Winter blues kicked my ass

I have finally been able to get some sleep for long stretches of time during the night. The cold weather & lack of vitamin D made me really depressed & anxious. I don't normally have anxiety, but I would wake up every few hours & not be able to sit still. I've been reading through a book on mental health, so that has helped ease me back to sleep.

I don't know why staring at a page of letters makes me sleepy, but reading before bed has lulled me to sleep pretty well. When I would wake up in the middle of the night, taking a hot shower or bath soothes my muscles which sometimes gave me an upset stomach. I also had a something bad happen in the winter & I've had a bit of PTSD, which has mostly subsided.

Everybody in the house got a little sick this week, namely a cold, but my oldest has strep throat. The house is aired out & the fans are on so we're not breathing the same infected air. I changed the sheets & washed all the clothes, so it's fresher when we sleep & we don't have outside germs on out beds. I also wash our toothbrushes in hot, soapy water, which I think always helps us when we're sick.

I have been doing more yoga more often, particularly when I'm sluggish. I've been running my kids sore bellies & checking their temperature around the clock. But we are all finally feeling like ourselves, instead of the sore, feverish versions. We only really get sick in the dead of winter & usually for a short span a time, so I'm grateful for that.