Lyme disease is like having the flu. Every single day of your life.

I wish I could greet all of you with a "Happy New Year!" greeting, but frankly 2024 has been less than stellar.

I contracted COVID, or the flu - or some combination of both - that laid me up for ten days, triggering PTSD from my worst Lyme days.

These bugs are super bugs now, and they resulted in pneumonia in my struggling lungs. Regardless of how healthy you have been, please Lymies, stay vigilant with your vitamins, diffusing essential oils, and healthy handwashing practices. PLEASE.

The trauma my body felt while back in bed for days on end, along with the broken feelings my heart resumed of doom and despair, I do not wish on my biggest enemy, let alone my Lyme-surviving friends.

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So what did all those long miserable days in bed result in? Awareness, of course.

I have been DISTRACTED BY WELLNESS.

It does not take long for the human psyche to return to pettiness when we feel well.

We stop noticing how beautifully blue the sky is during our "prescribed daily walks". We complain about the additional barn chores in the winter and forget to notice the soft muzzle of our horse while we blanket them. Making dinner for the family feels like a chore.

But last week, curled up with a fever for eight straight days, I realized that three years ago I was UNABLE TO DO ANY OF THOSE THINGS.

No walks. No barn. No preparing a meal for my family.

I have been so worn down by the daily grind that I forgot that I BEGGED for these daily mundane lovely tasks only a couple years ago.

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Those horrible years of pure survival, where EVERY DAY FELT LIKE THE FLU, taught me some lessons I needed to be reminded of in 2024:

1. Stop doing so much, Kristi. Slow down. Quality over quantity.

2. If I "sooooooo need a Mexico vacation", then my life is spinning out of control again. Wanting a vacation and needing one are two different things.

3. Check in with your newly discovered and divinely placed mission, dear girl. My Global Lyme Alliance ambassadorship is a MISSION. A job. A noble one. It deserves a portion of my working week. I must not look away from it. There are too many folks needing HOPE in their recovery.

4. Family first: Sit up late with my high school senior and chat about friends and school. Tell her she is literally the most phenomenon girl you know. Take my son out for dates. It is his love language. Call your TN college kid. Even though you don't call anyone...Yep, you call him. Make a standing date night with the hubs. Soon, very soon, it will just be the two of us and we probably need to get to know each other again.

5. Walk the dogs. Ride the horses.

It could all be gone in a heartbeat.

I know that. I really, really know that.

I wish blessings on each of you this year. Blessings in all of their forms. Reminders of the things you have right in front of you.

Kristi