I’ve been home from Europe for over two weeks now, and I’m still not fully readjusted.

It’s springtime in WNC, which means the weather here has been predictably unpredictable. For people with nerve damage, weather swings can result in miserable pain. The last couple of weeks of pressure changes, temperature shifts, and storms rolling in and out have included some pretty severe pain days.

I’m still just trying to get my footing, and yet… here I go again.

Today we’re headed to Chapel Hill for Gabriel’s graduation from UNC.

In just four years, he’s graduating with highest honors and two degrees: a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Physics. I honestly don’t know how he pulled that combination off, but somehow he did, and I’m incredibly proud of him.

The weekend ahead includes several hours on I-40, two graduation ceremonies, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, family time, lots of activity, and very little recovery time in between.

Then on Monday, we head straight to Winston-Salem for my first appointment with my new pain doctor.

This is one of the strange realities of living with chronic pain: life does not pause while your nervous system is on fire. Sometimes the meaningful moments arrive at exactly the same time your body is least equipped to handle them.

So you control whatever variables you can.

You plan carefully.

You pace yourself.

You calculate your downtime.

You push yourself hard to be present for the things that matter.

And this weekend matters.

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