It’s Monday again, and I’m heading into the week already tired. I have an upcoming event at the museum, and let’s just say the required food contractor has been the bane of my existence lately. I’ve done everything I can to get them to confirm the order, but so far, nothing. They only acknowledged it after I physically went to their office to demand answers. I’m hoping that today my bosses will let me cancel the order and go elsewhere. At this point, I’d gladly take a sandwich tray from just about anyone else—especially since the two places I have in mind would likely produce far better food anyway.

As if that weren’t enough, one of my speakers had to cancel because of the government shutdown. Thankfully, there were supposed to be two speakers, so at least I still have one. Now all I need is the food to feed the audience—no small feat when bureaucracy gets involved.

All of this has been more stressful than it should be. I like to plan things well in advance and make sure everything runs smoothly (knock on wood). Usually it does, but this one has been keeping me up at night. I went to bed early last night, but woke up around midnight worrying about it all, and it was after 2 a.m. before I finally fell back asleep. Isabella decided that 4:30 a.m. was the perfect time for breakfast, so I opened my eyes to find her sitting next to me, staring at me like I’d broken some sacred promise.

I’ve got two meetings at work today, and I’m honestly not sure how long I’ll make it. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I had a migraine, and it’s still lingering this morning. If it doesn’t ease up after my first meeting, I may wave the white flag and head home. I really do need to attend that first meeting—let’s just say there are complicated reasons—but it’s one more thing to juggle on top of everything else.

At this point, I’m reminding myself that the semester will slow down after mid-November. If I can just survive the next six weeks, maybe I can finally catch my breath.

Here’s to hoping the food order gets sorted, the migraine fades, and the day goes better than expected. And if not—well, at least there’s coffee.

Wishing you all a smoother start to your week than mine.

Isabella decided I didn’t need to sleep in today. She woke me up way too early, and while that’s nothing unusual, I really wanted to stay asleep a bit longer and avoid the pain radiating down my leg. No such luck.

The good news is I took a vacation day today. The bad news—besides the pain—is that the only reason I took a vacation day is because of car trouble. I can’t get the car into the mechanic until tomorrow, and I don’t dare drive it anywhere else. So here I am, stuck at home, with no transportation except for that one hopeful trip to the shop tomorrow.

Honestly, with the way I feel this morning—leg pain and day two of a migraine—I probably could have taken a sick day. But since HR has managed to screw up some of my leave paperwork, I’m trying to be cautious. Until that gets fixed, I’m afraid my sick leave will get eaten up too quickly.

All I really want is to feel better. I’ve said that for years about my migraines, but at least with them, I’ve learned how to keep going and live my life. This back and leg pain is different. It makes even basic mobility a challenge, and that’s not something I can just push through as easily.

So today’s plan is pretty simple: hope the pain eases a bit, or at least that I can get some more sleep. That’s about all I’ve got in me for now.

I hope your Monday morning is starting off better than mine. Here’s to a smoother week ahead for all of us.

While my bosses refused to let me work from home for an extended period, I did at least get to keep my regular Friday work-from-home day—and I am so glad it’s here. This week has been a trying one, my first back in the office after my medical leave.

The first three days of the week, our parking lot was closed, which left me with two choices: park in a lot up a steep hill or park in one three times farther away but on level ground. On Monday, I tried the hill. Going down that morning was rough; going back up in the afternoon was pure agony. On Tuesday, I chose the level route—only to discover that the extra distance was even worse.

By Wednesday, I’d been told that the museum’s reserved spaces would be available because campus security was going to deal with the cars parked there that didn’t belong to museum patrons. I bet you can guess what I found when I arrived—the same cars, still in those spots. So, back to the hill it was. Going down wasn’t terrible, but going up… well, let’s just say I took my time. Once inside the museum, I had to sit before I could do anything else. By then, I knew what my body would and wouldn’t tolerate, so I paced myself.

Yesterday, the parking situation was finally back to normal. But the workday itself made up for it. A two-hour meeting in uncomfortable plastic chairs is never fun, but it’s worse with a pinched nerve. I switched to a padded chair after the first fifteen minutes, but it wasn’t much better. By the end, I was shifting around like I was sitting on a bed of nails. Lunch in the break room wasn’t an improvement—the wooden chairs are no kinder to my back.

Back at my desk, my chair finally let my leg relax, and I took my midday meds. The relief lasted until I had to get up to let someone into a locked room. That part was fine; what wasn’t fine was running into a talkative professor who’s also president of an arts organization board we both serve on. He asked about my back, and I told him about the pinched nerve. He had a similar problem before a hip replacement fixed it, and he went on to talk about the board meeting tomorrow—which I doubt I’ll make. Eventually, the pain got so bad that I had to stop him mid-story and say, “I have to go sit down.”

In short, I overdid it yesterday, and I’m paying for it today. My leg is in a lot of pain this morning, and I’m hoping my meds kick in soon. At least I can work comfortably today from my own couch.

And now, to send you into the weekend on a happier note—here’s your Isabella Pic of the Week. She’s sleeping peacefully—though she wasn’t quite so peaceful at 1 a.m. last night when she insisted I get up. Turned out her water bowl was low. I filled it, and she let me go back to bed without complaint. She’s lucky she’s cute, and even luckier that she’s the perfect Friday reminder to rest, recharge, and keep a little sweetness close at hand.

Here’s to a weekend with no steep hills, no long walks, no terrible chairs… and maybe just a few cat naps of our own.