.recuperation.

It started out as a cold.  Three weeks later it is mild pneumonia, or "walking pneumonia," as people like to call it.  This is what happens when you are coughing up green chunky phlegm for weeks before going to see your health care provider.  Also what happens when you don't take care of yourself is that you show up at a doctor's appointment for a cough and end up getting a pulse ox and an EKG because your heart rate is too fast (oh that feels too familiar...).

You know it is most likely because you are anemic since you never took iron replacement (even though you knew better) despite the blood loss from the c-section and subsequent six weeks of bleeding that followed.  So you get your blood drawn, a prescription for an antibiotic, and a follow up appointment for two weeks.

Last weekend my therapist strongly encouraged me to take this week off from studying. Yesterday gave me a reason to not feel guilty for following her advice.  Because taking time off simply for the reason that I have not had enough time to adequately take care of my physical and emotional health since George died isn't enough to ease my guilt about not being productive.