if you don't live in the uk or watch much british telly you might not get this post! one of the worst things for me about having an illness where you suffer from extreme exhaustion is that sometimes housework gets left behind. now and again just making a cup of tea can sometimes be a major challenge let alone getting the hoover out. after a 'bad' spell dirty dishes pile up and dustballs seem to breed as well as the laundry which can be very frustrating to someone like me who used to be very houseproud. i have even turned down much wanted visitors in embarrassment as my home often could do with a wee visit from kim and aggie!joking aside i think there is a need for a voluntary service where someone can pop round to help out on bad days (or pop out to the shops for you), especially if you live alone. even on better days i struggle to change the duvet cover and it can leave me feeling exhausted, helpless and angry. i have missed many a cooked meal because i don't have the energy to make one. when i was on the WELL course one lady enquired (to one of the course leaders) if there was a service to help her out on days she couldn't manage to get out of bed as she was in so much pain. she just needed someone (other than a friend or neighbour) to come round with a bowl of soup. her question was ignored.
i keep thinking about this. does anyone know if a voluntary service like this exists in the UK? i need to find out more. i will darn well start one up myself when i am well enough if need be.
Oh, I too know these days! I haven´t been well now for more than three days and find it hard to get my hurting bones out of bed to make myself a cup of tea, not to mention a real meal. If F is around, he is of course the one cooking and taking care of the household. But it isn´t easy with our two homes in two countries and we are not always in one place...
ReplyDeleteWe also have great friends passing by with some food sometimes and fortunately it is very rare that I am bedridden for more than two days at a stretch. The problem is that one doesn´t feel much better with a basket full of laundry and the dustbin waiting and nothing on the cooking stove. Tonight I will order some soup and curry from a delivery service, but even saying hello to the delivery boy takes energy. And in the worst case it happens at times that I feel to weak to eat...
(I am still enjoying your orange geranium chocolate here, sweet Kim!)
Hugs, Juliane
oh Juliane, it's so nice to know someone is reading this blog and even nicer to know it's you my dear!
ReplyDeletei shall be thinking of you tonight and hope you feel so much better tomorrow.
one thing i have learned now is when i am going through a bad spell i will always feel much better again in a couple of days or so.
hugs back to you and sweet dreams, kim
Hello Kim
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment over on my blog, which has brought me here.
If there was a voluntary housekeeping service, for those "treacle days" I definitely sign up! I cleaned my kitchen floor yesterday, and love the lack of grime and that the off-white tiles look off-white again, instead of just grey! Today though I'm having to make the decision to skip my yoga class. It's all swings and roundabouts, but if someone else had popped in and cleaned my floor...
Lovely blog.
hello! Michael, I will not be calling them 'bad days' any more, now they will be 'treacle days' as your description is so apt!!
ReplyDeleteyour blog has really inspired me, you are yet another of many talented bloggers that i have found with chronic illness that strive to make a living from being creative. yay!