I was trying to decide on a topic for today's Weekly Inspiration and realized there are actually a bunch of relevant topics for summer, all focused on ways to enjoy our summers more, even with chronic illness.
Easy Living?Summer is considered the season of easy living for most people, but living with chronic illness brings it own challenges (as in every season!), from the heat to the kids being home from school to the special challenges of travel. Check out my article, Summertime...and the Livin' Is Easy (Or Is It?), that was published on the ProHealth website for tips on dealing with summer's challenges, as well as ideas for actually enjoying the season.
That ProHealth article includes a few travel tips, but traveling can seem insurmountable for many with ME/CFS and related illnesses. Especially in summer, though, you may need or want to travel to enjoy a vacation with your family or to visit far-flung friends or extended family. This blog post, Traveling with ME/CFS, includes a lot more detail on how to manage travel, including all the accoutrements I travel with to make my travel life more comfortable and do-able and my tips for managing both air travel and road trips. Be sure to read the comments at the end of that post, too, (and add your own!) because some of my readers added some great tips I hadn't thought of.
Many of us spend most of our time indoors, due to our limitations, but there are huge benefits to getting outdoors and enjoying nature, even briefly. Lying down on a chair on your deck absolutely counts! And research shows both emotional and physical benefits even from looking out a window or looking at pictures of nature and the outdoors! The research is really pretty amazing. You can read about that, plus my tips for enjoying the outdoors with a chronic illness at my post, Get Out! Nature Improves Health (a previous Weekly Inspiration post), which includes a link to another post on Camping and Enjoying the Outdoors with ME/CFS, as well as the full text of an article I wrote for ProHeath on The Restorative Power of Nature. It really is both beneficial and enjoyable to get outdoors, even just for a few minutes a day.
Summer is a great season for reading (you may have noticed the proliferation of articles on "beach reads" lately!), and it's something we can fully participate in, even from bed or the couch! I have always loved reading, since I was a little girl, but since becoming ill 17 years ago, I have really embraced my love of reading - books bring me so much pleasure, even on my worst days. In fact, about the time I started this blog (13 years ago!), I also started a book blog, Book By Book.
If, like many with ME/CFS, you struggle to read because of brain fog, I can help you with that. This post on The Joy of Reading (another article I wrote for ProHealth) provides tips and ideas for those who can no longer read like they used to, including audio books and books written for kids and teens, plus LOTS of great suggestions of some books I have loved in several different categories. To add extra fun to your summer reading, consider joining my annual Big Book Summer Reading Challenge. You only need to read 1 book of 400 or more pages between now and September (though you can read more) to participate, and it's a lot of fun interacting with other readers. All the details are at that link.
How do YOU enjoy summer? Do you do anything different to make the season special? Do you have any tips to share on managing the challenges?
Time for me to make some welcome home pancakes for our son, using those fresh, local strawberries!
Great inspiration! Sadly the weather is grey & rainy today but I love the idea of warmer weather and some sunshine. Reading is a big one for me all year round, but there's something extra special about being able to sit in the garden with a drink & a good book. xx
ReplyDeleteWow, it's already HOT here! Looking forward to a couple of cooler days predicted for this week :)
DeleteYes, I love reading, especially in summer! Since you're such an avid reader, you should consider joining the Big Book Summer Challenge - I look forward to it every year!
What a great post. Lots of ideas. I'm really looking forward to spending more time out on the deck. But it seems like winter has come back Lol... I hope it warms up soon.
ReplyDeleteWow, winter?? It's already been HOT here. Hope you get to enjoy that deck soon.
DeleteI used to try and push myself to be active active active (I dont have CFS but fatigue is a massive side effect of my other illnesses) but now I am taking the joy in simple things. I dont know where you are based but there is a fabulous magazine called The Simple Things which is well worth a read
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful approach to summer...and life! Thanks for the tip about the magazine - I'll have to look for that one. My life at the moment feels extraordinarily complicated - far from simple, so I could use some inspiration!
DeleteThis has put on a smile on my face Sue on a tough health day (fainted and dislocated shoulder!) and miserable weather day. The rain over the last 24 hours has been horrendous and it is cold!! Definitely going to look at your reading challenge and now looking forward to some warm weather! Claire (PainPalsBlog) x
ReplyDeleteOh, good, Clair :) Glad I could make you smile! We've had lots of rain here this spring, too (in fact, it's messing with crops), though not nearly as much as the horrible flooding in central and southern US.
DeleteHope you see the sun soon there - and join the fun with the Big Book Challenge!