Hot And Bothered

Hello, dear readers!

A bit warm, innit?

Yup, it seems that some celestial switch has been flipped and Britain has once again transformed from a dreary land of cloud, rain, and less than impressive temperatures to a sub-Saharan paradise of blue skies and blazing sunshine.

And of course, people are complaining.

I try not to be one of those people. We get a paltry amount of sunshine over here as is. I don’t want to chase the rays away. The trouble is, well the trouble is, at the moment, it’s less than ideal.

Sick And Tired
I’m tired, you see. Not the ‘had a night out last night and didn’t get in until three’ tired. Not even the ‘didn’t sleep a wink last night’ tired. No, this is the all too familiar (to me) bone deep, not sure if I can make it off the sofa today, Multiple Sclerosis tired.

It’s all part and parcel of the malady I was diagnosed with some 5 years ago, one I’d have preferred not to have unwrapped. But the music stopped, and the painful metaphor was still in my hand, so there it had to stay.

Of course there are things I can do to manage this side of my condition. Not so much on the medical side of things (the injections of Brabio I have every two days or so only manage the risk of major relapse), but through managing my time, and the energy I expend in any given day, resting when needed, and being honest about my limits. Well, that and coffee. Yeah, I do find coffee a great help these days(but then, I always have).

Fade To Grey
On the flip side, as well as tactics and strategies aimed at ameliorating my fatigue, there’s a whole gamut of things whose influence will lead to me fading faster than the colours on a cheap T-shirt after a hot wash.

The start of this week has seen an almost perfect storm of this second category of factors. There’s been the UTI, I seem to have picked up over the weekend, the increasingly hot and humid weather (two things which may or may not be linked), and a couple of reasonably busy, if not entirely unenjoyable days.

The first of these was a trip back to my native Leeds, to visit with the family and celebrate my dad’s birthday. I’d been looking forward to the event for a while, as not only was it a chance to catch up with the folks, it also afforded me a chance to do the same with both my sisters, both my nephews and at least one niece. There was also the promise of homemade chocolate current buns, which, of course, was much less important. They were nice chocolate current buns, though.

That was on Sunday. Tuesday, at which point I’d started a course of antibiotics, then saw me repeat the trip, and actually go a few miles further as I fulfilled a promise to, along with my wife, Tina, take my Mother-n-law for a hospital appointment, which once again saw us headed to the magnificent city of Leeds. This might not sound as much of a fun day out, but there was time for a spot of people watching, and a coffee in the open air on the way back and a round of fruit toast thrown in for good measure too.

So, that was two ten mile plus journeys (plus returns), in three days, with a urine infection, and set against the back-drop of energy-sapping high temperatures. It was enough.

Give And Take
Granted, there have been days in between to recuperate, but it’s still led to a week where I’ve either been out and about, or a spent force only good for watching the footy (that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Especially as far as Tina goes). My writing has suffered, as has my online presence in writing groups, but then something was always going to have to give.

Thankfully, the rest of the week promises a lot of not a lot, which I intend to enjoy to its fullest extent, but while these days of summer persist (and let’s face it, that won’t be for long), I’m going to need to continue to monitor and ration my energy expense.

Now, where’s that coffee?


Until next time…