mono made me do it.

Hi friends! I feel like it’s been a while since I have caught you up on my life. So… lettuce talk! Oh, and I will throw in some pictures of what I have been eating lately too!

First of all, you probably already know I have mono since I mentioned it in my last post but I want to talk about my life before I realized I had mono and what mono has taught me.

About a month ago, I was stressed to the max. Working multiple part-time jobs, not exercising like I wanted to, homework continuously piling up, and trying to maintain a healthy relationship with not only my family and Barrett, but with myself had me feeling slightly insane. Like, my eye was always twitching I was so stressed. My dad kept saying, “You need to slow down. Take a breath. You’re working too much.” And I kept saying, “I’m fine.” But it was more like, “I’m fine?” Like it was a question instead of a statement.

overnight oatmeal. recipe on my instagram

I started having multiple symptoms of what I thought to be panic attacks. Night sweats, being extremely tired, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, a rash on my face, a tightness in my chest, and trouble breathing. There was one day a couple of weeks ago that I could literally not get off the couch. I felt so tired and so overwhelmed. I knew God was saying, “Slow down Anastasia.” But just like I had ignored my dad, I ignored God too.

I kept going full force with work, school, and life and noticed that a knot on my neck had grown a little over the last few weeks. A couple of days later (and several worried tears shed) two more knots appeared on my neck. I finally went to get some blood work done to make sure everything was okay. But I spent a couple of days in such a worried, stressed-out state that while I was making cookies, I cut my thumb open with an immersion blender and ended up with a trip to the ER and 5 stitches. All the while God (and my dad) kept saying “Calm down, take a breath, stop running around.” That was two Saturdays ago.

Last Monday I got a call from my doctor saying my tests said I had mono. They told me not to go to work, school, or exercise for at least a week. So I spent all of last week hunkered down watching Pretty Little Liars (don’t judge…haha) with lots of kombucha and snacks. I didn’t think about all the homework I was missing. I didn’t think about work. I didn’t even think about exercise. I was just simply, in that moment.

Isn’t it funny how I was so willing to listen to my doctor over God or my dad? I am thinking about it now and laughing because I literally was like “I can’t be still right now God, I have like 2149 things to do.” But to my doctor I said, “So can my mom pick up my school and work excuse later today?”

So my point is, don’t wait around until you get sick and your doctor tells you to take a chill pill. Listen to your family. Listen to GOD. I mean, He knows you better than you know yourself so why not listen to Him when He says it’s time to slow down.