Spring

Sage advice. Having to give up my back-to-nature life style when I was diagnosed with scleroderma was one of the hardest things I ever did. But it's not like I had a choice. The rapid onset of this disease also meant that there was no time to think about it. It just happened. And so I transitioned from a carefully orchestrated life plan to no plan at all. I was simply in survival mode. 

That was ten years ago and I don't know that I can say that, even at this point, I have a plan. But I've certainly progressed beyond survival mode, of that I am certain. Instead of an overall life plan, I've been taking on challenges one at a time and it's working out well. I've become a semi-professional artist selling my work through various venues. In fact, I was at the library last week and someone recognized me and said "Oh, you're the artist." Got to admit, it felt pretty good. I've also come up with a way to play guitar despite my frozen hands. I currently volunteer with three organizations and have started what I hope will be a large vegetable garden - 2 varieties of tomatoes, potatoes, peas, carrots, peppers, beets, lettuce and several herbs - on my balcony. In other words I am keeping very busy and enjoying every minute of it. 

On another topic, our spring meeting is fast approaching. We are fortunate to have Stacey Gicone, an Occupational therapist, speaking on care of the hands for scleroderma patients. If you want more information, contact me and I'll fill you in on time and location.

My son hosted a BBQ yesterday, the first of the season and I was able to partake of the delicious fare he offered up. Yeehaw, spring is here.