Hello

 Good morning. Once upon I wrote a blog about running my third marathon. That was 2006 which seems like a lifetime ago at this point. I trained with my then boyfriend now husband - he proposed at the finish line. Since then we moved from Chicago to Nashville. Got a second dog. Bought a house. Had two kids. Said good-bye to Scooter, our rescued beagle. Moved to a new house. Said good-by to Baxter, our rescued basset. Got a cat - never in a million years thought I would be a cat mom, but we love Leo, our grey tabby. Then March 2020 happened. As you know the world shut down. 

Two and half years later here we are. During COVID I almost lost my child during the first month of lockdown - he is now thriving. I'm a healthcare worker at a major medical center so I was lucky that I didn't lose my job during the pandemic, but that also meant I was at the hospital while my children were stuck at home in lockdown and doing virtual school.. The first quarter of the 2020 school year we were in a learning pod with other working parents - it was a truly a nightmare. The next three quarters my youngest was in and out of school until March 2021. My oldest, who was in his first year of middle school, didn't step inside his new school until March 2021. Somehow we survived that school year. Aug 2021 the kids went back to school in masks. Feb 2022 we got COVID - my youngest caught it from his basketball teammates. My whole family went down - we survived. 

Aug 2022 my kids went back to school without masks. COVID is still here, but my anxiety level is finally back to normal after the chaos of schooling and working during a pandemic. We've reached a new normal - maybe? 

So now what?

How do I climb out the abyss? How do I take care of myself again? How do I parent my kids so they are thriving? How do I show up to work and be present for my patients as I recover from burnout?

I don't know the answers or even the pathway, but this is my journey back to my center. Follow along if you wish.