Friday, 25 March 2016

Friday

As my Mum and I both have free travel
We got the bus up north to my uncle Ds 
I started packing two day ago
I love packing 
I love sorting out clothes to wear 
Mixing and matching different outfits
I always bring too many clothes
And usually I buy a couple of things 
So my case is bursting on the way home
We arrived her at about 3 30pm
Dropped our bags off at the house
And then walked in to town
I am on the look out for a nice over sized shirt 
So I had a look in a couple of shops
And tried on a few
Usually I am my usual impulsive self 
And buy something 
But today I couldn't make a decision
And so left the shops empty handed 
We retired to a coffee shop
For tea and a bun
Later on we went out for dinner 
In a local hotel 
I had a burger and chips
But didn't really enjoy it if I am honest
I did enjoy the company and the chat though
After food
We headed back to the house
To relax
And watch some TV 
A nice way to end the day 

Gym monster left an interesting comment on yesterday's post
She made the point that knowing and obsessing about my weight
Is directly linked to my mood
I had to read the post a couple of times 
And had a think about it 
I think she has a point 
Last summer 
I was doing well
I felt good 
I wasn't weighing myself 
I was going by how I felt rather than what I looked like 
I was the happiest I had been in a long time 
So 
The logical thing to do is to stop weighing 
And focus on being healthy 
Instead of being thin 
I've done it before 
There is nothing to stop me doing it again 
Nothing except myself 
And I am notorious for getting in my own way
Trying on clothes today
Looking in mirrors 
I don't hate what I see
I don't particularly like it 
But I don't hate it 
I can live with it 
I'm just so tired of fighting with myself 
Of hating myself 
Of the cruelty and shame that is this illness
I give up 
I'm done trying to win this war
I'm walking away
I'm giving up
That is not to say I'm giving up on life
Not at all 
I'm giving up this God for saken battle 
This war of wills
The only way the ED wins 
Is if I die
I'm not willing to lay down my life in the name of this illness 
Life is too short to play this game of numerical roulette
I don't want this life of guilt and shame 
I just want to live a normal life 
My dream is to have my own place in the country 
A small field where I can keep donkeys 
A house full of dogs 
When I'm thinking about my hopes and dreams 
The size I am doesn't come in to it 
I don't think about my dream life clothes size
I think about things that feed my soul 
Not about what clothes size I fit in to
Does anyone?
I don't know....

Today we are going out to my uncles friend 
Who keep horses
And work with people including autistic kids 
I'm hoping to ride too
If they can fit me in
I spoke to my nephew yesterday 
He is coming out to the horse centre with me on Wednesday 
To help with the pony camp
And then have a lesson in the afternoon
I'm looking forward to seeing the place today 
Horse riding is opening a whole lot of new opportunities to me
And I'm loving that 
It's amazing what can happen when you get off the couch
And venture in to the big wide world 
If we just life our heads 
Stop looking at the cracks in the ground 
And start looking at the world around us 
If we look to our fellows
Instead of naval gazing 
And reach out 
Instead of closing in
I think I have now reached the point of this post where I have officially stopped caring making sense
I am now going to make like Sylvia Plath
And stick my head in the oven 
Only joking 
But only just
I'm off to see what trouble I can get up to
See you on the next post....

Away

My Mum and I are away this weekend 
Not too far though
We are staying with my uncle who lives about 90 minutes north
I am still struggling with my bloggers block
My struggle seems somehow insignificant at the moment 
And I am tired talking and writing about myself 
I'm sure this will pass
It's just a phase 
Sometimes I am blogging enthusiastically every day
Other times it's good to be silent
And right now
I feel like I have nothing of any importance to say or write 
Please bear with me 
I will be back
I promise you that 

Thursday, 24 March 2016

Thursday

I've been finding it really difficult to blog this week
I've been experiencing a kind of bloggers block
I just haven't been able to string a coherent sentence together
And I've been avoiding blogger 
There isn't anything wrong as such 
I just don't feel one hundred percent myself 
I feel really tired 
Emotional 
Not present in my own body or mind 
I feel like I don't fit in 
Anywhere 
Not in my own family 
Not at the meetings 
The only place that I'm really enjoying at the moment is with the horses 
I just feel so at home 
And so free when I am up on Star
Like nothing else matters at that moment 
As you know 
I ride with a group of MS sufferers 
And we all leave our troubles at the door 
And just have fun 
Enjoy each other's company
As well as the horses 
There is such a lovely atmosphere there 
And everyone has a lovely time 
Next week 
I am going to help with the pony camp for kids 
And my nephew is coming with me too
We are going to work for the day 
And then have a lesson in the afternoon
So that is something to look forward to 

Apart from that glorious day once a week 
When I forget about my troubles 
Things are tough 
I saw Mary this morning 
It was a long and tough session
We covered a lot 
Family issues
Food 
And of course weight 
She weighed me 
I didn't look 
But then as always 
I asked her what it was 
I had gained one kilo in the last couple of weeks 
Even though it's small amount 
I still had a bad reaction to it 
And immediately began to withdraw and close up
Mary is convinced it's muscle 
As I am a lot more active 
It could be I guess 
But I just wasn't open to suggestion at that point 
It's not so much that fact that I gained a kilo
It's more the fear that I will continue to carry on gaining like this 
And spin out  of control 
We talked about my anxiety around numbers 
They are just numbers Mary said 
But having measured my worth in pounds and ounces for so long
It's hard to escape that prison
That rigid way of thinking 
And the thing is 
Before Mary weighed me this morning 
I felt alright in my body
I bought a new pair of size 8 trousers yesterday 
And I felt I looked something approaching decent 
It was only when Mary weighed me that I had my little meltdown 
Those bloody numbers are the Bain of my life 

With all that said 
I was wondering about you
How you made peace with the numbers in your life?
If yes
How did you do that?
Do you think we should weigh in recovery?
Why do you think that ?
Answers on a postcard please....

Wednesday, 23 March 2016

Wednesday

Apologies for the radio silence over the past few days
Life intervened
And I just didn't get a chance to write
Also I didn't really want to write
I wrote a post on Monday
And promptly deleted it
If you did read it 
You will know that my Mum was diagnosed with osteoporosis this week
In her spine and hips 
I deleted the post as I felt I needed to process the information before writing about it
This news has come as a bit of a shock
My Mum had a bone scan done a few weeks ago 
And on Monday she got the results
I went to speak to her
And she looked really shook
I asked what was wrong 
She said nothing 
But I knew there was something 
Eventually 
She told me that she had received some bad news
That she had just got off the phone from her doctor 
And she informed Mum that she has osteoporosis 
It was a real shock
And I could see from Mum that she had not expected it either 
We sat in silence for a while 
Neither of us sure what to say or do 
I asked about treatment 
And Mum had been told she could get an injection twice a year that would help manage it
Also diet and exercise 
The doctor recommended that Mum join a gym 
And practise weight bearing exercises 
So at least there are things she can do to help herself 
All is not lost

So yea 
I haven't much felt like writing the last few days
Don't worry though 
I'm not going anywhere 
Sometimes it's good to take a break
Take a step back and look at things from a distance 
I know I don't need to tell you how much much my Mum means to me
She is my life 
The one who never gave up on me
Only for her 
I have no doubt I wouldn't be here
But this is life 
We live 
We grow up 
Grow old 
Get ill
Time waits for no man
Or woman

Again 
I'm sorry that I left you hanging 
It's just a difficult it time at the moment 
I'm sure you understand 

Saturday, 19 March 2016

Gaining....

I was in the supermarket the other day
When I met a woman that I hadn't seen in a while 
She reached out to my face 
And said I looked like I was filling out
I waited for the horror of these words to wash over me
I bit my lip in case I began to lose my shit
I smiled 
And said thank you 
I don't know why I thanked her
But I couldn't think of anything else to say
I moved on 
The smile still plastered on my face 
And held my breath in anticipation of a complete meltdown 
But you know what?
It never happened 
The shit storm never happened
I registered the words for what they were 
Someone wanting to give me a compliment 
Someone being kind
And acknowledging that I am getting well
If someone had said that to me a year ago
I would have just lost my shit altogether 
It wouldn't have just ruined my day
It would've ruined my whole life 
But 
This time 
This time I was able to take the words in the spirit in which they were intended
And that my friends 
Is progress

I haven't been weighing myself in recent times 
I've just been going how I feel 
My clothes still fit 
I don't feel like they are too small or too big 
And I've been feeling pretty ok
But 
This morning I had a massive urge to know what I weighed 
So I pulled my old dusty scales out from under the drawers 
Stripped 
And tentatively stepped on
The numbers flashed 
Then settled
BMI : 18
I can handle that 
I can live with that 
I would be more than happy if my weight stAyed   here 
Give or take a few pounds 
How I wish that I didn't give a shit
How I wish that weight and numbers meant nothing to me
That the scales was not the be all and end all 
How I wish I liked and accepted my body
My self 
Even just part of myself 
I don't know you guys 
I hope it gets  better 
Tell me it does
Promise me....

Thursday, 17 March 2016

St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all you lovely readers!
Gosh this day brings back memories
Mostly bad ones 
Growing up
Paddys day was an excuse to get absolutely blotto
And inevitably there would be a massive family row
More often than not 
My Mum and I would move out for the weekend 
And go to my sisters or a friend 
Just to get away
Then came the drug years 
When St. Patrick's Day was just another day in the daily grind of addiction
I can remember one quite well
Dublin was heaving with people 
And I was wandering around 
Sick
Trying to get money together
And generally feeling very sorry for myself 
I can remember looking at all the people 
Laughing 
Smiling 
Enjoying the parade
I remember seeing a guy that I had been in treatment with 
He had a little girl on his shoulders 
She looked like she was having such great fun
I didn't go over to them 
I was in quite a state
And didn't want to involve them in my sorry situation 
I can't remember what else happened that day
I must have got drugs at some stage
As the rest of the day is a blur 

These days 
I tend to avoid town on this day
As it is still an excuse to drink until you can't stand up anymore 
So today 
My Mam, Honey and Lea and I 
Will be curling up in the couch 
With hot cups of tea
And a box of sweets 
Bliss!

So
Whatever you are up to today 
If you are celebrating 
Or isolating 
I wish you a very happy St. Patrick's day 
To you and yours 
I am sporting green trousers in an effort to get in to the spirit of the occasion     
And yes 
I have gained weight....





Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Horse Riding

After a long hard winter
We finally saw a little bit of spring this week
Which makes life a little easier
It's not so hard to get up in the morning
It's not so cold
People seem to be in better form
Weather is something that is discussed to death in this country
We love to get a sunny day
So we can talk at length about the great stretch on the evenings
But we also love to give out about the weather almost as much as we like talking about the good

Anyway
As you know
I now go horse riding every Wednesday 
Which I look forward to all week
The equine centre is about an hours drive
And yes
I always bring someone with me
Today that someone was my mum
I dont mind the journey 
Heck I used to travel the length and breadth of the country to get drugs
So an hours drive for something I love, is no trouble at all
The session was great
As always
I am now in a group with two men
Who have been attending the centre for the past three years
One of them canters and everything!
I asked if I could canter too
But 
Not yet 
As ever 
I am eager to go galloping around the arena 
But I am learning that patience is a virtue
And I have to remind myself that these people have been horse riding for years
I have been riding for all of five weeks
Pace yourself Ruby

My Mum
The budding photographer 
Took some photos from the judges box
Here they are...