I was really lucky this weekend.
On Sunday - my significant other's birthday - I woke up feeling pretty great!
For no known reason, I woke up and had energy, my pain and nausea both were significantly lower than usual, and I actually managed to participate in a very normal, and exciting, activity!
I felt like MYSELF - one of the only times in the last three years.
I have had some pretty good days, but not many great ones recently. This one was great. It felt as though I was allowed one amazing day so that I could participate in some birthday festivities.
I was giddy and energetic and excited, I blended into a crowd, and the whole day was full of giggling and fun!
Don't get me wrong, I had to sit out and relax for over half an hour while my friends continued the festivities, I was in a great deal of pain afterwards (which is still not letting up), and I had to have a nap. I also will be needing to slow down and take several days to fully recuperate, but it was SO worth it.
I was able to have fun and truly enjoy myself without having to carefully calculate how much energy I can expend on certain parts of the day.
For once - in a long time - I was able to DO without preparing for the fallout.
It was an incredible feeling.
Afterwards, we settled in for a quiet night at home, and after a four-hour nap, we spent the evening having a nice supper and watching a flick. My upbeat energy and optimism was STILL going strong, so we were both joking and enjoying each other's company, giggling and laughing and simply having fun together. I was able to really get involved playing games with my puppy. We got to have relaxed fun!! With pranks and jokes and all of the excitement, we both were laughing so much that some of my internal muscles started cramping up BIGTIME! The sharp internal pain was not exactly comfortable, but what better way to accidentally trigger a muscle flare-up than by laughing excessively?
It may not seem like such a big deal, but when I have a day where I can kind of run around and play games on the floor and around the kitchen island chasing my puppy, that is the best feeling in the world! I didn't have to worry about vomiting from moving too fast, I was only experiencing mild leg swelling - I was even able to enjoy brief moments where I got to forget about some of the pain.
Those days are few and far between for the time being, but oh MAN are they worth it. I finally felt like I could be myself. Smiling, joking, laughing, playing, participating, and just LIVING.
Of course everything is back to 'my normal' now and my hips and muscles and digestive system are all pretty ticked off, but I was able to have one day this year where my limitations were not so much of a complete and debilitating obstacle.