No really, I'm fine

Have you ever had one of those days when you just had to paste on a smile and power through it?  How about a week?  A month?

I'm having one of those weeks.  Bear with me while I indulge in some whining here.

It's spring break.  Yay, right?  Not so much.

My husband went to a conference.  I have a 20 page midterm assignment I received on Monday of spring break.  It's due in a week.  There are some really important (and stressful) decisions I have to make at work.  My allergies are making my head feel like it weighs a thousand pounds.

On their own, these are not big things.  But they all happened at the same time, and some of these things are huge.  It becomes a challenge to balance it all and maintain my sanity.  I am trying to divide my attention between my family, my work and my studies.  Somewhere in there I need to pay attention to myself too.

And how am I doing?  Well...I'm managing (insert smiley face here).  I'm not eating great, but I'm not burying my stress in a dozen cupcakes or a bottle of wine.  I'm not sleeping very well.  And I've only exercised twice this week.

BUT...I haven't had any meltdowns.  I've enjoyed my time with Scarlett.  I have some preliminary plans for the decisions to be made.  I've placed my school work at the bottom of the priority list because quite frankly, it just doesn't matter as much as the other things.

AND...some really cool things happened.  My husband came home early from the conference.  My colleagues at work have been extremely supportive.  I managed to carve out a few hours to work on my midterm and vent a little through writing.  (Welcome to my venting).  The Zyrtec seems to be working.

AND AND...my parents are coming this weekend to see Scarlett.  That means Bill and I can sneak away to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with friends.

By next Monday, my family will be back on a regular schedule.  At least some of the work stuff will be done.  The school assignment will be over.

The lesson this week has been one I seem to have over and over.  When things get tough, it takes some work but it can be managed.  These were some of my lessons

• Prioritize who and what is important. 
• Celebrate even the really little good things.  
• Accept the bad/challenging things for what they are but don't wallow in them or let them define you.  
• Don't beat yourself up for not being perfect (missing exercise, sleep, diet)
• Never stop working towards a solution, but take a break no matter how brief it is.  
• Appreciate the support from your friends and family.  
• Realize that these are all temporary conditions and there are things to look forward to.
• Zyrtec works better than Claritin for me
• NEVER lose your sense of humor