This blog is part of the series I am writing for the 30 Day Chronic Illness Challenge. It was created by @cfs_zombie. I learned about it through Tumblr. Every day, there is a new writing prompt that focuses on some aspect of living with a chronic illness.
Day 10: What little things make your life easier?
It really comes down to the little things in life, doesn’t it? One tiny thing can either make your day or ruin it. Here is a list of some of the little things that make my life easier.
1. Cute Little Pill Caddy
The photo at the top of this blog is of my brand new pill caddy. I got it for Christmas from my mother-in-law. I use it every day! I love the bright, cheerful, color, and the slogan. “Happy Pills”.
It has changed my mindset from “Damn, I have to take more medication” to “Yay, I can take a happy pill and feel better soon!” The other cool thing about it is that it has enough room inside for all of my daily medications and an extra space to put some of the ones that I take as needed (based on symptoms). My desk no longer resembles a pharmacy.
2. Netflix
When I’m having a really bad allergy day (or a super low energy day) all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch something on the TV. Netflix is great for that purpose. My husband has put together a playlist for us.
It includes really silly shows that make me laugh. I also watch shows about, as Shawn puts it “broken people”. This includes shows about hoarders and/or addicts.
I guess it puts things into perspective for me. I may be sitting on the couch wheezing, doped up on medication, and trying to ignore joint pain. Things could be worse! One time, I was super sick from a really bad sinus infection and all I wanted to do was watch dog shows. Netflix has everything!
3. Working from home
Everyone has days when they are just too sick to drive to work and make it through the whole day. I have more of them than most people. When I worked in retail, I often ended up coming to work when I was sick with a sinus infection and contagious. I would not recommend doing that.
What happens when you call in sick? Your co-workers have a rougher day. Your manager gets mad at you. Your amount of paid sick days diminishes (assuming your job granted you any in the first place). You lose income.
What happens when you work from home as a freelance writer? You get to make your own hours. Need a nap in the middle of the afternoon? Go ahead and take one. Too sick to take a shower and get dressed? Sit down and write blogs in your pajamas.
Allergy medications making you too high to drive safely? Your commute is down the hallway. Trying to get work done, but really need to take allergy medication? Go ahead! Need a sick day? Take it. There is no need to call in or get a doctor’s note. Just make sure you get the writing done when you feel well enough to do it (even if that time turns out to be 2 in the morning).
The other advantage of working from home is that I have (a little bit) more control over what allergens I am exposed to. I can choose not to leave the house when the pollen count is high. I can easily avoid people who are wearing a cloud of perfume or cigarette smoke. The list goes on.
4. Twitter
Technically, Tweetbot makes my life easier. It lets me use Twitter without having to see Promoted Tweets or Trending Tweets (both of which annoy me). Twitter is the perfect place to post haiku of frustration when I am sick and tired.
It makes me smile when people haiku back at me in response, or when someone favorites or retweets one of my angry little haiku. Twitter enables me to be a little bit social on days when I am too sick/ too medicated/ too exhausted to go outside and socialize.