It is that dreaded time of the year, where I have to take off my full time mommy hat and put back on half teacher-half mommy and try to juggle them both with the less amount of guilt as possible. I am so fortunate that we have a variety of amazing people that watch our son during the week, so that I can work without worrying. Nathan’s mom watches him one day, Nathan watches him one day, my dad watches him one day and an in home daycare watches him for two days. I have such great things to say about each one and seeing both sets of grandparents in a week is a huge plus! We are so blessed.

I have been frantically attending appointments that I like to do during the summer when I have the most time. The appointments are a huge relief when things check out well, but also a huge reminder that I still live with Lupus and all the heavy stuff that comes with it. I visited my rheumatoidologist to report that I am feeling very well and hoping the stress from school will not create a flare (But I know it will). He encouraged me to lower my medicine dosage of the Plaquenil which is a long term drug, so I worried about it, but decided to go ahead and wean off it a little. The summer can make you feel so good with lots of rest and no stress…real life is the hard stuff! I visited my OBGYN for a yearly check up. Always awkward to be in a waiting room with a bunch of pregnant women (some with lots of kids), but I should be used to it now. I always feel broken when after leaving her office, since I always thought she would deliver my baby, but she was a huge part in diagnosing my Lupus and helping me seek infertility treatments. I visited my eye doctor to get tests done to be sure there no longterm damage from the Lupus medications and finally will visit the dentist in a week since auto immune disorders can cause your teeth to decay quickly. Lots of appointments, but thankful all are covered by health insurance (which we are getting a new one soon which is always unsettling, but hopeful will save us some money) and I am thankful they are all check ups and not something more.

The good news is: I feel so great right now even with the over sun exposure that can set off symptoms in Lupus. I always commit to sleeping more during the school year and maintaining a work out schedule and not stressing about school…we will see how it goes for this year. I am so excited to team teach this year which means I can focus on the subjects that I LOVE! So, I am hoping that the love of teaching is relit, because it has dwindled lately.