Wednesday, September 3, 2008

I'm tired just thinking about it.

So here we are again at the start of a fresh school year. My shortest family members are in 1st and 4th grade this year, and already racking up make up days due to Tropical Storm Fay. (Gustav missed us, but Hanna and Ike are on the way!) We're off to another 9 months of scheduling chaos: soccer practice, dance class, field trips, science projects, nasty-notes from teachers around Christmas time, Birthday parties, puberty!, playground spats, stuck-up stay-at-home moms, math homework designed by Satan himself, etc. All that and I work a variable schedule (read: entirely unpredictable and always changing at the last minute) at a 700 bed, level 2 trauma center hospital. And just because I'm slightly sadistic, I've also recently decided that I'm too fat and unhealthy to best deal with having MS. Stands to reason that it would be easier to handle being weak and tired if there was less of my ass to haul around, yeah? Some where in my day I'm supposed to make time to exercise and plan healthy, low fat, low calorie, (low cholesterol for my DH) meals that will magically still taste good enough to get down the throats of the short people.

I know these are the same concerns of every parent at this time of year. I'm not special, and I feel better knowing my misery has company. So here's my question for the MSers dealing with all the usual back-to-school stress as me: How? Today I wake up and my neck is killing me. I don't want to drive my kids to school and go to the gym before I go to work. So how the hell am I gonna get any "healthier"? How am I gonna have enough spoons to do homework and laundry and dishes when I get home from 10 hours of hauling patients and searching peoples insides? All the magazines and blogs advise MSers to "not over do it," or "give yourself a break" when you have those fatigue-plagued days. "Ask for help," they say. All the help in the world (and I'm grateful to have a lot of support) doesn't make anyone else my children's mother.

What I really want to know is:
Where can I get more spoons?

5 comments:

Bubbie said...

Nice to meet you. I'm a blogger with MS that lives on the left coast of Fl. We were spared with earlier alphabet storms but are watching Ike too. Take care and watch those spoons.

Julie M. Baker said...

Hello other Lazy Julie,
I would like more spoons as well. I heard that, in a place called "Mind Sparkles Utopia" there is a spoon store where people with MS can purchase additional spoons. There is also a chocolate river and a licorice lawn. :-)
Peace,
Lazy Julie
http://lazyjulie.blogspot.com

Joan said...

Ooooo! Chocolate! I recommend getting one of those cans of cake icing, then you will only need one spoon to get through the day (giggle!!!).

How is the weather down there?

MS. ME said...

I like the cans of chocolate, but did you know that you can actually buy a tub of nothing but cheesecake filling? I don't know whether to do a happy dance or bitch at the makers of Philly cream cheese!!

@whiskey.xray.yoga.zulu said...

The weather here is only windy so far. Seems like Hanna may pass me by, but Ike looks like he might be a real kicker.

Julie