I Run These Towns

In 22 years of Crohn's there's always been an answer to my problem: surgery, a new medication, changing my diet, something . It wasn't always an answer that made me feel 100 percent, but I've felt like there was a path toward relative wellness. I've had seven small bowel obstructions (SBOs). My first, in 2012, was pretty minor. I went to the ER, but it started to resolve on its own without treatment. They kept me overnight for observation, but it wasn't a huge deal. In 2014 I had an obstruction following a hernia surgery that required surgery. That's when I learned the word "adhesion" (scar tissue) and that more surgeries create more adhesions. It was a few years later, in early 2017 , before I was hospitalized again. That time I ate a lot of baby carrots and knew that to be the culprit. So ended my love affair with uncooked carrots. It took a few years, but last September I once again ended up with a SBO. It happened again in May and August of

December is my favorite month. I love Christmas, and it's also the month of my precious son's birthday and our wedding anniversary (on the same day). Generally December is absolute chaos. I'm planning our annual holiday soiree, our son's birthday party, attending holiday gatherings for work and with friends and preparing to visit family. My head is usually spinning during this month, and I love every minute of it.  This December is quiet. We've been working from home and without child care for nine months, and even though the air has turned colder and our Christmas decorations are up, it feels a lot like the last 273 days. I've really struggled to find the joy this month usually brings.  We decorated before Thanksgiving which is very unusual. Honestly we did it on a day when I desperately needed something to occupy my small human lest I lose my mind. I knew decorating would be very exciting. We put up our two artificial trees and all the decorations, but that di