In Which We Say Buh Bye Pity Party

Gratitudes:

1. The rain brought with it cooler, less humid weather. This week is supposed to be cooler than the last few. I'm glad. Fibro and heat/humidity don't mix.
2. I figured out what was draining the battery on my phone! Thank goodness it was an app I don't use so deleting it was not a difficult decision.
3. Inspiration. I'm writing again. In fits and starts, but I'm writing. I never realize how much I love it until I take a long break.

It's cloudy and grey out and I'm not complaining! If it were winter, I would be crawling the walls due to weeks upon weeks of grey, cold weather. In the summer, a break from the heat is more than welcome. The temperature dropped with the rain and the dog and I have spent our day tromping in and out of the house. He looks at me like I'm nuts, but once he's outside, he loves running in the wet grass. And barking at the squirrels that take up residence in the walnut trees. 

I don't like to complain a lot, but I hurt. I have lived in a constant state of flare - recovery - flare for the last month and a half and I'm tired of it. Even now I am climbing out of a flare. Everything takes longer. Some basic things I should be able to accomplish I just can't. Last week I was thrilled that I could even read a book! So I overdid things and read three books. Romantic fiction. All delightful in their own way. The husband asked me if I needed glasses. This could be part of the problem. So I have booked an appointment for next month to get my eyes checked. And I have booked an appointment for him, as well. He hasn't had his eyes checked since he got glasses seven years ago. Who does that? My husband, that's who.

I'm in pain. My brain is fogged over. I think I missed paying a bill last month. I feel like I'm lazy, but I know I'm not. I'm trying to do the best I can within the limits my health creates. Oh, and I found out that if I don't have an autoimmune disease, I have all the markers for one. Great. Just what I need. One. More. Thing. I guess that taking a few months off to heal and recover before getting back to the workforce is off the table. 

/pity party

Instead of focusing on all that is wrong, I am trying to be mindful and focus on the here and now. And to celebrate what I can do. Yesterday I couldn't have done the library if my life depended on it. Today I was able to get two loads done. YES! Last week I wasn't able to take the dog for walks every day. This week we are two for two. FIST PUMP! This weekend I was unable to run errands by myself due to vertigo. Today I got gas and dropped some items off at the post office. By myself. TOUCHDOWN DANCE! 

I may not be where I was a few years ago, or even last year since things appear to have gotten worse. But I'm alive and I have a dog and a husband who love me, a house that is relatively easy to manage, and friends who make me smile. All in all, when I think about things, I have a good life. So shove over, pity party, there's a new sheriff in town! 

Trumpets and Vines

 Gratitudes:

1. Sweet summer corn grilled over charcoal. Yum! 
2. For all that's wrong with it, health care coverage. Without our coverage I wouldn't be able to afford some of the meds I take to manage my fibro.
3. Morning glories. Yes, they may edge into weed territory and without hardcore management they will take over every damn thing, but they are beautiful trumpets of happiness and I love them. 

Every April I promise myself I'm going to get serious about planting a garden. I dream of vegetables, berries, and a riot of flowers that bloom from late spring until the first killing frost. And then life happens and I'm lucky if I get a planter or hanging basket going for the deck. We have been those people with the boring yard - a few trees that were planted long before we took over, and lawn.

This changed a few years ago when a neighbour gallantly offered to hang dried out morning glory vines on our fugly chain link fence. We share a fence line and I have always loved the colorful flowers on that fence so we took him up on his offer. The first couple of years, our front yard looked like we had let some weed get a little out of control. There were few if any blooms and the vines grew in patches. We have diligently spread the seeds along the fence every spring and this year we have so many vinces that the middle two thirds of the fence are covered and we have had to add trellises for the vine to climb up on.

I sit on my deck or at my dining room table and I sip cold brewed iced tea and smile. Why? Because my front yard is no longer ordinary. It has a wall that is a riot of color. Butterflies and birds are drawn to the verdant green foliage and brilliantly spiked flowers. My yard feels special thanks to an aggressively jealous vine that wants to creep into my lawn and claim all surfaces for it's own. I almost want to let it.  

I have high hopes that within a couple of years, the front fence will be covered with these beautiful trumpets of happiness.

Photo by Jenny Kaczorowoski via WANA Commons