The Girl With Arthritis

Over tired. Over stressed. Over busy. Is it being young that keeps us over everything, or is it simply life with a chronic illness? I have yet to know the answer. It seems that whenever the world gets busy, all symptoms increase. And when there's one thing going on, there's a hundred things going on. And when there's a hundred things going on, you have no time to rest. It's a vicious cycle. Sometimes I have to tell myself over and over again that I am not lazy because I want to lie down and go on Facebook when I get a free moment. The rest is so necessary to a person with a chronic illness, and it's not just a half hour you need. It can take a few hours to get the rest necessary. Don't feel guilt for the need to rest during the day: You are very strong and deserve it. You deserve to be able to take care of yourself the best way you know how to. That means relaxing when you need it. When things get busy, it's even more important to get this rest. Put yourse...

Dear Elizabeth, What are you doing?! You should be burning out any day now, and I'll make sure of that! Really? Volunteer work? I get it, it's good for others... But not so for me. Let's pay a little more attention to who controls if you have the stamina to, alright? School... I get it, you've got your priorities but I've got mine too. You can't neglect me so you can go to school . And now your doing Saturday classes... Really? You think you can handle that? Well, I'll make sure you've got your hands full between classes and me. Oh, and lets not forget those stupid art projects your always working on. I know your working on lots of things, especially for The Girl with Arthritis, but what about me?! Don't you ever sit down like I want you to? Elizabeth... I miss you. You're just so busy all the time... There just hasn't been enough time for me lately. You just don't pay attention to me anymore. I miss all the time we spent toge...

It is glaringly obvious I have not been writing regularly. Lately there is a day or two between posts. Honestly, I did this at first because I began to worry posts everyday are annoying. Now, it's because I haven't much time to write. And I am sorry for that. Believe me when I say I very much enjoy writing and it hurts to be away so much (even more than Arthur). I'm not going to sit here and write excuses for you. That's rather boring. But I am going to be very busy for about two or three more weeks. Please excuse me in advance if I don't get to write much or if my posts don't appear like my normal ones. It's an extremely stressful time right now, but fortunately it will get better. It just takes time. Hopefully Arthur will cooperate to help. So I leave you here for right now. This isn't an excuse post for me to forget you for two weeks. It's an apology post in advance for having too little time and too much stress. Please bare with me: I'm t...

I've been busy for the past few days, and I'm finally getting to sit down and relax for a while. I put in twelve hour days quite often. Whether this is due to the fact I am young or that I'm simply busy, I know not. But what I do know is that I am young. And I do "young things." Granted, my joints don't really know that. But my brain does. And Arthur fights me the whole time I do things I like! It doesn't stop me at all. Nope. I go to concerts and dance the night away (if you want to know what that's like, check out a recent post 'Arthritis Dance'). I see theatre productions, despite the hours of inactivity. I go to parties. I shop for hours on end. I take long day trips. I do tons of things that make Arthur kick and scream and cry and beg me to go home. And I don't give in. Perhaps that's the young rebellious part of me? I think so, because I'm good to my parents and listen to my professors. Obviously I had to ignore someone.  ...

This past month I've been going to non-stop parties and functions. Not out of wanting to go really, but of having to attend out of politeness, necessity or because I'm being dragged by my parents. I'm so exhausted and sore: These old bones can't take much more. I really can't handle going out. They aren't even over the top parties: We have supper, talk a little and maybe have coffee and dessert. Even a trip to the cinema after class took a lot out of me. Maybe it was the trip to the cinema (which is not often due to the fact it is several towns over), or maybe it was a long day of school and an hour of swimming. The point is, even going out often and doing practically nothing is tiring. Though I know I could be way worse, it is very true when they say kids with arthritis are kids in the bodies of the elderly. Even then, I've seen many elderly people who are healthier and stronger.

Let's all face it, there comes times when you go offline, turn off your cell phone and just want to relax in your favourite chair to watch a great episode of Dr. Who followed by M*A*S*H - give or take a Harry Potter movie. But it's during that time when you have this party to host, and these visitors to tend to and this group outing planned all during the only days you have to relax. I love seeing people and getting together, but I'm tired and sore and just want a day to sit back. Did I mention I have a lot of art homework to finish? Oh,well.  What do you do when things get busy?