Tag: respect

awards, nominations, challenges, writing

50 Word Thursday #27: Friendship

Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

Oscar coughed and shifted in his recliner. Felix checked his watch then stared out the window, dying to open it and let air into the dark room. Silence the whole two hours he’d been there. He hoped that by remaining where he was, he might do some good, even there.

(50 words)

I haven’t done one of these for a while but I’ve missed them. It’s a great writing warm-up to pare down my writing before I get some words in for Camp NaNoWriMo. I failed at Camp in April because I was M.I.A.: Lost in the Garden so I’ve lowered my word count goal in the hopes of getting my writing moving again.

So far so good, but fingers crossed…

❤️ Amanda

Kristian from Tales from the Mind of Kristian is hosting this week.

The Rules:

• Find the muse within the photo or line provided and follow where it leads. It can be a story, anecdote, poem. Anything!

• The Story must be between 50 and 250 words, in 50 word increments. (so 50, 100, 150, 200 or 250 words)

• Link back to this post with the tag 50WordThurs so that everyone can find it, or post your response in the comments on his site.

• HAVE FUN!

life

I Remember

Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

An early post this week, in honour of Remembrance Day.

Thank you to all veterans and current military trying to protect freedom and human rights around the world.

I remember.

It’s important to recognize that Remembrance Day is not only about veterans that have lost their lives. Many soldiers return home with more than just physical injuries and the supports are not there in the mental health system.

We need to do better.

I also like to take time on Remembrance Day to think of the innocent civilians that get trapped in war, simply because of geography.

I think of my Oma in World War II, who had to flee her home with three small children and live by her wits to keep them all fed and safe.

I think of all the people suffering in refugee camps now, victims of malnourishment and rampant disease.

I think of mothers protecting their children with their bodies as the bombs fall.

I think of fathers and volunteers digging bodies out of rubble, praying for a miracle.

War is an atrocity. Until we do better, we need to remember.

I remember.

❤️ Amanda

Partners/Caregivers

Shoutout to partners!

Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

Happy Monday!

Since I just started this blog, I was planning to start with a more introductory post but I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in many of the facebook ms support groups I belong to and I think it’s a topic worth discussing. Every day, I see at least two or three stories about partners (and sorry guys, but it’s predominantly husbands) bailing out post-diagnosis. Apparently for some people, ms is a deal-breaker of the ‘in sickness and in health’ part of the marriage vows.

I kind of get it from this side of the fence. Standing by while you watch the person you love struggle daily, losing basic abilities, fighting through pain and fatigue, never sure what further deterioration the future may hold, must be terrifying. When the nerve pain is so bad that nothing can touch it, and the slightest touch is like knives or fire so you can’t even comfort with a hug, must be a special kind of helpless feeling. The mood swings that transform your partner from Jekyll to Hyde to a blubbering puddle on the floor, the sensory overload that makes it difficult to be in busy places without shaking like the Great San Francisco earthquake, the bladder and bowel issues that make any out trip a potential disaster, the list goes on and on.

Some people just don’t have what it takes to be an ms partner. Neurologists have told their patients that the partner fleeing is quite a common phenomenon. Believe me, if I could, I’d run from this bugger too. But I don’t want to focus on the cowards that can’t handle the reality of the monster. I want to celebrate those that have the backbone to stand by their partner as support in whatever way is manageable for whatever weird symptoms crop up on a daily basis. Are they perfect? No, of course not. They don’t always say or do or react in the ‘right’ way. Nobody does. But they stay. They fight the fight alongside and even in the silence of the dark bedroom when you’re drowning in the fatigue tsunami and can’t hold a conversation, you know they’ve got your back.

It’s a delicate balance for both sides. The ms warrior wants to maintain independence as much as possible, the partner wants to help but also respect their partner’s dignity. The warrior pretends to be fine, not wanting to complain or explain the latest in the list of symptoms, the partner sees when things are getting too much and takes over a larger chunk of life’s daily chores. The two things that make it work, when it does, and this applies to all marriages really, are RESPECT and GRATITUDE.

It is inconceivable to me when I hear people say that their partners call them lazy or think they’re faking their ms. I do understand that ‘you don’t get it until you get it’. People cannot possibly understand the power of the fatigue that comes with being chronically ill (especially those assholes who claim to be just as tired), and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Not even the doctor who told me my symptoms were ‘just a virus’, but that’s another story. Respect means that even if you can’t imagine what your partner is going through, you believe them innately when they say they can’t do any more. It also means not expecting that caregiver to do things in exactly in the same way you might, which was/is a difficult one for me to manage. 😬

The old saying is ‘love makes the world go around’. While I believe that’s true, it’s gratitude that makes that love continue to grow within a marriage. When two people are genuinely grateful for the other person’s existence and how their partnership improves their life, the love can only grow deeper and richer. One of my life mottoes is ‘it’s all about perspective’. I can choose to focus on the negative things in my life or the annoying things my partner does. I can whine that he doesn’t say just the right thing when I’m in a mood, or stack the dishwasher properly. Or I can filter the focus through the lens of respect and gratitude, recognizing that it can’t be easy to be riding on the ms rollercoaster with me. He never bought a ticket but he’s holding on tight, ready to take the corners and dips and loops by my side. I couldn’t be more grateful or have more respect for anyone.

Respect and gratitude to all the amazing partners who are fighting not fleeing!