Apr 20 2009
The Rites of Spring
Spring is a beautiful time here in the Czech Republic! This is one of the most prolific places I’ve ever lived! It seems that you could stick a branch in the ground and it would immediately begin to grow and blossom!! That’s an exaggeration, of course, but spring is very pretty here. Everything is blooming and growing right now…the leaves are out and growing by the day, the tulips are bright and colorful! We’re having more sun, again, which is a wonderful treat after our long, dreary winter!
Along with all this beauty there is a lot of pollen in the air. We’re in the midst of a tree pollen explosion! Last week, the skies over Prague were hazy with pollen–it was that thick in the air! We had some rain finally come through on Friday and Saturday, and that cleaned things out very nicely. It was even possible to see down in to Prague from where we live…very pretty once again!
I’m currently dealing with an allergy attack…I’m very allergic to tree pollen…so my allergies and asthma have been acting up…fun! My doctor was not at all surprised to see me today, and has put me on a low dose of prednisone for a few days and some other meds…along with my regular daily pharmacy I have to take! Along with this, he’s ordered a sinus x-ray to make sure there’s no infection…if so, that will mean antibiotics. It’s very frustrating, but this is the normal rite of spring for me!
So, it’s time to take it a little bit easy till the meds are helping…and try not to become frustrated. Frustration will only add to the mix of not feeling good…negative feelings and thoughts have a way of doing that to a person…and work against us more when we’re already feeling down and ill! So, to avoid that, I will focus on the things that I am able to do right now–those things that are not too taxing, and have a plan of action ready for when I’m feeling better. Hopefully this will be just a couple of days with all the meds I’m taking–and then I’ll be ready for normal activity again. This is only a short-term, predictable flare-up. It’s important for me to keep this in mind…this is only short-term–even if it lasts a month or two, it is still really a short-term, temporary flare-up!
Even with this current flare-up, I’m still looking at the positive things that come about with Spring–the beautiful new greens everywhere on all the plants and trees, the wonderful flowers and buds on the trees and shrubs, the song-birds that are happy and busy once again–plus the energizing sunlight that has returned!! This, along with understanding that this flare-up is predictable and temporary will help to keep my mindset more positive during the rites of Spring! 
