[the moment] a new journey begins

[moment 143]

My health has been horrible for the past few years. My mobility has been severely limited and my levels of exhaustion have been higher than I could ever have imagined. Many days it was a struggle to get out of bed, nevermind do the basic tasks of living. Getting myself and children to appointments and activities was excruciatingly difficult. 

Then I changed my treatment plan for one of my autoimmune diseases and am tapering down the dose of one of my medications that's causing just as much harm as good at the moment, and went on yet another medication to help mitigate the side effects of several of my prescriptions. I'm finally beginning to feel like my health is improving a bit. 

This was evident the other day when I took Austen and Onyx to Robin Hood's Medieval Faire in Harwinton, CT. We arrived about a half hour after they opened. The number of people there was festive without being crowded. We walked around, taking in all the magnificent creations the craftspeople had on display and the many options for food and drink. It was already in the high 80's when we arrived, so soon we were delighted to see a sign for fresh squeezed lemonade. I wasn't expecting to be handed a large take-out soup container of lemonade - as a single serving - but there is was in all its quart-sized glory. One would think that would be an excessive amount of lemonade, but alas, as temperatures continued to soar into the nineties, we each finished our lemonade while taking in the faire. 

We walked and walked and walked, until finally my body screamed for a place to sit and rest for a while. My companions went off in search of lunch, while I settled onto a picnic table bench, taking in a nearby performance and enjoying the breeze and the mist that wafted my way. They soon returned with a turkey leg and a baked potato - just the right size lunch for three, as both were massive. 

Getting word that my husband was on his way, we camped out near our favorite vendor's booth, which we had already visited a few times, unable to decide what our purchases would be. He brought my wheelchair, as my spasming back was making walking difficult and painful, and we finally made our dice decisions and moved on to explore the rest of the faire. 

Climbing into our car, the tales of the extreme temperature I'd heard wafting about the faire were confirmed when my van's thermometer read 102F. 

Arriving home and sinking into a chair, I was thoroughly exhausted, but a good kind of exhausted - the kind that speaks of a day well spent doing something you love. It may have only been three and a half hours, but it was so much more than I could have handled just a month or two ago. The moment I realized that I'd walked miles and had fun and needed a rest, but still had energy to spare, I nearly burst into tears. It was a moment of realization that my health just might be improving. I can barely wait to see where this new journey takes me.