I love mornings.
I love early mornings.
And I especially love early, quiet mornings.
This morning, I was up at 4 a.m. which is a tiny bit earlier than normal but if I wake up early and feel fairly refreshed, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t pop out of the bed and get the day started.
One of the first things I usually do is brew a cup of green tea and stir in some organic cider vinegar and honey. Vinegar and green tea are both supposed to be good for what ails you so I figure drinking a combination of the two is a good idea even though I’m not usually a huge fan of tea.
I take my mug to the recliner in the living room and get out my Bible. . .
which I read for a while before spending some time praying.
I love the peace of that place. I love to be surrounded by meaningful items that all conspire together to make four stick-built walls coalesce into a heart-built home.
I am always joined in the chair by this particular Smith family member. (I turned on the lights so that her tiny royal self could be viewed a little more clearly.)
Summer always plops herself in front of the recliner and waits for the Mama Smith Elevator Ride to the top.
A little help here?
If I’m not speedy enough in getting her cute self arranged in said chair, she gets a little bit of a despondent attitude going on. But then as soon as she she’s settled in next to me, my tea and my Bible, she heaves a big sigh of contentment (or at least as big a sigh as such a petite body can produce) and tucks herself into her small space for her first snooze of the day.
A lovely way to begin a day—for both Smith dog and Smith mom.
It’s also about bodies that break down and things that don’t always turn out the way we’d like.
Case in point: On Monday afternoon, I will find myself in yet another recliner, except this one will be located in a clinic and will not come complete with its own Furry Canine Accessory. The dog will be traded for an I.V. through which I will be given a two-hour infusion of Remicade, a new weapon that has been added to my fight against Rheumatoid Arthritis.
In addition to the Remicade infusions, I’ll continue to take Plaquinel as well as a reduced dosage of Methrotrexate. (Going from 6 pills a week to two pills) The doctor said that those three medications used together have given good results in other cases. So we’ll give it a try.
Of course, I’ll have blood work done each time I go since all of these meds can cause various non-happy side effects that have to be carefully followed. But I’m hopeful that this new regimen will give me some relief and keep things from getting a whole lot worse.
I have to admit to getting a little depressed over the past few weeks, looking at my hands, seeing the changes that have occurred in less than a year and wondering where I’ll be two or five or ten years from now. And while I certainly appreciate the fact that I’m not in the really bad shape that many other people are, I am still concerned about how all this might turn out and what effects it will have on my life.
It’s when all the worries are shouting their loudest that those early morning moments with my furry companion, my tea and my Bible make the biggest difference. I always find an extra measure of peace in those quiet times that I can tuck away in my soul to carry with me throughout the day—wherever that day (and wherever future days) may take me.
I recognize those hands, Becky. They look like mine and I am sure they feel like mine and the only encouragement I can give is do exactly as you are doing – keep working those hands and fight back at the disease with all your might and determination. Somedays are much more painful than others but I just think I still have my hands and I WILL make them work through the day with me. Love and prayers.
Mary,
Yes, we CAN be grateful we still have hands, can’t we? And we know that they’re doing their very best for us, too. 🙂
Oh, Becky! I literally gasped when I saw the photos of your hands. It looks so painful! 🙁 Sending love and light and healing thoughts your way.
Stefanie,
You are so sweet; thank you for your concern. I’m thankful for each day that these hard-workin’ hands give me!
Not a huge fan of tea??!! (can you hear me gasp all the way from Canada?!) Sorry to tease Becky, I am just such a huge fan of tea that I think it is one of the sweet, simple pleasures of life! 🙂 In my front yard I planted a little tea garden this year and have been growing 7 types of tea (spearmint, peppermint, orange mint, apple mint, lavender, chamomile, and my all time favourite chocolate mint!) Maybe my affinity for tea comes from my Great Great Grandmother having been a maid to the lady in waiting for England’s Queen Victoria back in the 1800’s, or maybe it is because I’ve found little beats tea for a warm and cosy drink on a freezing winter day or maybe it heralds back to happy childhood memories of being served tea (mostly milk with a tiny bit of tea splashed in) by my sweet Grandmother in her fanciest tea cups when I was very, very young.
On a much more serious note, I am tremendously sorry to hear about how deeply the RA is impacting your life and to see the painful looking photos of your hands. I can only imagine how frightening and painful this situation must be for you, especially given you are so active and take such joy in working with your hands (ie through typing your blog on the computer to taking such beautiful photos).
I’ve lived with health issues that have caused a severe form of chronic pain for fourteen years. It’s been a long journey, but let me encourage you that for almost any physical challenge there are often lots of creative solutions that can make life easier. For example some years back I was having trouble with the physical aspect of cooking. Then I found this awesome website that was written for people with RA (it was helpful to me even though I don’t have RA). It listed all sorts of ideas on how to make cooking easier and less painful – from using pots with two handles to make it easier to lift them, to changing the layout of where I kept heavy items like pots in my cupboards (aiming to slide or make use of gravity instead of lifting them) to buying pre-chopped veggies to spare., to be a this problem from painful chopping and also special ergonomic knives that reduce strain on joints – and more. For writing on the computer I have in the past (until I began to have speech issues this past spring) used computer programa that turn speech into text using voice recognition technology. If typing becomes too painful then maybe this would be one way you could still continue to blog . (i have a selfish reason for suggesting this to you as your blog is a type of happy enjoyment in my life! ! ) over the years I’ve gotten good at problem solving ways around obstacles – if you ever want to bounce ideas off me for a particular task you find challenging please let me know.
For a long time I was angry/really worried about having to face all these health challenges, but I am learning to see them in a different light. I’m a very different person – hopefully more compassionate to others – because of my own journey. I’m learning to see my health challenges as an incredible learning opportunity, as well as a way to spur me towards joy and genuine gratitude for all the blessings in my life. It’s forced me to have to take a creative approach to circumventing my obstacles, which has carried over into other areas of my life. And it has shown me how finite, vulnerable and precious life really is and to not dally in making the most of opportunities that God brings my way.
Years ago when I was a physiotherapy student I did a practicum at a facility that had a multidisciplinary team approach to treating arthritis that included everything from nutrition information on what foods were best /harmful for those with RA, education on RA treatments, physiotherapy exercises to strengthen muscles and support joints (such as stretching and gentle movements in a heated warm pool)_and advice for coping with the challenges . I don’t know if there are any such programs near you, but if so I’d recommend it.
Sorry for writing such a long comment!! But I do hope is helpful. Again, please know how sorry I am to hear of you facing the changes of RA.
Jenna,
Maybe I can be inspired by your comment to give tea more of an important place in my life. 🙂 I love how tea has so many emotional/familial connotations for you and am so glad you shared your tea stories; they made me smile! (And I’ve never even heard of a tea garden–how fascinating!)
Your words about your own illness and challenges and the way you have chosen to live your life creatively in order to rise above those challenges were wonderful.. I especially loved the encouragement that we should “not dally in making the most of the opportunities God bringsour way.”
With each year that passes, I become more and more aware of the brevity of life-whether we live it with perfect health, or challenging health, it IS precious. All of it.
Thanks for being such an inspiration.
Oh dear Becky, that does look painful. Prayers that you find success with this new combination of meds! And summer is quite the little charmer 🙂
Lesley,
Thanks for your sweet words and also for recognizing Summer’s extreme charminess!
I love you. Great post.
Steve,
Love you more!
I’m confident Remicade will do the trick! And there are more and more anti TNF out there to try if you ever have an issue with the Remi. Hope you feel better soon… sending all my good vibes your way!
Renee,
Thanks so much for your encouragement; it’s greatly appreciated at this point in the journey. I’m excited about seeing some good results!
looks quite painful! I am amazed with how active you are!
Mrs. Pam,
Well, I figure I’ll keep those fingers working hard as long as they will let me! 🙂
I heard people having great success with Remicade. I am allergic too it so I have to stick with Cimzia and 3 pills of Plaquinel a day. Good luck. Did you know on Facebook they have a group of individuals with RA? I’m a member and sometimes post on it.
Jennifer,
What’s the name of the FB group you’re a part of? Hopefully, I won’t be allergic to the Remicade!
So happy you have beautiful Summer – quite charming with her new haircut and bow. Sorry to hear about your symptoms but hopefully the infusion will be helpful!! Praying. Blessings, Vernie
Vernie,
Yes, Summer really is quite charming, isn’t she? She makes a very lovely grand dog. 🙂 Thanks for the prayers and love.
Remicade worked well for my mother. I’m sorry you’re having such a difficult time with RA…I can tell it’s extremely painful. Prayers for you that this will help you also.
Cindy,
So glad to hear your mom had good results with that medication. I’m just thankful there are options like that to try when other things don’t work. Thanks so much for your prayers.
Special prayers for you, Becky. There’s something about chronic pain that wears us down. . . .
On a happier note, thank you for the lovely, quote-worthy sentence: “I love to be surrounded by meaningful items that all conspire together to make four stick-built walls coalesce into a heart-built home.” Beautifully said!
Anonymous,
Hmmm. I guess that line WAS sort of lovely, now that you mention it. Thanks for noticing it. 🙂