March is Hard.

I've never particularly enjoyed the month of March.  In February you expect it to be winter, but by March I get the feeling that it should be over.  I think most people do.  It's around this time of year where I have an internal battle over the idea of visiting a tanning bed.  I used to tan when I worked at GoodLife, but for the obvious reason that it's really bad for it, I stopped.  It's always in March that I get that itch to just do a few sessions!  It's the idea of the warmth, and the nicely coloured skin...
I figure I don't really have any other vices.  I don't drink, or smoke; I eat decently well, I workout, I drink kombucha and diffuse essential oils; my only vice has always been the sun.  In the summer I stay out for hours.  I usually end up with quite the equestrian tan of beautifully dark arms and my legs 10 shades lighter.  I love the summer.  But March is hard.

It probably doesn't help that March has never really been happy for me.  March break is a thing of the past; [again], I don't drink, so St. Patrick's Day isn't my thing.  Instead, I have memories of recovering from both transplants in March: my first transplant - February 29th, 2000 and my second transplant - March 9th, 2011.  While I will not be having a transplant in March this year, I am getting constant reminders that it's coming.  The fatigue, insomnia (yup, together is a super fun combination - I'm chronically exhausted, but I can't sleep), irritability (it's an actual symptom of kidney failure - although I don't see the fatigue and insomnia helping), lack of attention span, lack of appetite, and probably my least favourite - water retention.  I'm sloshing as I like to put it.  Mainly the water rentention is a side effect from my blood pressure medication, but edema in the ankles is a kidney thing.  So, needless to say I'm a little grumpy.  It's all uncomfortable.

Because none of this is new, I do have a pretty good system in place for getting through March (so close!).  I focus on the little things that make me happy: investing in fresh flowers every week (white flowers are my favourite for future reference, but tulips of any colour make me happy), making sure I get my pony visits in, enjoying the sun when it does make an appearance, tea, new yummy oils to diffuse, snuggles with Harlow and trying to maintain as much of a normal routine as I can.  I am still very much a type A personality after all, routine makes me happy.  And April will be here before we know it - come on spring!