Paying the Price
April 1, 2009 at 12:29 PM (Fatigue and Related Stuff)
Yesterday, I had a good day. It wasn’t very busy by “normal” standards, but I had some time to spend doing things I enjoy. This week is unusual because, Tuesday through Friday, I don’t have any scheduled appointments, events or errends to run. Yesterday was Tuesday, so I ran the risk of overdoing it. I woke at about 10:30 and my boyfriend, Gil and I went out for smoothies. This, I knew, would give me the boost I would need to start my day.
My first task and main goal for the day was to do some laundry. I’m one of those rare people who enjoys housework. No one would know it by taking a look at my cluttered, messy home. My former, healthy self kept a clean, comfortable home. I cooked, cleaned, gardened and eventually raised a family, but gradually my body broke down. Fatigue has been my nemesis and other symptoms have crept in, over the years. The sicker I get, the more I enjoy doing things I had taken for granted before. A few loads of laundry is a special occasion to be celebrated, in my life.
My second goal was to cut some fabric hearts for appliqué’. I enjoy quilting and try to do a little bit in the evenings and on the weekends. I used to consider this an activity to indulge in only on weekends. I have a monumental stash of fabric and I have been trying to organize and sort it, a little bit at a time. Moving boxes and going through fabric has become a physical task that, were I to wait until evening, I would never have the energy to accomplish. I cut out about a dozen squares of pink fabric and ironed freezer paper hearts to them and then moved on to task three.
Task three was a walk to the corner and back. I felt a little guilty indulging in another leisure activity. However, this is a necessary step that I need to take. Given limited energy and knowing that even the slightest physical energy could land me in bed the next day or even the next couple of days, I prefer to accomplish something tangible while exercising. I have dishes to wash and gardening to do, but since I’m recovering from surgery I decided to take it easy and enjoy the diminishing cooler weather.
At this point, my energy was spent and shooting pains in my back sidelined me. I found a comfortable position on the sofa to work on basting my fabric hearts while the usual Stouffer’s dinner baked. I managed a simple salad to go with it and enjoyed this healthy addition to our evening meal. We spent the evening watching TV and I had to forgo quilting and settled for playing Majonng while we watched.
Today, I’m paying the price for all that fun. When I awoke at almost noon, getting out of bed was a huge task. The left side of my face felt as though the numbness from a visit to the dentist was wearing off. Every muscle in my body burns. It’s not the burn healthy people feel from exercise. Oh, I do feel a bit of that and that feels good. I burn as though a chemical has been mixed with my blood and is flowing through my veins. I managed, through the brain fog, to get my usual breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese and a diet coke. Two hours later, the caffiene is starting to kick in. I’m going to use some of this artificial energy to get a few dishes washed and clean the cats litter box. I hope to get another load of laundry done, but I hope not to overdo it, as I’d like to have another good day tomorrow.
