Oct 07 Conversation in the Parking Lot

I’m so sorry you can’t work full-time anymore.  Aren’t you sad you had to give up full-time?

Thanks, but it really is okay.  I am just grateful I can still work half-time, doing what I love.

Do you think you’ll ever be able to come back full-time?

I don’t rule anything out, but by officially going half-time this year, I gave up my full-time status, so I am not sure if the district would let me, if I could, because of the language in our contract. Plus, I need the other half of the day to maintain my health…It is like my other job.  My EDS and POTS are here to stay.

But, that just sucks.  You look so great…What do you do all afternoon? Just rest?

I do my rehab to keep my body functioning, go to doctor’s appointments, and I rest, because my body needs extra restorative sleep to maintain my health, and be able to work.

But aren’t you mad your doctors told you have to work half-time?  Can’t you fight it?

No, I’m not mad at all.  Honestly it IS what I need; not just what my doctors have advised.  I don’t want to fight it.  I have wholeheartedly accepted that this is what I need to keep my body functioning, and in a way it has been a blessing because there are other things I want to do with my life like be a Mom.  I definitely would not be able to do that working full-time with EDS and POTS.

Oh, yeah, I am a Mom working full-time and it’s so hard.  Half-time would be nice. Well, have a good weekend.

So, I’m not sure how far I got with that conversation, but at least I was asked questions instead of just being judged.  Awareness is always a work in progress, that often takes patience, and the reminder that people who do not walk in my shoes everyday, really have no clue.  How could they?  

What’s important to me is that I continue to try.