Some days when Fibromyalgia skips round my body like a malicious elf wearing hobnailed boots I creak around, hobbling and wincing, counting the minutes until the children are safely ensconced at school and I can fall back into bed.
You know those days, when you know that a hot shower will probably help ease some of the pain but the thought of undressing and actually getting in is tantamount to climbing Everest in flip-flops. I am lucky - If I am too exhausted to even walk the short distance to our village school a friendly neighbour walks them up for me. (Thanks Jane!)
But then there's the holidays.
Bank holidays, half term, and the longer breaks. Theoretically you'd think it would be easier - no school run and you can have a lie in. But there's only so much hanging around the house entertaining themselves and only so much TV and gaming even my children will tolerate so they need to be taken out and about.
Plus they need feeding - well I was going to write three times a day but anyone who has school age children, particularly tweens and teens, knows it's more like 7 times a day when they are off school!
I tried to join in with a church walk during the last Bank Holiday weekend. My daughter and her friend were desperate to take part but after a while I had to ring DH to come and pick us up as I just couldn't go on. I'm still suffering for that walk today.
So you'd think I could sit and supervise them with a nice board game, or arts and crafts. But apart from the fact that it feels like my brain has fallen apart like a wet cake and I can't form a coherent sentence never mind explain the rules of Monopoly to a disgruntled five year old, I am so exhausted I can barely speak anyway.
Thankfully on the food front my older children are quite independent managing to prepare half-way decent lunches for themselves and siblings. (pizza with super noodles is a decent lunch right?) Other than that I point wearily at the cereal cupboard and hope the promise on the box of integrated vitamins and minerals is not so much B-sh*t!
It's hard isn't it? Most of the people I know with invisible illnesses like Fibro & ME weren't diagnosed until after they had their children. But we are parents, we have superhuman resources at times and so like most people with my condition I get up every morning, count my spoons and hope I can spread them out during the day!
If you have a story to tell about your invisible illness, or have some simple recipes or feel-good tips (cheap and easy pick-me ups) to help those affected please add them to my #tiredexhausted linky here. The link will be open for 7 days from Saturday May 3, 2014.
You know those days, when you know that a hot shower will probably help ease some of the pain but the thought of undressing and actually getting in is tantamount to climbing Everest in flip-flops. I am lucky - If I am too exhausted to even walk the short distance to our village school a friendly neighbour walks them up for me. (Thanks Jane!)
But then there's the holidays.
Bank holidays, half term, and the longer breaks. Theoretically you'd think it would be easier - no school run and you can have a lie in. But there's only so much hanging around the house entertaining themselves and only so much TV and gaming even my children will tolerate so they need to be taken out and about.
Plus they need feeding - well I was going to write three times a day but anyone who has school age children, particularly tweens and teens, knows it's more like 7 times a day when they are off school!
I tried to join in with a church walk during the last Bank Holiday weekend. My daughter and her friend were desperate to take part but after a while I had to ring DH to come and pick us up as I just couldn't go on. I'm still suffering for that walk today.
So you'd think I could sit and supervise them with a nice board game, or arts and crafts. But apart from the fact that it feels like my brain has fallen apart like a wet cake and I can't form a coherent sentence never mind explain the rules of Monopoly to a disgruntled five year old, I am so exhausted I can barely speak anyway.
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| Trolley-dolly! Taking part in Team Honk with help from my bloggy friends who towed me along our bit of the relay during a Fibro Flare Up |
Thankfully on the food front my older children are quite independent managing to prepare half-way decent lunches for themselves and siblings. (pizza with super noodles is a decent lunch right?) Other than that I point wearily at the cereal cupboard and hope the promise on the box of integrated vitamins and minerals is not so much B-sh*t!
It's hard isn't it? Most of the people I know with invisible illnesses like Fibro & ME weren't diagnosed until after they had their children. But we are parents, we have superhuman resources at times and so like most people with my condition I get up every morning, count my spoons and hope I can spread them out during the day!
If you have a story to tell about your invisible illness, or have some simple recipes or feel-good tips (cheap and easy pick-me ups) to help those affected please add them to my #tiredexhausted linky here. The link will be open for 7 days from Saturday May 3, 2014.