First of all, Happy New Year to everyone! As always, I am glad to be taking part in the monthly writing prompts on A Chronic Voice. The prompts this month are as follows:
- Summarising
- Crossing
- Moving
- Rebuilding
- Expecting
Summarising
I ended 2022 with my customary look back at what went well, what didn’t go so well and what I have learned during the year. It can be easy to overlook some seemingly small triumphs when you live with chronic illness. “Routine” things, such as cooking healthy meals from scratch or managing to go on a short, daily walk, that might not seem extraordinary to anyone else take on additional significance when they represent a challenge for us to complete. So, in summarising the year, I feel it’s important to give ourselves credit for showing up each day and getting through another year living with health struggles.
Crossing
The last week of 2022 saw me crossing over to using my new journal for 2023. I’m a real stationery addict and so this is something I look forward to and I enjoy spending time transferring information over to the fresh, clean pages of my latest journal at the end of each year. My journal isn’t just a place to record appointments and to do lists, but also somewhere where I write down the books I’ve read, hopes and goals for the year and my bucket list. For me, nothing says “new year” quite like a new journal!
Moving
I am still experiencing a lot of back pain and am under the care of a specialist spinal physiotherapist to see if it is possible to better align my spine and get it moving in a smoother way. I have exercises to do each day but am not always the best at actually doing them, despite knowing that I really need to in order to help myself. And so in 2023 I am going to try and create a habit and use the habit tracker in my journal to see if this will help me make these mobilisation exercises part of my daily routine.
Rebuilding
During 2022, I spent a lot of time decluttering the house either selling items on eBay or donating them to charity as I wanted to repurpose the spare room into a space I can use for exercises and also for writing. This time last year, the room was essentially a store room but it now looks an inviting and relaxing room to make use of. My husband has had to rebuild some furniture and storage units that we had packed away years back as we didn’t have space for them. It has been a lot of work but I am pleased with the result.
Expecting
I am still suffering with some lingering effects of Covid. Just before Christmas, I went for a blood test and ECG at my doctor’s surgery to investigate the symptoms. I’m expecting the results this week although I do feel that the issues are Covid related. So from this, I am also expecting further follow up and perhaps a referral to a long Covid service.
Musings on Life with Fibromyalgia 
Thanks for joining us again this month, Sarah. It’s always good to hear from the community! Hoping your physio goes well… if it makes you feel any better, I am terrible at doing them too although I really really should. The chronic pain just gets in the way doesn’t it. Sending hugs!
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And thanks to you Sheryl for hosting and keeping us together as a community. Yes it’s so hard to do the exercises even though I know they will help me in the long run but dealing with pain is so draining.
Hope you have a good January
Sarah x
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Hi Sheryl,
I decided to be EARLY this year with your link-up and just finished my post to help you start 2023 off with a bang. Let’s hope it’s good to us! Thanks for the great writing prompts, as usual.
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Hi Sarah,
My sincere apologies for the comment to Sheryl. I tried leaving some comments on your site last year and they didn’t go through, so I posted them under Sheryl’s shares from your site. She said you aren’t on FB. I checked again today after seeing your new comment on My Several Worlds and I’m totally perplexed as to how I left a comment for Sheryl on your blog, but things are looking up. At least it went through on your site!
I’m also a stationery addict and Taiwan’s shops are so good! I almost hate going in them because of all the stuff I end up buying despite having terrible handwriting! 🙂 I don’t know about you, but arthritis and fibro have really affected my hands. Anyways, I look forward to getting to know you better this year!
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Hi Carrie – no worries at all 🙂 Thanks for commenting.
I can well imagine how good the stationery shops must be in Taiwan, I dread to think how much stuff I’d end up with! yes fibro has affected my hands but I find it’s more typing that hurts rather than writing. I journal quite a lot and although writing makes my hands ache, it’s not a fibro ache if that makes sense. But my general dexterity isn’t what it was.
Hope you have a good week and thanks again for stopping by
Sarah
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Hi, Sarah,
I’m glad to see you participated in the linkup again this month! I wish you the best in finding relief from your lingering effects of COVID. Your stationary sounds so fun! I love journaling as well.
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Thanks for reading again Lauren and great to hear from you 🙂
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Oh gosh! Sorry to hear about COVID. I hope the lasting effects become less for you. I had covid and have fibromyalgia, so I know how horrible it can be. I hope January is a good month for you. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren – bournemouthgirl
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Thanks for reading and commenting. Sorry you’ve had fibro and covid too, not a good combination and hope you’re ok again now.
Best Wishes
Sarah
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I’m a stationary lover as well! Happy New Year to you and may you find joy in it this year.
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Hi there. Glad to hear that stationery brings happiness to others too…Wishing you a joyful 2023. Thanks for the reading and commenting 🙂
Sarah x
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