Chronic Illness and the Holidays

It's that time of year again, when we have to gather with relatives, eat lots of stuff, drive all over the place, shop for presents...and figure out where and when to use the limited spoons we have. Chronic illness adds a whole new level of complications to the holidays, but over the years I've found a few ways to make life easier.

Make lists. Because brainfog won't let me remember much. STM (short-term memory) issues are also a factor, which may be illness-related, weather-change-related, or medication-related. You can also make plans for doing stuff in such a way as to conserve what few spoons you have. Which leads me to the next point.

Amazon: This is where I buy gifts for people, because it means I don't have to physically go out and traipse around the mall. Gift wrapping is available on most items, and you can keep track of addresses as well. It also offers reminders for people's birthdays and special events. Amazon also does the shipping for you. Since my family is across the Atlantic, shipping from the UK can be a right pain if you're shipping everything by yourself by going to...

The dreaded post office. Queues. Not fun for a Spoonie. They really need to have more chairs in there. If you can manage it, do your off-Amazon Christmas shipping all on one pre-determined date, that will ensure that the parcels get to where they need to be before December 25. Use the blue badge to get close parking.

If anyone has more ideas, please post them in the comments!

The Birth Plan

Just watched this hilarious video on "birth plans". Oy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ob3tObX3Fg&feature=player_embedded