On Valentine’s Day, it was my birthday, the first one I celebrated in our new house. In terms of numbers, it wasn’t a special one, however, I noticed a change in how I felt about the day and how I wanted to celebrate. In a strange way, although I am in my forties, it was as if I became a proper grown-up when we moved. This was not the first of my Spoonie Birthday Celebrations but nevertheless one I want to talk about.
Planning the Day
As anyone with Fibromyalgia or other chronic illnesses will tell you, it is very difficult, if not impossible to plan anything. I am always drawn back to a quote from the film The American President. Michael J Fox’s character tells his girlfriend that all plans are provisional until he confirms. In the context of a healthy young man dating this is far from romantic, but as a spoonie it is a reality. The other element to take into account is pacing yourself, we all know about that too!
Waking up on my Birthday
On the day itself I woke up feeling relatively well. Always a massive bonus. As always on my birthday Michael took the day of work to spend it with me. Michael and I exchanged our Valentine’s Cards and he gave me my birthday card and a gift of a pair of earrings. As finance is quite tight at the moment we agreed that my main gift, the Ancestry DNA Test for genealogy. Would follow later when it next comes on offer. As it was a good day we could press on with our provisional plans.
Hitting the shops
The first thing I wanted to do on my birthday was go to The Range. I actually went shopping with the aim of buying cleaning materials. Anyone who has known me for years will be thinking, who are you and what have you done with Susan. I was going to a shop that sells crafting goodies but not with that purpose! In reply I would say that I am trying to live more minimally and I have a LOT of craft supplies in my Office/Craft Room. On top of that I was recently introduced to Mrs Hinch by a fellow Spoonie Nicola, she mentions her in her latest video on her Lord and Lordette’s Channel.
I have to confess I have become a bit addicted to Sophie Hinchcliffe’s MrsHinchHome Instagram account. Check it out it is both inspirational and hilarious. I have never been so motivated to clean before.
Time for a Carvery
Once I had stocked up on some recommended products it was time for the main event. We went to the nearest Toby Carvery for lunch. Although we have a home made roast dinner most Sundays. It can’t compare to a carvery with the option of having four different meats (I always go for gammon, turkey and beef) not to mention a selection of plenty of vegetables. As always Toby didn’t fail us. I failed to get a photo of my dinner but I did remember in time to capture the dessert.
Online Shopping
As this was a spoonie’s birthday the trip to the shop and then Toby’s used up most of my spoons so the rest of the day was spent enjoying myself on my computer. The first thing I did was a bit more shopping. I had saved up to treat myself and I ordered a cordless Vacuum Cleaner, the Hoover one I chose currently has a fantastic offer on AO where I bought it from. Don’t get me wrong I would love a Dyson as they are so highly rated but I don’t have the budget. I have to say though I am impressed with my new Hoover and it has a spare battery too, amazing for £99.
A Spoonie Birthday
The rest of my special day was spent playing games on the computer before having a light supper and watching some TV. I finished off with a relaxing sheet face mask before going to bed. All in all I had been very fortunate and the Fibro had not spoiled my enjoyment very much. As you may realise the next day was another matter, after going out and enjoying myself I hardly had any spoons and my pain levels were a bit higher.
Belated Spoonie Birthday Celebrations
A few days after my actual birthday I had another celebration with my Parents and Brother. They picked me up and we again went to the Range. This was for me to select a present, I chose a couple of dried flower displays. Once I have located them in their new homes I will share a photo on my Instagram account. While I was there I also picked up a couple more cleaning products and some storage for me to organise the bathroom shelf. Here is the results of that for you:
Lunch out
After The Range, we went across the road to Pizza Hut, thinking back the last time I went to a Pizza Hut was for my 40th birthday. The food was good and when the table they sat us at proved difficult for one spoonie and two pensioners they were happy to move us to a more spacious one. When it comes to Pizza Michael and I usually either use the Morrisons Pizza bar or our local takeaway which is great value, if we want to treat ourselves we order from Domino’s. It was therefore a pleasant change to have Pizza Hut.
Showtime
The highlight of my day out with my parents was a trip to the Showcase to see Emma. I love period dramas and Jane Austen is out of my favourites. As always I enjoy Miranda Hart whatever she does on screen but it was also great to see Gemma Whelan of Game of Thrones and Gentleman Jack fame as well as Tanya Reynolds and Connor Swindells from Sex Education. Tanya is a fantastic character actress, she is brilliant in Delicious too. I loved the film.
Spoonie Birthdays, Over to you
Have you had positive experiences of your Fibro behaving better on your birthday? Maybe you had a fantastic birthday celebration planned and the Fibromyalgia got in the way and spoiled it? I love hearing your stories and sharing our experience of living with a chronic illness on the high days as well as the everyday. Why not drop a comment at the bottom, or find me on social media.
Until next time,
Gentle Hugs,
Susan
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