Well, it's another Sunday without church. While I hate that intensely, I guess I do not hate it enough to suck it up and force myself to go through what I'd have to go through in order to go---only to, most likely, sleep through the service in the recliner they've put there for me, because I've worn myself out by just the effort of getting ready. My shoulders have been agonizingly painful...getting dressed is almost impossible as is bathing....so to go through all that would require many painkillers and that would only make me more tired. Also, my breathing has not been good for the past week or two...and that makes showering quite risky because the shower steam is a bad trigger for my asthma. In the hot weather, it's not so bad because I can stand to take a cool shower....but today it is cold out and definitely a day for a nice hot shower....If only that wouldn't kill me. lol...
So, by now, you are probably wondering if I ever bathe. I do. Probably not as frequently as I should -- but since I rarely go anywhere or see anyone, I don't see as it is worth what I go through in order to do so. Today, I DO need to bite the bullet and take a shower...and I will ...but it will have to be well spaced out with lots of rests in between things. My getting ready for something goes something like this: Do a breathing treatment on my nebulizer. Take stuff out that I"ll need...towel, bathrobe, clothes to change into. REST. prepare bathroom: put shower chair into the right place, get a washcloth and put soaps where I can reach them: REST. Get undressed and put on robe. REST. Go and get into the shower...wash and dry off....put on robe. LONG REST. and finally: Get dressed and you guessed it: REST and do another breathing treatment.
Add to all of that the fact that mornings are brutal times for people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as RA and PsA and Lupus...with pain and terrible stiffness...well, it makes for not a pretty picture. So if I ever have to leave the house before, say, 11:00 AM, it calls for some early rising and lots of advance planning and preparation, such as: knowing in advance what I will wear and having my pain meds and water next to my bed so, as soon as I am conscious, I can take them so as to be able to go on with the rest of the personal care and dressing.
This video is by Rob Thomas and is about his wife who has Lupus and it accurately describes how I feel each morning.
Yesterday my pastor called and we had a very nice talk. I had been feeling quite neglected by my church...I know it is nothing intentional...but I guess it is a matter of "out of sight, out of mind." I have still been going to my Wed night Bible study...which is easier because it is later in the day. My church has recently started a Saturday evening service which may be a possibility for me to attend if I can find a ride to get there....However evening meetings are tough for me also, because I have a ridiculously early bedtime as my strength and endurance generally run out by 8:00 PM. There have been many times at Bible Study when I have fallen asleep during the study and woken only in time to go home.
So the moral to the story? If you want me to do anything make it between the hours of 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM because outside of those parameters, I'm pretty much useless. I was historically, a rabid morning person. I would often rise by 4:00 or 5:00 and have my house clean and half of the day's activities done by the time most people were just thinking of getting up. I had the horrible habit of calling people before 9:00 AM because to me, that was really like noon. It was always hard for me to fathom that people were still comfortable in their beds at that hour. I still do not stay in bed for long in the morning. I'm usually so stiff and in so much pain in the morning that I must stagger from my bed to my recliner to change my body's position and attempt to get it moving and that is usually before 7:00 AM and often much earlier.
So now you've seen my typical morning. I pray that you have a blessed Lord's Day and I'd encourage you to maybe give someone a call who is unable to attend church. They'd love to hear from you!
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