Our friends invited my husband and me to their house last weekend. I was excited to relax, but was ambivalent about being away with people even our friends. You see, I don't like being sick or not feeling well in front of others. I get embarrassed and I try to hide or minimize how I sick I am feeling. And I don't want to spoil others' fun and plans based on my limitations. I know it might sound completely ridiculous and it is surprising to me too. I used to be quite the dare devil in my pre-autoimmune days, traveling far off the beaten path and craving adventure and new surroundings, so the fact that a weekend at a friend's house seemed like a challenge shows how much has changed in my life over the last few years.
But the good news is that the weekend was wonderful. Our friends were accommodating to my health limitations, including my many pesky food allergies. They didn't cook any of the items that I am allergic too and asked us for a shopping list before we arrived. I brought my own gluten free breads and goodies. We had a lovely barbeque on Friday night and just caught up and relaxed. Nothing too exciting. And on Saturday I did a few small activities like a walk through the town with my husband. I felt fatigued and took a long afternoon nap while others swam so that I would have the energy for dinner out at a restaurant where additional friends were joining our group.
That is also a big deal for me. Going out to eat at a noisy restaurant at prime time on a Saturday night without experiencing ear pain. And I had no problems and really enjoyed myself to boot. Then it was back to our friends' house for what we call "game night". We played Craniumum which is like a mix of charades, trivial pursuit, and pictionary. It is always girls versus boys--yes not women versus men because we act quite childish and hyper competitive in a silly way. The girls won with plenty of taunting of the boys for their defeat. And it is a good thing we won too because last time we got creamed.
The weather couldn't have been more lovely on Sunday--sun shining, blue sky, zero clouds, and a light breeze. Given that I am on three or four medicines with warnings to stay out of the sun, I lathered on my sunscreen, sported my large brim UPF+50 hat, and sat by the pool under an umbrella for the morning. Then it was back to the bustling city, but I certainly felt relaxed and like I had been away for a week not less than 48 hours. I realize I write all the time about being ill so it is nice when things exceed my expectations. And for now I just want to take advantage of the fact that my health has been a bit more stable and sometimes I can do more than I think.
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