Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
Dear Friend, I saw you in my dream; you were across the street and I caught myself hesitating – should I wave, acknowledge you, or keep on going? Then you headed towards me, crossing what is now more a river than a street, there is so much water that has passed between us. You gave […]
Read MoreBefore illness (ME/CFS), I had my life lined up, like a shopkeeper perfectly aligning her shelves, ready to get down to business. One more course and I would be at the top pay scale, qualified to fill many shoes in the education field. I had landed my dreamed-for job in Special Education, and was starting […]
Read MoreHesitantly, I turn the key in the lock and push the door ajar. A waft of warm, stale air accosts me. “Hello?” I’d been told there might not be a response. Something is resting against the door, so I push harder to let myself in. The beam from the light of the open doorway is […]
Read MoreI dream that Ric has removed our dining table. There has been no discussion, no explanation, just an empty space to mark his actions. Even in my dreams, I am asking questions: Is he having it repaired, or replacing it? Surely, not replacing, I think, as the table was his mother’s. I conclude that all […]
Read MoreI am learning to live in the moment, a lesson imposed by chronic illness. No use regretting yesterday’s actions or inactions, and no point fretting about or planning the future. What I know, is that there are moments of time, fleeting intervals that pass, some with profound relevance, some seemingly meaningless, and many in between. […]
Read MoreI wasn’t raised to be on disability. In fact, my military trained father would never allow us to sleep in – up by 5 a.m. on holidays or we’d miss the day – and constantly drilled into us that “idleness was the devil’s playground.” There was no lying around, watching soap operas or movies during […]
Read More“Four treatments should about do it,” the doctor advised while discussing approaches to tackling ME/CFS, which has kept me homebound for the past two years. “Once your body is stronger, we can tackle the Lyme disease.” Wednesday marked the final of four IV Ozone/Ultra-violet light/Glutathione treatments. At the beginning of each visit, the patient is […]
Read MoreHad my third Ozonotherapy last week, and apart from feeling flushed and slightly dizzy afterwards (I then realized I was likely dehydrated) I have felt increasingly stronger. “Or is it that you have a new granddaughter?” my husband likes to play Devil’s Advocate. Having a new grandchild is definitely an energy boost – the motivation […]
Read MoreDespite my need to regulate how much time I spend listening to audiobooks (my mind balks at overstimulation), I could not tear myself away from Best Boy, by Eli Gottlieb. Bronson Pinchot lends his voice to the audio version, skillfully imitating the stilted speech of someone who struggles with semantics. Todd Aaron, the first person […]
Read More“How will we cope when you get out of hospital?” I asked my husband during his week-long stay on the Cardiac ward awaiting surgery. “Let me figure that out,” he promised. “There’s plenty of time to worry about that.” I asked him again just prior to surgery, picturing a frail man returning home, and me, […]
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One Woman's Quest II 