Changing Our Lives

I know I said I was going to talk about pacing ourselves, but this is sitting heavy on my heart, so someone needs to read it.  I will work on the pacing yourself soon.

Okay, so many of us who have FMS, were A type personalities, busy, doing three or four things at once and ready to go at a moments notice.  Then our lives come to a screeching halt and we are struggling to figure out how to reclaim our lives.  Once we come to the realization that we are never going to be the person that we were before, we find ways to do things and still live a full life.  Here are my top three ways I have changed my life.

The number one way for me is that I had to realize that I have to rest BEFORE I get too tired.  This is hard, because at the times I am feeling ok and want to just do one more load of laundry, or sweep the floor, or even make sure the kitchen is clean if I don't stop I will pay for it later.

The number two way for me to come to grips is to realize that while I can't do it all like I could before, I can do it differently.  Instead of baking cookies from scratch, I found a recipe that takes 25 minutes from start to finish and only uses 5 ingredients.  This way my family can enjoy sweets and I feel like I am still giving them a part of their Betty Crocker Mom.  For difficult recipes I try to find shortcuts and my family is enjoying most of them :) 

The third way I have learned to do things differently, is to lose my pride when it comes to using a cane, walker, or wheelchair.  I got a handicap plaque from my doctor, and use a wheelchair when I am shopping.  This allows me to ACTUALLY go out and shop for groceries, instead of being stuck inside and allowing depression to suck me under.  Then when we go places as a family, I use a wheelchair.  This way I can still see the sights with my family and enjoy my life instead of moaning about what I can't do, I enjoy what I CAN do.

SO those are my top three ways I have come to change my life and as time goes on I will share more.  Please know that you are not alone in this FMS.  There are more of us here who will support you and help learn how to learn to live with this.