How was YOUR Sabbath?

Well, I woke up from a dead sleep with my youngest handing me a freezing cold ice lolly so I could open it for her. I went to wake her father so he could take care of her. I’d not put drops or ointment in my eye for some hours and my eyes were painful and gritty so I put ointment in my eyes and got ready to lie back and let them work. Alas, he did not parent her. So, at six am, I took her very loud self to the car for a drive so she’d not wake her poor siblings up. Usually she wakes them by entering their bedroom, too.

When we got back, her biggest brother and her father, were standing talking together inside the house. She put her hand on the door handle to enter the house, saw them, and put her hand down and decided she wasn’t in the mood for them. Off we went to the yard instead.🤣I don’t blame her! I wasn’t in the mood either! I’d not been able to see clearly as the ointment blurs your vision for some time.

The rest of the morning was same as always but a bit worse. She didn’t sit at all. I was trying to edit their nature video while she kept coming in and out, wanting, wanting, wanting and her siblings also coming every now and then wanting, wanting, wanting.

I walked into the kitchen, and the pumpkins and sweet potato I’d cooked for her and myself? She was finishing it off as I entered, her father silently watching her. there went the only vegetable I could eat.

But that wasn’t all! I’d made myself a gluten free veggie sausage. I opened the fridge, ready to put in my hotdog roll.

I had the bun. But no sausage. Her big brother had seen her eat THAT one. And there went my protein source. Yeah, it wasn’t exactly a wonderful day.

BUT, I did acknowledge how grateful the neighbours must be that she’s well now. Her digestive system is working sluggishly, so I won’t ever take a break from the lacative medicine ever again, but man, it’s lovely seeing her mot in that excruciating pain she’d been in. I am thankful!

I also love that after my telling her to, she turned the bubble machine on! Getting her to follow a command is more miss than hit, in the hit and miss cycle! I also love it when she uses her unorthodox voice.

I’m also thankful for small mercies. Autism is hard. Very hard. My firk is very finicky about what she will and will not eat. I’ve figured out that ‘manners matter less than health.’ She doesn’t want dished out food or fruit. Especially not grapes. She will eat sliced apples, but not grapes in a bowl. So, I meet her where she is and put a container of grapes of the right amount in front of her. Forget table. Forget bowl. Just wash and place.

Can you see the pumpkin she dropped? Or the grape stems? Or are you focusing on how the plan worked and she ate all her grapes? How about an apple? I took apples out the cupboard and left them in the bag but on the kitchen counter. She took the bait and took an apple and ate it! We had a good day. Stolen protein, stolen vegetables, eaten fruit. Diet wise, today was a win. 🥰

My watch is telling the story I have been feeling. I’m getting worse and I’m sad, because I’d had a few good months last year. My steps age becoming more asymmetrical-not good. Limping more unbeknownst to me.

The six minute walk tells you how healthy your heart, lungs or musculoskeletal system are/is. Mine had a few good weeks and now I’m getting worse. Is it my lungs? My heart which is creeping back up? My body which has had worse pain?

My medical aid decided I’m a high risk patient. They put me on a programme to check my BP. They paid for this newfangled BP monitor that is linked via Bluetooth to the app which then takes my numbers. As you know and can read here, this wasn’t a perfect combination of numbers. I don’t know what they look at in the background to decide which of their clients needs to watch their BP, but I’m one. The father of my children is their client but he’s healthy so they didn’t put him on the programme. Hmph!

And that’s where I’ll end, folk. I hope all the children wake up late in the morning! I won’t hold my breath!

Health wise, today was a win because I was able to reach over 15 000 steps despite how bad I feel. It could be worse.