Work, Work, Work!

Note: For people who are not on Facebook, I am matching all of my donations from June and July, and putting that money toward local charities that provide services for families in need. So far I am up $460. Please donate even $1 or $5, even little bit helps! online.ccfa.org/goto/basmah

I am terrible with writing blogs, even when it is something I am committed to. I have been taking on a lot of stuff outside of the marathon the last few weeks. I returned to work as a youth counselor, and while I love my job it's been tough. I am on the go all the time, lesson planning and staying energetic for the kids. By the end of the day, I am not just tired, I am usually exhausted.

I have learned that some people with Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis have had to quit their jobs due to not being able to meet the demands. With positions like mine, it is so easy for even a healthy person to get stressed or burned out. I like being in family services too much to give up, but I know that I have to work 100 times harder just to keep up with everyone else. I am the epitome of the phrase, "my own worst critic", but a lot of the time, it would be in relation to the Crohn's - Thoughts like, "If I didn't have Crohn's, would I have the energy to be a more productive worker?" or, "What would I be doing now if I was healthy?"

I have the tendency to think big. While I was in college, I had dreams of working for UNICEF or Peace Corps. Of course, when I started looking into them, I had that horrible flare up that I mentioned in a previous post. It took ages for me to recover, and I just put those dreams on hold.

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I probably wouldn't be doing the work that I am right now if I was a healthy person. I like that I am focusing more on the local level instead of international. It doesn't mean that I won't ever work out of the country because that would be just too cool to pass up, but I know now that I would rather make a difference one kid, one parent, one family at a time. I want to go to graduate school, but I keep switching between Marriage and Family Therapy and Social Work. Either way, I want to take classes in Integrative Health because changing my diet and lifestyle is the one thing that has helped me out the most both physically and mentally.

Anyway, with all of the work that I have been catching up on, I am still able to train for the half marathon. I can now walk about 10 miles, and I hope to reach 13.1 by next week. It definitely helps with all of the donations, so please do it! Again, 82 cents out of every dollar goes to the patients. Here are some pictures of my walks the last few weeks: