Woman of ACTION!

I think we've all heard the quote by Alexander Graham Bell "When one door closes, another door opens." But did you know that's not the full quote? The full pearl of wisdom is...

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

Today is my last day at work. The agency I work for (helping other people) is shutting down. There was no notice, no severance package and it has been incredibly stressful. In fact, "incredibly stressful" perfectly sums up my month of April for 2018. I can tell the stress is getting to my husband too who has his own demanding career.

When massive stressors come into our lives, it's very easy to just freeze up and stare at that closed door. And stare and stare and question. So much so that it's easy to miss other opportunities and options.

Take a life changing diagnosis. It's easy to stare at the closed door of things you can't do, or shouldn't do and completely overlook what you still CAN do and ways you can adjust your life to do them.

Now taking Plaquenil I learned that I need to keep out of the sun as much as possible. I could stare at that closed door... or rally some assistive technology to keep on doing what I can.

Take THAT sun!
I'm a full shielded vampire ready for some nature.

I found this compact UV sun umbrella on Amazon (no affiliation). It folds up small enough to keep it in my purse. It's good for short bursts out in the sun. If I was going to be out ALL DAY I'd use something else. But for a short little nature walk with my husband this weekend it was perfect. 

I also did a short burst of twilight gardening Saturday night. As soon as the sun went down I covered up (no mosquito bites) and enjoyed some much needed time in the garden.

My spring onion haul!

I wasn't out there nearly as long as I used to be, but I was still able to get a little bit done and it felt great. Plus we had some delicious onions for dinner.

I've been modifying how I do things to accommodate my current needs. I've also been hunting for a new job... Nap anyone?

My compression gloves and nap buddy.
Zzzzzzzz.

I would say instead of staring at the closed door I've jumped right down the hall and am searching for what's open. Sure sometimes I look back at that closed door and feel sadness. But in general I'm just trying to find my "new normal." I'm really looking forward to that. And a nap. Never enough naps.