L is for Lea!

And so we are on to L

And that brings me on to my lovely Lea

Lea is a beautiful golden retriever 

Like Honey 

Lea is eleven years old 

We got her when she was 5 months old 

The runt of the litter 

From the start

She had to work harder than the other pups 

Just to survive 

I got her from a have a go breeder

Some guy who was just looking to make a quick buck

She lived with her family up until I got her 

And was never really socialised properly 

We collected her on a bright sunny May Day

We bundled her in to the back of Mums car 

And headed for home 

From the beginning 

Lea was a nervous wreck  

When we got home that first day

She jumped out of the car 

And ran down the garden 

Where she hid under a bush for the full day

I had to be so gentle and easy with her 

As the move seemed to be very traumatic for her

She was in a strange place 

With strange people 

And it took her a good while to settle in 

I had to be so patient with her

As slowly but surely she gained confidence 

I was the first one she bonded with 

She ran away from everyone else 

But I knew if I persevered with her

She would come around 

Lea has always loved her walks 

And gets very excited every morning at the prospect of going out 

The first few times we brought her in my Mums car 

She got very ill 

And promptly threw up

But when she got to the beach 

She was like a different dog

She ran on the sand 

Rolled in it

Swam in the water 

She loves the water 

And generally ran around like a lunatic

For the first year 

Lea was all legs 

She had quite poor co ordination 

And regularly fell over herself 

And her tail rotated she was wagging it so much 

Over time 

Lea got used to the car 

And now she absolutely loves it

Some days she likes to just sit in the car 

For hours at a time 

She really is a lovely dog though 

So placid 

And gentle 

You might remember the last time I was admitted to hospital 

Lea took it very hard

And took to her bed 

The fur on her back also fell out 

She seemed to be in a kind of depression

When I came home and began to recover 

Lea began to recover too 

It's no exaggeration to say that my dogs have saved my life and my sanity over and over again 

I have so much love for them 

And they bring such joy and fun to our house 

So Lea?

This one is for you....

K is for Knitting!

Over the years 

I've been quite partial to a bit of knitting 

Not that I am any good mind you

For the last ten years 

My Mother and I have been trying to make a blanket 

Knitting squares of different wool

To see together to make said blanket

We have gone through phases of knitting over the years

And recently 

We have taken it up again

It's easy really 

We just knit squares of plain rows

No fancy schmancy stitches 

My repertoire does not reach beyond plain stitch 

Id say we do about an hour each a night of knitting 

We take it out when we are watching TV

Or chatting in the living room

I find it really relaxing 

And it passes the time 

Every so often I make some sort of mistake 

And have to hand it to my Mother to fix

My mothers knitting is very neat and tight

Mine is more loose and messy

But it's ok

It will give the blanket character I guess

At least that's what I'm telling myself

Here is said knitting....

J is for Job!

As you may know

I did a job interview a few months ago

I was unsuccessful  in the position in question

But they did offer me another job

Working in the holiday centre 

From May - September 

I gladly accepted the offer 

Grateful for any type of work 

As jobs are pretty scarce around here at the moment 

I did have a few obstacles in my way though

There is a course I want to do

And also there is the question of my disability benefit 

I can legally work up to 20 hours a week

And still keep all of my benefit

Any hours after that 

My benefit is cut on a sliding scale 

It's really difficult to know what to do

And everyone has an opinion

Some think I should just work the 20 hours 

Some think I should forget about the job and do the course

And some think I should forget about the disability benefit 

And take as many hours as I can

It's a tricky one 

I know that once I take myself off disability 

It will be nigh on impossible to get it back if I need it 

I guess it's a security blanket 

But at some point

I'm going to have to grow up and let it go 

I want to work 

I do 

I guess it's a confidence thing 

I haven't worked 

And worked for someone in a long time 

My last job was teaching kids dance 

I stopped because I lost my confidence 

And just couldn't do it anymore 

I've never really regained it after that 

What I will so

I don't know yet 

But it's nice to have options 

It wasn't too long ago 

That I had no options 

No course

No job 

First world problems I guess 

But I do think work will be good for me 

For my self esteem 

Confidence 

Feeling that I am contributing 

And being a productive member of society 

I guess I will have to make a decision soon

And I will do what is right for me 

I'm just not sure which way to go....

I is for Identity

I was another tricky customer

But after giving it some thought

I decided to go with Identity 

As it's something that comes up for me again and again

In my illness

And in recovery 

When I was very unwell

My whole persona revolved around both my addiction and my ED

From the age of 18

I was Ruby the drug addict

And that's a label that's hard to shake 

As along with that come the labels of liar, thief, manipulator 

They say a reputation takes years to form

But only seconds to undo

I had a reputation of being trouble

And boy did I live up to it 

Somewhere along the line

My ED began to develop

And it wasn't long until I had acquired a new label

Anorectic 

Quickly followed by bulimic

In a strange way

Once you are labelled with these titles

You feel like you have to live up to them

I knew nothing about eating disorders before I was diagnosed

I had never known anyone with one 

I had no experience at all 

My diagnosis was a complete shock 

I wasn't trying to lose weight 

I wasn't unhappy with my size

In fact more than that 

I never gave it much thought 

It wasn't until the professionals started weighing me 

That I began to take notice of the numbers 

They seemed important to them

So they became important to me

And have been the Bain of my life ever since 

After my diagnosis 

I completely identified myself by my illness 

I was no longer Ruby 

I was Ruby the sick one

And when you are sick 

People are generally very nice to you 

Very caring 

You get a special kind of attention

I know it might not be popular to say that 

But for me 

It was the truth 

I used to get a kick out people telling me that I looked unwell

That I looked pale and wan

I almost wanted people to feel sorry for me 

Why?

I'm not entirely sure 

But I do know

That once you become the sick one 

It's really very difficult to shake that label

Because being sick becomes your whole world 

If it's taken away 

What will be left?

And that's exactly what terrified me

Who would I be without my illness?

It was like my ED slowly but surely taking over my life 

My personality

My body

And without it 

I had nothing 

There comes a point in life 

When you either sink or swim

I came to that point about two years ago  

After I got out of hospital for the umpteenth time

I had to make the decision 

To recover 

Or sink further down the rabbit hole

I began to gain weight 

And get well 

It hasn't been a straight road since then 

I've been up and down and all over the place 

And had a minor relapse last year 

But 

I bounced back 

And continue to bounce back

There was a time 

Not too long ago 

That I did nothing of a day 

Apart from binge and purge 

All I did was watch TV all day 

And eat 

And throw up

I had nothing going on in my life 

No job 

No course 

No hobbies 

No interests 

It was just me and my ED

But over the last year 

I have carved out a life for myself 

Now I have a life 

I am no longer Ruby the anorectic 

I am Ruby the woman

Ruby the daughter 

Sister 

Auntie 

Dog owner

Horse rider 

Ruby the dancer 

The swimmer 

Ruby the recovering addict and anorectic 

I am

Now I am so much more than my illness 

My illness has faded in to the background 

And I  starting to live 

And love

My life 

Rest Day

Today is a break from the A - Z Challenge

So I thought I would take the opportunity to do a personal update

As I haven't done one in over a week I think

Things are ticking along nicely 

I'm going to my meetings 

Appointments 

Walking the dogs

Eating my meals 

And horse riding 

Apparently I am going to be in a dressage show next month 

Which I am super anxious about 

It's basically doing a little routine with the horse 

WAlking and trotting around an obstacle course 

I did it for the first time last week

And found it quite tricky 

Someone calls out the instructions 

And you have to be on the ball 

Listening 

And acting promptly 

Usually myself and Star are behind another horse during our lesson

And Star literally follows and copies who ever is in front of him 

But when it was just me and Star

He wasn't taking my instructions at all

He wouldn't trot for me

And he was generally doing his own little course 

And I was left practically hanging off the side of him

I asked Eilish if I was going to be ready in time for the competition

And she assured me that she wouldn't put me in the show 

If she didn't believe I could do it 

So that gave me a little boost of confidence

I have three more lessons before the show

And hopefully I can squeeze in some e yea ones too

But 

As nervous as I am 

I really want to do the show 

I think there will be lots of learning for me 

And it might help my confidence too

All I can do is my best 

As long as I do that 

That's all the matters 

In other news 

I'm feeling good at the moment 

My mood is stable 

My meds are on track

And am taking them correctly 

I'm attending meetings twice a week

I have lots going on 

Including the Pilates 

Which I write about a few days ago

I think I will go back this week 

And see how I get on 

Despite having to look at the very thin girl

I'm also starting a dance class too 

Which I'm really looking forward to

I really want to learn salsa 

And how to jive

Jiveing is really popular here at the moment 

And I think it looks like great fun

It's something social to do that doesn't revolve around alcohol either 

Which is good for me 

My food is going ok

It's not fantastic 

But it's not terrible either 

I gues it's bearable 

I can live with it

And it doesn't interfere with my life too much 

I'm not weighing at all right now

I'm just going by how I feel 

Rather than my weight

My clothes fit

I feel healthy and strong 

And that's good enough for me

I inquired about my job 

And my disability payment

It turns out I can work twenty hours a week

And keep my benefit 

So that's something I need to think about 

After twenty hours 

My benefit will be cut on a sliding scale 

It's really hard to know what to do

I've asked quite a few people what they think

Some say I should just do the job

And forget about my benefit

Others say I should try and keep my benefit

As once you are taken off it 

It's incredibly hard to get back on it

I have to remember that this job is seasonal

And come September 

I might have no job again

Anyway

I will work something out 

So 

All in all 

Things are good 

I'm the best I've been in a long time 

And that is amazing 

I don't relax though 

I never relax 

I know I am only one drug away from relapsing 

The same with my ED

I think it's healthy to have a certain amount of  fear with your addiction

It's good as it keeps you on your toes 

And afraid to use or drink 

Complacency will just not go at all 

With that said 

I was wondering about you 

What keeps you going every day?

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Inquiring mind nods want to know....

H is for Honey!

Of course it's for Honey

What else could it be?

A couple of readers said the knew what I was going to post today

Were you right?

So

Let me tell you a bit about Honey

She has many nicknames that I use every day

Honey bunny

The Hunster 

Hunion

The Hunstable 

Sometimes just saying Honey doesn't cut it

Honey is now the grand ol' age of 11

That's 77 in dog years

We got Honey when she was 5 months old 

A tiny little thing 

Cheeky from the start 

I remember the day we went to the shelter 

The lady there told us that she had paired me with an amazing dog

And out came Honey 

To be honest 

I'm wasn't mad about Honey when I first saw her 

I wasn't really into small dogs 

And she was very small 

But 

I trusted the lady that this was a good match 

Web also decided not to change her name 

As it suited her so well

We bundled Honey in to the car 

And headed for home 

Back then 

Before we got Lea 

We had a dog called Leo

Who I also got at the shelter 

He was a beautiful dog 

Fawn coloured

Lean and strong

With such a gentle nature 

Honey came into our lives like a ball of energy 

She followed Leo everywhere 

And slept cuddled in to him 

She was was so cheeky

And claimed her own chair on the first day

Honey had been given in to the shelter by a single mother 

Who had been given Honey as a present 

And being a dog who needed much attention

She couldn't look after Honey 

And so gave her in to the shelter 

I am so glad she did 

As I quickly grew to love her

Honey is bold to the bone 

No matter how many times you tell her not to do something 

Any chance she gets 

She will do it again and again 

Her favourite thing to do is to sneak downstairs to my bedroom 

Go through my bin

And then pan out on my bed

She loves her comfort 

Her bed has two cushions and a blanket 

Her whole life revolves around food

There is something seriously wrong with Honey if she is off her food

Her favourite treat is an pigs ear

And she is quite partial to chicken and beef 

These days she spends a lot of time asleep 

And doesn't always come for a walk 

She goes between her bed and her chair 

And when I go over to her 

Her little tail wags back and forth so fast

Honey almost drowned once 

I had to jump in to the lake to save her 

I wouldn't think twice about doing that 

There's no way I am losing my Honey Bunny

Last year Honeys eye became really infected 

Resulting in one of her eyes being removed 

We were all so worried at the time 

But she made a remarkable recovery 

And is now fighting fit again

Albeit with one eye....

Seriously though 

Honey has my constant companion for the last 11 years 

She has been through a lot with me 

Through out my slips and relapses 

My hospital and treatment admissions 

My highs and lows 

Ups and downs 

She has been at my side 

And I wouldn't believe without her 

When I can't find a reason to get up in the morning 

I get up for her 

When I do t want the leave my house 

I leave to walk her 

She has helped my mental health massively 

Just spending time with her is soothing and relaxing 

She is my best friend 

No doubt 

Here are some photos of Honey for your delectation

Enjoy....

G is for Girl

Im taking a bit of poetic license with the letter G

I really wanted to write about something that happened last night

And using G for Girl was the only way I could do that 

Anyway

On to the post

As you know 

My Mam was diagnosed with osteoporosis recently 

In her hips and spine 

The doctor told her 

That weight bearing exercises would help

So we have been on the look out for suitable courses and classes

We found a Pilates class about half an hour from our house

My Mam rang the lady 

And she sounded very good 

So we put our names down

The first class was last night 

So we donned our work out clothes 

And headed out 

We arrived at the leisure centre just before 8pm

And waited in reception for the previous class to finish 

It was very busy 

Lots of people in and out 

But one particular girl caught my eye 

She was wearing grey leggings 

And a grey top

All her clothes were very tight 

The first thing I noticed 

Was that she was extremely thin

Her hair was white blonde 

And she was so pale she was almost translucent 

I didn't want to stare at her

 my eye kept being drawn to her

After a few minutes wait

It was time for the class

We walked upstairs 

To the room where it was being held 

Grey Girl as I will call her also went up to the room

The instructor greeted us 

She had wild curly hair 

And looked so fit and toned

Like her muscles were rock hard 

It turned out that is was just us three in the class 

There were three large mirrors on the wall

And I kept taking sneaky glances at Grey Girl

The teacher asked us if we do any other exercise 

I told her about the swimming 

And Grey Girl said that she walks and runs 

But that she has two small children 

And didn't always get to do it

She sounded confident 

Sure of herself 

But I couldn't help but wonder if she had an eating disorder 

Grey Girl said that she had done Pilates before 

But it was years ago

This also made me wonder 

As it sounded like she used to exercise 

But had to stop

And now she was just starting again

I don't know

Maybe I am way off the mark

But I've always been able to recognise a fellow sufferer 

Then of course

I felt like a right heffer beside her 

I compared our thighs in the mirror

_UWhere our bones were visible

In fact

I was totally distracted by her during the whole class 

I guess I was triggered by this girl 

This morning 

I asked my Mam if she noticed anything about Grey Girl 

She said that she had noticed how  thin she was

Initially 

I felt jealous of the girl

As sick as that sounds

I wanted to be that thin too

But 

My mother said we looked very similar 

It's going to be hard if she is in the class every week

Maybe I am wrong

Maybe I am presuming without all of the facts

I hope I'm wrong 

I really do