Bits and bites

This is what the Wookie saw this morning outside his front widow. We had a little bit of freezing rain last night and this morning, and now it's coming down in buckets. The temps are going up, fog is forming, and the deer will be hitting the highway, too.




Over the weekend I Mced the Movie Night for MS, which was postponed because of weather a couple of weeks ago. Here's what I had to say:

As a person with MS and someone with a very strange sense of humour, I can and do see the funny side of MS. Like the most recent headlines in the news about how breast feeding may reduce relapses. Breast Feeding May Reduce Relapses. Hmmmm....first of all, I'm lactose intolerant. So I can't be drinking any kind of milk. Even if I could drink milk, am I supposed to cozy up to a pregnant or nursing mom and ask for a snack? Oh, wait.....I should breastfeed my child to reduce relapses. A little difficult at the age of 45. Any eggs I have left are probably a little on the stale side so I'm not going to start having children now.

The thing with MS, as with most illnesses, we have to dig behind the headlines to get the pertinent information. Researchers are studying the chemicals and hormones involved in pregnancy and breast feeding that lead to reduced relapse numbers. They are studying the effect of Vitamin D at the genetic level. They are studying the addition of fatty acids to diets to improve repair of damaged myelin.

The MS Society of Canada is supporting this type of research. They have to. It's their mandate as they strive towards their goal of being a leader in finding the cause and cure of MS. The world is looking towards Canada for a solution. We're an itty bitty player on the world political stage, but we've got one of the largest roles in research for MS. People are expecting us to come up with the answers. I'm really looking forward to the day when we can announce to the world we've accomplished that mission. Your presence here today is helping us to reach our goal. Thank you.

On Friday morning I was having my weekly coffee at a local coffee shop before I went to work. I sit with the same fellas at least once a week and catch up with them about what's happening in the business world, at least from their perspective. I also get a few good stories out of them. We sometimes discuss what we have coming up on the weekend. One of the things I was looking forward to was a nap on Saturday afternoon and I mentioned that. One of the guys said, "I'll sleep when I'm dead". That used to be my mantra. Before MS. I never napped. Never needed it. Never wanted it. I recall as a kid how much I hated having that down time every day.

As an adult with MS, though, I really enjoy my naps. I don't like that I need them so much, but I have to admit to liking the warm fuzzy sheets and flannel jammies for two hours on Saturday.

But I thought about what he said all day and I started to get angry. Really pissed off. Not at him or myself, but at how MS has stolen some of my "awake" time. Time when I could be doing something really fun. Like chasing dust bunnies around the apartment before they attacked me in the night. Like cleaning the bathroom. Like washing dishes.

Hmmmm. What would I really do with the extra two hours on Saturday? Would I really do chores? Doubt it. Go shopping for stuff I don't need, spending money that could be put to better use? Or would I surf the net?

I suspect that I wouldn't really put the extra time to good use. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that those two hours on Saturday really saved me energy and money. And the nap gives me a boost emotionally. Just ask the Wookie. I get grumpy and weepy when I'm tired.

So, yeah, I could do other stuff if I wasn't napping, but I wouldn't be the charming person I am.

S.