Friday Tidbits: Real Rest

Rest.  It's what I'm always telling the newly diagnosed with CFIDS/ME/CFS and fibromyalgia that they must do. And yet I'm such a hypocrite.

Do "I" rest?  No, not really.  I'm usually in bed because I have no other choice.  I'm usually in bed because I've done something that has resulted in my collapsing into bed, trying to catch my breath, so to speak.  And yet if you go by the number of falls I've had lately, you can see that I've not been too successful about the collapsing into bed part, not quite making it to the bed, missing the bed by a little or a lot, but hitting that floor nonetheless - instead!   Whoops!  I suppose you could say that something has to give!

Well, real rest is when you're in bed and feeling absolutely NO guilt about it. THAT'S when the real healing starts.  If there's guilt, your body is still producing all sorts of "nasties" that I'm not even going to go into today.  Instead, today I'm making a resolution that this weekend I am going to watch as much TV as I can stand - and mindless fun if I can find it.  I'm going to forget about the holidays if I can.  If I decide to clear out the things in my closet that I bought at TJ's, it's going to be because I want to enjoy seeing those treasures and not because I have any sense of "responsibility" to drag my protesting body to the darn closet and make it look all nice - or passable, as in not breaking my neck, for that matter.

And I'll think about lovely things.  I'll think about the beautiful makeup job I accomplished on Tuesday and the new cosmetics I discovered.  How's that for a tease?  You'll need to wait until next week to hear about a couple of products I think are contenders for my personal hall of fame.

I discovered a perfume that I THINK I'm in love with.  Just as we can be influenced by smell in a negative way, we can be influenced in a positive way, and I think I may have found a scent that may possibly put me in a VERY good mood when I especially need it.  This weekend I'm going to even make an effort to have wonderful smells around me to give my body another added break.

And to prove to you that I'm serious about my resting well and good, guilt-free above all else, I'm going to send this post off via my iPad, hence no climbing up and down stairs, but also no picture until the next time I happen to be by my computer - which is something I rarely do impulsively since I do have that fear thing going on when it comes to computers.

So, like the doctor(s) ordered, it will be a guilt-free rest weekend, which I hope turns into a guilt-free rest week.  Now asking for more would most certainly be asking for too much, so I'm telling myself, "baby steps"!

And on that note I wish everyone a weekend that brings them the best possible health they can imagine, only better.   Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those who've lost so much in the devastation Hurricane Sandy deposited on the shores of New York and New Jersey.  Looking at the TV reportage makes me realize how lucky we are each and every day, despite our precarious health.   We have our warm homes and our medications to keep our stupid symptoms at bay.   We even have the luxury of old pictures which give us so many hours of wonderful memories.

So with all that in mind, yes... the least I can do is rest, and rest thankful for all I have.  Ciao and paka!


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