LEMON-AIDE

Good morning.   I want to share a couple blog posts that I read this week that have stuck with me and kept me thinking.

‘THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR INTERACTING WITH THE CHRONICALLY ILL”, posted by Kitora on her blog Warning Schematic Inaccurate.  I laughed and my eyes watered reading Kituro’s post and the Commandments, as they are about as affirming of the chronically ill experience as is possible.

For example…commandment number seven- “Though shalt acknowledge our successes and celebrate them with us.” I’m paraphrasing now-Celebrate the accomplishments of a chronically ill person and then do not follow up by telling them that you just completed your first Iron Man Competition.  Share their excitement at having finished a whole load of laundry in a day, as this is sincerely a huge accomplishment. Imagine doing that yourself in the midst of having a big bad flu.  I read that and thought-  Yes!  When I put a load of wash in the machine in the morning, transfer it to dryer mid-day, fold (which can take an hours fold, rest, fold, rest), and then when I put the last stack of folded shirts in the drawer I want to shout-”I did it!”

I would like to have read these commandments twenty years ago and shared them when needed. I think they may have saved precious relationships in the early years of adjusting to life altering chronic illness, as well as given me peace of mind that what I was experiencing was “normal” for a person who is chronically ill.

I guarantee you will be glad you read Kituros’s post both for the commandments and for Kituro’s wisdom about the chronic illness experience.  (The commandments were written by Susie Williams at Publichealthalert.org.)

GREAT MONEY SAVING (AND GREEN) TIPS FOR THESE ECONOMIC TIMES:

What a fun read full of useful “make-do” tips Renee posted on her blog Renee’s Reflections.  She learned much about making do from her mother who lived through the depression.  I’ve written “clothes pins” on my grocery list since reading this piece and look forward to using them to keep food fresh as Renee suggests.  I’m also going to try brushing my teeth with baking soda, forgoing expensive, chemically toxic toothpaste (cost difference-baking soda $50 cents a box, toothpaste for sensitive teeth from $3 to $4 dollars).

Renee’s ways to make do with what we have, are not only good for the pocket book, but use non-toxic and reusable materials which make them good for our environment and for those of us with multiple chemical sensitivities and environmental illness.