Bed: my control centre!

Over the last 50 odd years, health issues have seen me having to take to my bed. It wasn't easy when I had 4 children under 5 years when glandular fever strikes and wouldn't go away. 

Likewise with schuermann's disease ravishing my vertebrae and spending weeks at a time in traction in hospital, I have learned to control my home from my bed.

With my back or heart problems requiring days of rest and my never-ending fibromyalgia flares, I still have to take to my bed at times. And apart from having a few nana naps, I have many hours to fill in. 

It is definitely possible for us chronically ill women to keep our households in order from our bed. Being ill or disabled does not preclude us from serving God or our families. 

With a bit of planning, we can be like that Proverbs 31 Woman.  God loves us regardless of how fast we spin our wheel. 

So today with the heavy rain we have been having last night and today, my fibromyalgia is beckoning me to my bed. There I will take my laptop and organise my finances, work out my week's meals and listen to scripture and worship music.  I will also pray. Blanket prayers, I call it.  And yes, I will be sleeping a little.

I have done a load of washing and it's in the dryer. I will be folding that up and putting it away sometime this afternoon when I get up. God willing: and spoons, of course! 

The dishes are soaking in hot soapy water and can wait. I will do them whilst I am cooking lamb chops, mashed potato and green veggies for dinner.

Not a lot will be done today except some resting up and controlling my household from my control centre: my bed.

Waiting for my first wind

So today's a day where I sit waiting for my first wind. Not even a breeze! I have another flare of my fibromyalgia and I am so tired breathing is an effort!

I have been pacing myself to get the essentials done today. Mostly catching up on dishes and a couple of loads of washing.

The weather is fantastic and it would be wonderful to dry the clothes outside, but alas, my spoons dictated that I chuck them in the dryer.

This is my to do list for today:

1. Washing 
2. Folding and putting away the clothes
3. Finishing washing the dishes.
4. Cook curried sausages with mashed potato and veggies for tea

Needing to take a bath but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I am dreaming of bed while waiting for my first wind.

Not even on my worst day

So today is another day of pain, lethargy and lack of motivation. As soon as I finish this post, I am going to have a nana nap.

I once would have fought going back to bed, but these days I know I have to pace myself and rest or this fibromyalgia flare won't abate.

In accepting my fibromyalgia, I have had to cast my perfectionism aside and just concentrate on basic essentials like meals.

I refuse to give in to false guilt and that has been reinforced by my realising that as soon as I am able, my housework will be done. Besides, it will never ever get to look like these houses in the slideshow that I blogged about today- not even on my worst day. 

Today's to do list is:

1. Rest
2. Cook some devilled sausages, mash and veggies for dinner
3. Do the dishes

This is the least I can do to make sure that our home never looks like one of those.

A busy day

So yesterday our little township had its annual Festival. All along the strip of parkland outside our home, food tents, stalls selling all manner of things apart from homegrown produce and beauty products, lead happy customers to them.

The weather was perfect for the Festival and the townsfolk enjoyed rock bands, concerts and school bands until the evening. Horses pulled carts of people around the parkland borders. It was fun.

Chris and I had intended to go yesterday, but my fibromyalgia flare which seems never ending put me in bed. There was no way I could have even walked there inspite of it being just across the road. So whilst all this was taking place, I was sleeping the exhausted sleep of the flaring fibromite.

Chris took a short video from our front garden to show me some of the fun. I hated missing out.

Today's weather is 29C which is lovely. I got up, did breakfast, took my medications and fed Xena and that has wiped out my spoons for the day.

My sugars were 11.4 this morning and I feel quite off. My eyes are blurry and my toes are burning and stinging. I am getting quite worried. My diabetes is out of control.

I have brought the minced steak out of the freezer and will be doing some spaghetti bolognaise for dinner.  That's it. Nothing much going on today, yet my body feels like it's been a busy day.

Done and dusted

So as you know, I spent nearly all of yesterday in bed, recovering from a fibromyalgia flare. When I crawled back to bed last night, I fell asleep dreaming of waking with spoons and planning what I would do in the morning.

When I woke up this morning, I felt just like this picture portrays: today is going to be more of the same.

So on today's to do list is:

1. Rest and medication
2. Prepare a salad to go with tonight's frozen lasagna

I know if I don't rest up that this flare will drag on. My home needs some attention, but I can hardly lift my head.  I want this flare to be like my house: done and dusted.

Flat out in bed

So today is going to be busy for me. First thing this morning a technician from Telstra  is coming to install the NBN for us. Hopefully our connection will be faster.

When that's done, I have to go to the Post Office and request another invoice to renew our post office box. They have overcharged us on the invoice. As the post man doesn't home deliver here due to us living in a tiny country township, we must all have a PO Box. They charged us as having a mail delivery but wanting a PO Box. A lot more expensive! 

I have also to change our bed and refill the weekly pill container for our medications. I will be taking note what medications we need a prescription or a refill for at the chemist,  for the doctors' visit tomorrow.

So todays' list of to do's looks like this:

1. Change our bed
2. Finish cleaning the kitchen
3. Refill the medications
4. Do some washing but using the dryer: it is going to rain for the next 3 days
5. Sweep the vinyl floors
6. Bake a cake for afternoon tea
7. Dinner for tonight is quiche with vegies.

This is a pretty full on day for me. I will have to pace myself so as not to prolong my fibromyalgia flare, or instead of being busy flat out like a lizard drinking, I will just be flat out- in bed.

Cat fur and tickling whiskers!

The sun is sinking under the nearby hills, leaving pink streaks in the sky. I have drawn the drapes and lit the lamps. 

My dishes from dinner are drying in the drainer. Xena has been fed and is indoors sitting with her Dad, Chris. 

The weather is slightly cool and we have put our fire on low which gives a cosy effect. I love my home, my husband and my cat... and of course, my God. 

Not only has He  blessed us with a lovely home to live in, but He graciously gave me a few surprise spoons (energy) this afternoon.  I managed to do what was on my list, plus I finished off putting all my clean washing away.

We live a simple life, but it is one of contentment and joy. I am believing for a good sleep tonight. I have already taken my medications and I can retire any time after an hour. I must remain upright and awake for an hour after taking them or my sleep is fitful and sore. I know that if I lay down soon after taking them that I can either have GERD or aspirate some acid and develop pneumonia. I have had pneumonia three times. I don't know why my sleep is fitful and my muscles sore if I don't wait an hour, but I am sick of trying to work it out: It is what it is.

Soon I will join Chris in the lounge room and no doubt Xena will jump up onto my lap for a cuddle and cat nap. As soon as she hears me say I am going to B.E.D. she springs off my lap and nearly trips me up to get there before me.  I have to spell B.E.D. because she knows the word- yes she does. She's a smart girlie! 

As I lay thanking God for the good in each day before I sleep, I can be sure of one thing: my little feline mate will be under the covers, pressed up against my back. She is always purring at night and I have no doubt that she too is grateful for the ending day. And for a Mum who overlooks cat fur and her tickling cat whiskers! 

It's calling my name!

Today is a mild day weather wise. We are sitting on 20C with mild winds and no storm activity. I am sitting here wondering why I have no spoons and am lacking the energy even to have a shower.

Fibromyalgia is a mystery to me. Just as I think I have it worked out, a new or worsened flare springs me unawares, and I find myself unable to think clearly. Even my eyes have trouble focussing today, so pacing myself's not going to work.

There's much to do here as well because I have been in a flare for a few days now. I am even too tired and sore to follow any lists at all. Except Thursdays' List. All one does on Thursdays is rest. I think I will have to treat today as a Thursday. Which is the beauty of Lists: you can exchange days to accommodate how you feel....

There's a few things I must do today:

1. Cook a beef stew in the slow cooker
2. Rest

The first one is done and the second is a work in progress. I feel no false guilt anymore.  It's the only way I can get over this flare. Otherwise tomorrow will be just like today where it's all too much. 

For today, rest is my own prescription to get well. Besides, I can hear my bed: it's calling my name!