When I was young I thought “Spa Days” were something only the very wealthy did. The idea was beyond me – unattainable. I didn’t even spend much time beyond looking at the what ~ I should have been looking at the why. Making time for yourself to refresh, rejuvenate, relax, and renew your body and spirit are important. It may not be at a fancy salon, it can be in your own backyard, or in a small basin filled with grocery store Epsom salts and lemon slices. A long bath with the lights out, quiet music in the background, an at-home DIY scrub, massage, or mani/pedi can make a huge difference in your stress levels.

Rejuvenation ~ Before And After

As some of my readers know – my place to reconnect is in the mountains. That is where the quaking Aspens whisper their peace to me and the lapping water on the lake shore calms my spirit, while the brilliant night sky lulls me to sleep. This is how I usually refresh my soul.

How It Started Vs. How It’s Going

I was MIA for a while, but while I was gone, you were not forgotten. I needed rest; I needed time away to heal myself. I began this blog because I was hit by a drunk driver a little more than three and a half years ago. I have spent that time trying to recover my pre-accident functionality. I began the blog in a state of despair because I believed that I may never get back to who I was before and this was just the beginning of the end. I wanted the blog to be a legacy I left for my children – a collection of the things I had forgotten to say. That was how it started – that’s not how it’s going.

Your “New Normal”

I’ve struggled over each hurdle with fierce determination. It started with learning to walk again with the world spinning in every direction around me. Then there was vestibular therapy. Physical therapy followed, then occupational therapy, then speech therapy, then neuropsychological therapy and finally vision therapy. At each stage I would get to a point at which the therapist would say the same two dreaded words that propelled me onto the next hurdle in an effort to never give up. Near the end of our time together, when they thought they couldn’t help me any further, each would invariably inform me that perhaps I should “get used to” or “come to terms with” my “new normal.”

Nope. Not doing it. I refused a “new normal.” I wanted ME back.

So when my vision therapist said those words in December I realized that there was no additional therapy to help me progress. I needed something different – something drastic. I did what I always do, I began to research. What else was out there that could possibly repair my brain? I read about hyperbaric chambers – way above my budget. I read about all kinds of expensive IV vitamin and nutrient drips – also way above my budget. Finally, I came across the idea of a healing fast. This was definitely within my budget – it might even lower my budget.

Fasting For Healing

Fasting is biblical – in fact, the practice is included in almost all religions as a way to gain clarity. I tried fasting once before to aid in weight loss. The fast lasted about 2 1/2 days before I lost my mind and eating a whole plate of bully beef and cabbage. For the next few days I paid for that choice. Note to self – if you fast – take it easy when you start again. Diving in head-first,  I looked up everything I could find about fasting and what it could do for your body and mind. I reached out to experts and by the end of December I decided to start.

I’m not going to lie. It was hard.

But it has been worth it. I have actually decided to write an ebook about my experience because it has done what nothing else has been able to accomplish, like gaining back a level of mental clarity I haven’t had in years. My visual stamina has increased. And weirdly, I lost my sense of smell and taste after the accident (my poor family – their meals were often so bad I inspired them to begin cooking for themselves and me). Now, I’m getting both my sense of smell and taste back. I’ve smelled things I had forgotten all about. I can pick out ingredients in a cooking dish, best of all – I can smell my kids again.

The Reason I Took A Break

So that is the reason I have been gone. I simply need some time to heal. I feel blessed that God has provided a way for our bodies to heal themselves when you give them the time to do so. So thank you for your patience and your continued support.

Psalm 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”