Happy summer! It's Jack's first week off of school. He is currently sick with a cold, which makes sense considering how many public pools, parks, and splash pads we visited this week. A Utah summer with kids is more fantastic than I ever pictured, and I grew up here. There are SO MANY incredible splash pad parks really close to us. All free. It's less hassle than a pool. It's low-key for me. The kids love it. You can stay dry if you want and sit on a bench on the side, or if it's a hot day you can get a little wet. We also have reservoirs and the Thanksgiving Point attractions. Compared to the last few places we've lived, this is a whole different ball-game. We could go somewhere different every single day and never run out of things to do all summer.
But, it isn't all rainbows and unicorns. I'm still fairly down and out with the POTS. Jared recorded my blood pressure and heart rates during a few at-home tests and verified, "Yup, it's definitely POTS." Luckily, on the whole, things have mostly been getting better since then. I have started drinking lots more water and electrolytes. Taking it easy if I can when I feel dizzy. And getting on a better allergy medicine, because apparently there's a strong tie between seasonal allergies and POTS flares. All of these things have been helping. I'm definitely not feeling 100% yet, but I will get into a specialist and see what they have to say. They may put me on an elimination diet, or maybe some medicine. We'll see. It will be my summer of health and wellness.
Some good has come from this diagnosis. I did need a kick in the pants to start drinking more water and eating more healthy. Since we moved to Utah my breakfasts have mostly consisted of whatever reject nubbins my kids didn't eat during their breakfasts. Maybe a pop-tart if Jared brought one home from the doctor's lounge. I was honestly too tired and stressed to make a healthy breakfast for myself. In hindsight that was the POTS. But eating worse was never going to help me feel better. So now I've been having Jared throw an extra egg in with his breakfast before he leaves for work. Then there's a bit of scrambled egg ready for me when I wake up that I eat with an avocado and a handful of arugula with oil and vinegar. This absolutely has NOT been the norm for me during the last year, but I'll admit that I feel a lot better starting my day eating a healthy breakfast in the sunshine on our deck before my kids wake up than I used to feel. Onward and upward. And now for some pictures from our week:
