The last four weeks have been a little rough. Going back to work was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. I knew it would be a shock to my system to go back to the daily routine of a job. After months of having time to do what I wanted, when I wanted, I knew it’d be tough to head back to my old routine. So, I kept telling myself all the positive mantras I could think of: I’m so lucky to have taken this time off; I’m going back recharged; I work with amazing colleagues; my work has a positive impact on students.
My body rebels
Yet, four days after I went back, I got sick. So sick as a matter of fact, that I ended up missing 8 days of work. The first day I was sick, I figured I’d spend the day reading and relaxing. That was not to be. I had no energy and a fever that I could not bring down. It turned out that I had sinusitis. Well, that was quite unexpected. I never had so much as sniffles during my time off. And then, wham…
Mind-body connection
This experience reminded me, yet again, of the powerful mind-body connection. I got myself so worked up about returning to work, that my body basically shut down. It’s taken me nearly 3 weeks to start feeling normal again. I didn’t do any workouts during this time. I walked the dog a few times, and that was it. As the weeks went along, my body was craving some movement. Movement is my therapy; my happy place. When I finally had energy to do a workout, I decided to start with yoga. This was a good idea. The combination of yoga and meditation made me feel so good. It was almost like I hit the “reset” button.
Not surprisingly, as soon as I got sick, I lost my appetite. I forced myself to eat because I knew that if I didn’t it would take me even longer to recover. Nothing tasted right. That’s normal when you’re sick. But, for someone who loves to eat and loves to eat good food, this was a problem. I was also determined to continue eating my mainly plant-based diet, but I just didn’t have the energy to cook. I’m also not very good at asking for help. I’m quite self-sufficient and I don’t like to put people out. And yet, I needed help.
A sweet gesture
Luckily, my husband came to the rescue. He kept me well stocked with a steady supply of the only things I could stomach: soups, grilled cheese sandwiches, fruit and water. As the days wore, on my appetite was not improving. If anything I was getting bored with my limited diet. But, since I had no appetite and very little energy, I wasn’t motivated to do anything about this situation.
Then, my hubby did something very sweet and unexpected. He went online and looked up vegan main dishes. This is not a man who googles. He just doesn’t. Yet, he took the time to look up a recipe that he thought I’d like. And he was successful! He made a delicious lentil and chickpea stew. Oh, it was so good! I was so touched by his sweet gesture. Even after 31 years of marriage, he still thinks of doing sweet things like this. Hubby got the recipe from the I love vegan website; you’ll find lots of delicious recipes and useful information. Here’s the link to the recipe: http://www.ilovevegan.com/chickpea-lentil-coconut-curry-w-brown-rice-soy-free-gluten-free-high-protein/
Work in progress
He’s a very good cook, but we have very different approaches to food and nutrition. I want to eat healthy, tasty, visually appealing food. This man wants to eat his favourite comfort food. Unfortunately, this includes a fair amount of high fat, high salt foods, including nasty nitrates! He often skips meals, and doesn’t care about portion control. When we were first married, I’d hide the healthy cookbooks because he was convinced that healthy equalled tasteless! Over the years, I’ve slowly changed the way he eats at home. We enjoy cooking together and he has changed the way he eats. But, he still sneaks his snacks! It’s funny.
I love discovering and creating new recipes. I decided to make some energy snacks. At work, I rely on eating a mid-morning snack to keep me going until lunch. Commercial granola bars don’t appeal to me. I find them dry and tasteless. I did some research and then I came up with an easy and tasty recipe. My youngest son, who’s a picky eater, gobbles these up. A batch only lasts a few days. You can find the recipe here.
Returning to normal
So, three weeks after getting sick, I’m finally feeling like my old self. I guess that the combination of that delicious meal, rest yoga,and time, all contributed to my eventually getting better. Some things still don’t taste right. Sadly, this includes wine! How much does that suck?
Work itself has been going well. In a way, getting sick forced me to not rush back in at full speed. I simply couldn’t do it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still relaxed after all that time off, but I have a more focused, calmer approach to things. So, onward I go. In 80 work days, it’ll be vacation time again. Time to plan the next adventure. I’m thinking Canadian road trip to celebrate our awesome country’s 150th. Stay tuned!
