Single Saturday #9 - Enjoying Life

I think one of the hardest things for single people to do is just enjoy life. There is so much pressure for singles to find Mr. or Mrs. Right. The pressure begins to overtake everything else in life. I think it is time for singles to just embrace life and enjoy it!

I am a big proponent on letting things happen naturally. I just don't think the best thing in life come from forcing them to happen. That includes finding a perfect mate. I totally believe that if God has it in His plans for a person to be married, then He will make sure than you meet Mr or Mrs Right. I often wonder how many divorces could be avoided if people would have patience and rely on God to help them find their soul mate. I don't think it is good to force love.

If you don't believe that God is out there or that He cares about your life, then this is probably a hard sell for you.  Regardless, I still think that singles should try to enjoy life and let love come naturally. Forcing it will never work.

So you have my permission to stop trying so hard to find your soul mate and just Enjoy Life for once!

The Reason Is...

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I have been having trouble doing just about anything I don't have to because of my joint pain. By the time I get home, I'm wiped. This last week has been the worst yet and I just couldn't get myself motivated to write a post. Unfortunately the pain affects my mood and I've been a little depressed lately. A person can only take so much constant pain without starting to get down about it. Thankfully, I finally get to see a specialist on Thursday, so I'm hoping to find out something soon.

UPDATE: I have since been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This has actually been a blessing because I no longer feel crazy. I used to feel as if I had all these aches and pains that weren't connected. Now I know that all those aches and pains were due to RA. It is unfortunate to be diagnosed with a lifelong disease, but I'm glad that it was diagnosed and that I have good medication to cope with it. HUMIRA has changed my life!

Behind Again...

I'm really getting behind on my blogging. I just haven't felt like taking the time. I've been super busy at work trying to get papers graded and lessons planned, so I've been staying late most days. Then there is the joint pain...

I went to the doctor last week, then had my blood drawn. Found out that I do have elevated levels of inflammation.  The ortho doctor (hand specialist) that I saw said that there was something big picture going on...something rheumatic. She said if I hadn't already had labs ordered, she would have ordered it for me. That tells me that it is definitely rheumatic and not bone related. I have an appointment with a rheumatologist at the end of the month.

I'm hoping to get a diagnosis soon, but I've heard a lot of horror stories about it taking years for some people to get a diagnosis. I'm praying that I'm one of the lucky ones.

Yesterday was a really bad pain day. I almost stayed home from work, but I had too much grading to do and all the papers were at the school. I would have had to drive in to work to get them anyway.

Here's hoping to find relief soon. I will try to do better with the blogging!

Single Saturday #8 - The Set Up

If you are single, you have had someone try to set you up with a date. For me, this is one of the worst parts of being single.  I always feel like less of a person when someone tries to set me up. Maybe that's just me, maybe other people don't feel that way.

I have been set up with a couple of doozies in my day, and so I do not allow people to set me up anymore.

Yesterday, one of my classes started in on setting me up with someone. I had one girl say that her brother was single (and to be fair, she's beautiful, so he would probably be cute...and he's a coach), one told me her one-armed uncle was single (pretty sure that was a joke...not the arm, but the set up). Regardless if they were serious or not, I always feel like someone is trying to "fix" me, that they believe there is something wrong with being single.

Have you ever been set up with someone? Blind date? How did it go?

Could This Be What's Wrong?

For the last year I have been living in pain almost daily. I could probably count the number of completely pain free days on my fingers. Every time I have some new pain, I just tell people it is one of my "random pains".  I feel crazy; at least I feel like everyone else probably thinks I'm crazy. I've blogged about this before.

For the last three weeks I have been having consistent joint pain and stiffness every morning: neck, back, wrists and feet. My knees have also had stiffness and pain on and off for the last three weeks. It is so miserable getting up in the morning because it is almost impossible to walk because my feet hurt so bad.  Luckily, the pain is at its worst in the morning, and then mostly goes away by late morning.

This morning I finally decided to go on WebMD and look up why my feet might be hurting (seriously...I have lost almost 80 pounds, they should be feeling better, not worse). After dismissing almost every disease (including gout), I decided to look at Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Unfortunately RA covers almost every pain I have had in the last year. Shoulder pain (maybe that wasn't bursitis), all my joint pain (including my feet) and it can even cause carpal tunnel.  RA affects body symmetrically, and both my wrists hurt, both my knees, both my feet, etc.  The more I read about RA, the more it seemed like a possibility, so I went to the doctor this afternoon to finally do something about all my "random" pains. The doctor didn't think I was crazy for suggesting RA, so I go in for blood work on Thursday morning and will schedule an appointment with a Rheumatoidologist after the blood tests come back.

RA is life-long and debilitating, so I hope I don't have it. However, I really want to know what is wrong with me, especially now that I believe the pains aren't random, but are symptoms of a larger issue.

I just want everyone, myself included, to know I'm not crazy or trying to seek attention with all of my pain.

UPDATE: RA is what I have! Instead of being depressed with the diagnosis (as a log people are with RA), I have found the drug that works for me (Humira), and I have been pain free for about 2 years! I just had a check up today, and my doctor sees no inflammation!!

Sorry!

Sorry there isn't a Single Saturday this week.  It has been super busy this week with Homecoming at my school. I've barely had time to sleep in the last week, let alone blog. Here's hoping you enjoy your weekend!

A Growing Trend

I was reading (okay...skimming) my People magazine the other day and saw an article about grandparents raising their grandkids.  As a high school teacher, I've seen a lot of this. It seems that more and more kids are no longer living with their parents for one reason or another.

In the high school we have a lot of students that don't live with their parents, and it isn't just because they have unfit parents. Many of them are staying with either a friend or they're living with the parents of their boyfriend/girlfriend. I teach juniors and see this with quite a few of my students. By the age of 17, they can move out without their parents' permission.

I don't remember that many kids doing this when I was in high school. I just can't imagine being a parent and letting my daughter's boyfriend live in the bedroom down the hall. It seems like you are just asking for something to go wrong. 

Sure...there are situations where a kid's home life isn't great, and the opportunities available are better at someone else's house, but I still can't imagine taking in my child's boyfriend or girlfriend...friend, yes, but there are some situations that are too tempting for all those racing hormones...

Has anyone else noticed this growing trend?