Worked from home today. Had so many things on my To Do list. Work-wise, I did great. I’ve learned a very effective tool for working at home on days when the children have no school. The boys wanted to play on the Wii this morning, and it was far easier to focus on my work than Super Mario Brothers. They have a great time playing it, but it’s definitely not a spectator sport. After lunch, they took a reading break, and then they played a little more Mario before the inevitable moment they switched from being best friends to being mortal enemies. After some time being creative upstairs (we have a craft room loaded with fun stuff for stimulating creativity), the tensions between the warring factions had ceased, so they came downstairs again for some TV. I can’t stand their current favorite show, which again was perfect for me from a work standpoint.
Still have two big personal To Do items on which I’ve been procrastinating, but I did get a New Year’s resolution fulfilled by finally using the rice cooker that I bought months ago. Yup, it’s easy, and yup, now I have no excuse not to eat whole grains. Even though it’s called a rice cooker, it’s great for any grains, and I turned out some lovely quinoa (two words I never thought I’d put together!) with very little effort and easy cleanup. Quick prep, so easy to clean up that I’m willing to clean it…the rice cooker’s a winner. Definitely will do it again. So glad that the Clean Cuisine’s 8 week challenge include a breakfast menu planner that includes the grain/water ratios for making grains. Once he quinoa’s done, I’ll make a batch of barley.
It’s MS Awareness Month, and our local chapter is really emphasizing this week as MS Awareness Week. I snorted as I thought to myself, “I don’t need a week or month to be aware, I’m reminded every day.” But there are still misconceptions about what MS is, how to best approach living with MS, and miles to go before there’s a cure. I still remember hearing David Lander (Squiggy to us Laverne and Shirley fans) talking about how he’s not really looking for his cure. What all that’s different between MS patients, would there be a cure-all? Or what would be better – making it easier for everyone to live with MS, or curing a few? I guess your perspective changes depending on whether you’d be part of that few. I think that’s part of the reason I’ve never been all that concerned with a cure, because I’d rather efforts focus on making life better for more folks. Since my diagnosis, there’s been so many more drugs available to treat MS, including the much-desired oral options (Woohoo! No more needles!) There have been treatments that help battle the symptoms. I still laugh about being in my mid-40s and admitting I use botox…just not for the reason most people would think.
I wasn’t planning to write today (technically, I started this on the 4th, so I’m not that far behind on NaBloPoMo. I read a message from James Clear about Marcus Auerlius that included a number of wonderful quotes. This one in particular struck me:
Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what?
One of the hardest things for me when it comes to MS is having to ask for help. I’ve just felt so weak, having to rely on others for what I couldn’t do for myself. And yet, when I read that quote, I feel strong. I am a soldier, accomplishing a mission. I’m not weak and helpless, I just need someone to pull me up when I’m wounded. Soldiers are strong. But even soldiers need help. Needing help, asking for help, is not what makes you weak. It’s walking around with that chip on your shoulder that’s holding you back, that’s keeping you from storming the wall with your comrades.
Time to go storm the wall.
