Spoons

What a week.  I started a blog, came out, cleaned the kitchen, caught up on laundry, attended two doctor appointments, and had a kid with the stomach flu.  I am spoonless at the moment which brings me to my next blog entry: spoons.
For those who have been faithful followers, you might remember that I have a serious love of ice cream - but these spoons are not for eating, they are for living, coping, and communicating.

An extremely bright woman, Christine Miserandino, developed the spoon theory while trying to explain to a friend what is was like living with a chronic illness.  Every morning when you wake up, you have a certain amount of spoons - but no two mornings are the same.  Sometimes when you wake up you will have 2 and other days you might have 30.  Each act of your day requires a spoon and sometimes more.  Getting out of bed? 1 spoon.  Showering? 2 spoons (gotta be careful getting in and out of the tub as balance is an issue for me with chiari not to mention that you are wet).  Want breakfast? 1 spoon.  Get dressed? 1 spoon - maybe two depending on the shoe choice and if you have to bend over to tie them (this could explain why I never wear thigh high lace up boots....).
Spoons are non-transferable  - an abundance of spoons today does not mean you get extra tomorrow.  Use them or lose them.
I think you get the idea.
My finding the spoon theory changed my life in that it gave me a way to communicate with all I love and who love me about my illness.  Now my friends, children, Tim, and my doctor, understand a 10 spoon day much better than me saying my pain is at a 7 out of 10.  There are days that I can function at an 8 on the pain scale and then there are days when I am at an 8 and spoonless.  Yes, the pain might be the same but what I did the day before might have increased the exhaustion.  Or maybe I just woke up spoonless - it happens.

My friend, Janine, started a trend among my friends of sending me spoons - and I love it.  It is a daily reminder that I am not on this journey alone.  That friends will donate a spoon to me when I need it and ultimately - it will be okay.  So next time we are chatting and you ask me how I am, don't be surprised when I answer you in spoons.