Things Get Exciting Again (Unfortunately)

Well… Just when I decide to cut back on blogging, things get exciting again. Go figure! First off, our trusty gas station is having a sewer problem and we can no longer go there to use the bathroom. It’s awful and I left with a headache the last time we went.

Now we have to drive 13 minutes into Rapid City to use the bathroom. First we tried Walmart but I reacted there. We eventually settled on McDonald’s. It’s a newer building so I do okay there. It’s just kind of awkward to go in and buy a bottled water so we can use the bathroom every day. I’m pretty sure they’re going to pick up on it if they haven’t already. Whatever. I’m kind of used to being weird and I’m finding that I don’t really care what strangers think of us anymore.

Secondly, our ranchers are painting their house and I noticed it was affecting me a little bit on Thursday. I seemed to be tolerating it though and was still able to do most of the laundry even though I was extra fatigued.

It was on Friday that things really got bad. The ranchers burn their trash and we often have to leave when that happens. On Friday the smoke was particularly problematic because they were burning the empty paint cans along with everything else. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to leave before it started affecting me. I got a headache, brain fog, fatigue and severe anxiety. We left and I decontaminated several times but I was too far gone.

I was a mess for almost all of Saturday and Brett had to do all the chores by himself and clean the van. Poor guy! In the afternoon we decided to move the van further away from the house and I started to feel a little bit better. The runaway anxiety calmed down but I was still really tired and foggy brained.

We’re not exactly sure what’s going on but at this point we’re thinking it might be a cumulative thing. Maybe my body would have handled the paint fumes just fine if I hadn’t been exposed to problematic toxins at the gas station and Walmart. The smoke from the burning trash was definitely what pushed me over the edge but I’m not exactly sure why I’m not bouncing back as quickly as other times.

Who knows… Maybe it’s the smoke plumes from Montana wildfires? There was also a huge motorcycle rally in Sturgis this week. Maybe all the extra people and motorcycles increased the total load of pollution and cross-contamination in the city? Maybe we need to deep clean the van? Maybe it’s time to replace our clothing again?

We’ll see. Last night we moved even farther into the prairie and away from the house. I seem to be improving already so we’re hoping for the best.

By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.