Sunday, February 27, 2011

My writings have been far and few between. I wish I could write daily. It was my intent when I started blogging. We have been busy and I've found it difficult to accomplish everything. Then at the end of the day when I would usually blog, I'm exhausted. I do check Facebook before blogging and that must be my downfall.

My Chronic Fatigue (CF) has been more active than usual. Falling asleep before 11 am is not how life should be. My night sleep has been great so not trying to catch up on my sleep.

I am having trouble with remembering situations of family and friends. I've always kept up with their birthdays, anniversaries, family situations and their health. I haven't been remembering anything. I'm not sure if that is connected with the CF flaring and my cognitive issues. It is common for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue sufferers to have problems with names and dates. I've had a few problems in that area, but this has gotten worse. I read an article that said that dealing with our pain is all we can do. Therefore, we place everything on the back burner that happens in our day or to our body, except trying to control our pain. Where once we were multitaskers, now we must deal with the pain being racked through our body.

I leave you with this thought:

"Happiness is where you find it."
Author Unknown

Friday, February 11, 2011

Awesome Friday!

My Friday, so far, has been awesome! My two grandsons are here for 3 days. It's an unexpected visit. There step-Dad's Mom is dying. Matt and Heather are with Matt's family spending time with Mom. She will pass soon. Matt is our grandsons' step-Dad, but he has raised them from a young age, so he is more like their Dad than their birth dad.

I enjoy these little men more than I can express. Patrick is 14, will be 15 in April. Josh is 12, his birthday is in July. They have been raised well. I know their parents are challenged by them at times, as it should be, but we are bless grandparents. We spent several hours on the beach yesterday. It was a beautiful day on the Oregon coast. Today we will attend a music night where many musicians gather for the love of music (Heather P you would enjoy Friday night music) and they play for two hours. Both boys are very musical. Patrick wants to play with them and he brought his guitar. Josh doesn't like to be looked at yet, so he will sit with me. They will see their great grandparents there and their great Aunt and Uncle. I'm excited to share them. :D

Saturday we will leave early and drive to Woodland, Washington. We will help move our youngest son and his family. They are moving to Vancouver, Washington. They have our 2 year old grandaughter, Lyla. So they will all have the day together. The boys live 8 hours across the state of Oregon from Adam and family so it's always a treat to get them together.

Will post photos when I get them transferred to my computer. I hope everyone has a good of day as I'm having. :-D I may not be worth a hoot on Monday, but that's ok!!!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Trying to Keep My Anxiety Controlled

We have had a couple of emotional days. I try to keep my anxiety under control. Yesterday it got the best of me.

Dwain's Dad has a dominating personality. He has the need to constantly talk, all the while making no sense. He had some sourdough. I said I might make sourdough bread the next day. Well, I made sourdough biscuits the next day and they did not turn out. Now, it took an hour to prepare and cook the biscuits. After that I lost the desire for bread. My friend Marie came for an unexpected visit, so would not have had the time for bread preparation in time for dinner. The next day, while Dwain was talking to his Dad, he asked how the bread turned out. When Dwain told him that I did not make bread, he exploded and was angry. It upset Dwain. Because I have also experienced Dad's rath in the past, it upset me too. He cares about himself and does not consider others have opinions.

Our son-in-law, Matt's Mom is on life support. Matt and family will leave early Thursday morning to drive the eight hour trip to his parents. When they have said their goodbyes, she will be taken off life support. We will meet them and our grandsons will come home with us through the weekend. I feel guilty that I'm excited to see the boys when their Dad is loosing his Mom.

I know there are many more problems in the world, but right now these personal issues are increasing my stress level and in return my Fibro pain has increased. I'm hoping for a good night sleep. I haven't had problems sleeping since I've been on Trazodone to help me sleep....so thankful.

I have accomplished several projects in our home. Feels good to accomplish something. :-D

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Solve Problems

"Solve Problems Instead Of Making Them Worse"
For those of us with Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue (FM/CF), dealing with daily tasks are tricky. We must take each situation and make it easier, helping our body to cope. To follow are a few examples.
My sink is lower than is comfortable for me. I open the cabinet door and place my foot on the facing. The facing is about six inches higher than the floor. If I have a lot of dishes, I alternate feet, taking pressure off my lower back.
An Occupational Therapist suggested (if I had dishwasher), instead of bending over to close the dishwasher door, use my foot to bring the door closed. Here again helping the lower back.
Electric can openers will save your hands.
Adjustments to daily tasks can take pressure off your body. When we do not adjust, our pain increases. Quite often anxiety will then enter the picture.