Adieu 2014

This has been such an odd year. It started quite horrible, still recovering emotionally from my October 2013 car wreck and dealing with frozen water lines in my mobile home. It got worse when I came home from a national tournament in April to find my house half flooded.

Then, it got better . . . I sold my mobile home, had the money to buy some new furniture and moved into the apartment of my dreams. It should have been the start of things looking up. But I have been stuck in a middling-funk for the last several months, and it's taken a toll.

Part of it is health related. I started experiencing neck and shoulder spasms some time in the summer. They became progressively worse until my neck was in constant spasm. This meant I couldn't move my head side to side. Strong pain killers didn't touch it. Muscle relaxants had no effect. I went to doctor after doctor and no-one could tell me why this was happening. I got put on several medications for nerve pain, started traction therapy with a physical therapist (which was such a disaster I ended up in urgent care with such pain they almost sent me to the ER.) Finally - FINALLY - I was referred to the pain clinic. And I finally have started to get some answers. My doc at the pain clinic is pretty sure my muscle spasms are directly related to my car accident. The car accident that happened 15 months ago. I got a LOT of chiropractic care after the accident, and the doc theorizes this kept the muscles (that were traumatized by whiplash in the accident) from seizing up, but once I stopped the chiropractic visits, the muscles (which were scarred with tears from whiplash) froze up, refusing to move the way they are supposed to. A combination of trigger point injections and myofascial release therapy is just starting to give me relief. I am hoping that this will lead to a decrease in pain, which I really think will help my funk.

I'm not in the mood to make resolutions for the new year. But I do have some plans for how to make 2015 a more joyful year. Because I'm really, really missing the joy. So, here are my plans . . .
1. Be purposefully more positive. The plan to start this? Blogging every day of January, focusing on things I'm grateful for.
2. Get in more purposeful exercise. I feel better when I'm exercising regularly. The plan to start this? Actually having a plan/schedule that I set up to work with my semester schedule.
3. Decrease my fast food consumption. This will force me to cook and eat from home more often, which ends up being more nutritious and makes me feel better. The plan to start this? Planning menus in advance and making regular trips to the grocery.
4. Connect with friends more regularly. The plan to do this? Make sure I'm making the call to connect rather than waiting on the call.

That's it. That's all I've got for now. I really want 2015 to be the year I re-discovered effortless joy.