On the first of November I started tracking my activities at the suggestion of my physical therapist. She thought that by looking at what I'm doing she might be able to make suggestions about where to make changes to take better care. My tendency with this kind of thing is to go to my computer and design a spreadsheet of some kind to track whatever. I resisted the urge and just wrote down the things I did each day including my migraine.
I took my hand written paper in with me this morning to PT to see if I was on the right track. Turns out she was looking for more detail so I'm headed to the computer to take it too far. But the lists I had put together started a conversation about the things I am doing. She doesn't think I should be ironing and is concerned about the stackable washer/dryer being bad too. Why don't I just take everything to the cleaners? Um...because we can't afford to pay someone to clean and press our clothes. She and her husband make really good money and I don't know that she realizes how unrealistic that is. We can't afford that kind of thing so I will continue to do laundry regularly and iron a thing or two as needed.
She also made suggestions about what I could do to get out of the house, organizations I could volunteer with. I would love to get out more and I appreciate her efforts to get me in involved in something I'm interested in. I just don't think she really gets how much I struggle just to get basic stuff done at home. I don't think she understands the migraine fog or how debilitating they can be. Even though I'm able to get stuff done and it doesn't look like I get much done each day, that doesn't mean that I have all kinds of spare time. When I'm not doing something it is for one of three reasons.
1. I'm recovering from doing something
2. I'm preparing to do something
3. I am treating a migraine
I don't try to explain this to her. Partly because I don't know that someone who enjoys good health can really understand and partly because I don't know that I have the time or energy to really explain it. I'm not convinced that I'm doing the right thing by just politely taking it in and making generic comments like "oh yeah, that sounds like a great organization."
What do you ladies think? Should I try to explain what my days are really like or not? Have you had similar experiences?
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