I Want Cake

Of late, I've noticed a number of MS bloggers writing about what they are no longer able to do because of the effects of MS. I'm not criticizing the writers, merely observing. I've never been one for major discussions of philosophy, but from time to time I come across a quote that strikes a chord.

"One is not rich by what one owns, but more by what one is able to do without with dignity." Immanuel Kant

With MS, we are prone to focus on the things we lose since they can be so life altering. But that is also the key . If your life has been altered, consider altering your response to it as well. I may not be able to stay to the end of the party, but I'm still going to go to it for a little while.

I have adjusted my life to a degree because of MS. I now do more typing of notes for work than relying on hand writing. I now HAVE to write notes for work as I can't rely on my memory. My weekends sometimes seem to be spent catching up on sleep. I know for a fact that before MS, I never napped unless I was on vacation at Mom and Dad's and in a sunbeam on the floor of the family room (really, that was the only way I could actually nap). Now, Saturday and Sunday afternoons find me under the covers at home for a couple of hours. In the beginning I hated how I missed four hours of the weekend to sleep - but those four hours allow me to cycle or hike for 2-4 hours.

In a way, having MS is like dieting. By eating well most of the time, we can allow ourselves a slice of double fudge chocolate cake from time to time. By living by our "MS rules" most of the time, we can allow ourselves to push the envelope a little bit from time to time.

As MSers, we don't own good health. But we can still live well with dignity (and a lot of humour) by remembering that we can still do many things - just differently.

S.