And life reportedly goes on...

I've been caught up in so many SNAFUs as of late to seriously consider the value of running away from home. At 31 years old, I know I can't, because I have responsibilities to attend to, but the 12 year old in me just wants to flee.

You'd think given my recent capstone-mania that this would be related to school. But you'd be wrong. As a matter of fact, school is the one area of my life right now where things are going along quite smoothly, and I'm on track to be done my capstone and classes in time to graduate as expected in June. Just last week, I struggled and slogged my way through revisions and turned in my first draft (95% completed) of my pre-defence capstone. So school, not a SNAFU.

Physical Health: I've been quite sick over the last three weeks. First I had strep throat, which I was treated for, and then Rod passed along his cold, which my body turned into bronchitis. How did I come to know it was bronchitis? During a bad day of coughing fits, I felt a sudden sharp pain in my lower abdomen. After much arguing, I was taken to emergency, where it was determined I probably strained or tore muscles from so much coughing. And the doctor said, "hey, you're wheezing." So I got a bronchitis diagnosis, an unnecessary IV hook-up poke, and a bottle of Tylenol 3's for my trouble.

Mental Health: deteriorating due to exhaustion. That's not to say I'm going crazy, it just means that the stress and fatigue of everything I've been dealing with has worn down my usually tough composure, and I'm more susceptible to stress and strain.

There are serious things going on right now that I don't feel comfortable blogging about, despite my usual tendency toward candor; huge changes are on the horizon for me and those in my life. By April, most of the pressing details will be worked out, but we are talking about life-altering events to come. The thing is that all of these personal SNAFUs are affecting a lot of important people in ways that will be difficult to repair. This adds greatly to the stress I'm feeling already about the decisions I'm faced with. And it's really strained my relationship with my parents, whom I'm close to.

I'm opening up and admitting that right now, I'm weakened, mentally, physically, emotionally. The challenges I'm facing are more than I've ever confronted before; but I'm still tough, and I won't be beaten. A little worse for the wear, but still a fighter.