Ow ow ow!

I knew that I would pay for my adventures lately, and I was right. My body let me know that I've been pushing way way too much and that I'm not physically able to do the things I used to.

Every muscle in my body was crying out today. "Are you crazy, climbing up on the car to wrestle with the garage door???? Don't you know that you have FM and you can't have busy day after busy day after busy day????"

There was no ignoring my body today. Heat, rest, and the Good meds were applied liberally. I try not to break out the Good meds unless I'm in a lot of pain. I broke them out today.

Sometimes, when I'm having a good stretch, I think that maybe I've "outgrown" the fibromyalgia. Maybe I can stretch the limits of the pacing that I've learned to do, and do a bit more here and a bit more there.....nope!

I'm so grateful that my condition is currently such that I can have a pretty normal life, if I am careful and pace my activity level and follow all the self-care methods that I've discovered to help myself.

But sometimes I think I just want to not worry about it any more, and just "tough it out." I have trouble admitting that I'm not strong enough to exert mind over matter in this case.

Almost a year after my formal diagnosis, I'm still struggling with the whole acceptance thing.

A totally different, and much more important topic:
Those of us in the Houston area watch the reports on the Katrina aftermath and realize, there but for the grace of God go I. Many Red Cross centers have opened here for the victims to take refuge. Schools are accepting any and all children, whether they were Texas residents before or not. Hotels are filled, vacant apartments are being recruited for homeless families, and we NASA employees are asked to open our homes and provide whatever we can for NASA and contractor families who lost everything in Louisiana and Mississippi. They will have work here as long as they need.

I read that many people across the country are frustrated that they can't "do more" than donate money to the relief organizations. Here, we have the opportunity to show people, in a very concrete way, that we care. Volunteers are taking shifts at the emergency shelters, providing food service, comfort, prayers and encouragement to the victims. The Houston Food Bank has an army of volunteers planned over the next week to aid in the collection and distribution of food and essential items.

Physically, I'm not able to do some of the volunteer activities. But my husband is. It's hard sweaty work, but as he says, "It's only for a day - not much, compared to the hardship that these folks are going through." I want to encourage anyone who is in an area to which refugees have evacuated to do the same. And I'm signing up for as much volunteer work as I can do.

But I'm going to pace myself as I do it, so I don't crumple in pain and do no one any good.