Life in the slow lane

'M.E. myself and I' by Anna Redshaw

No ‘simple task’

Published by

Anna Redshaw

on

Simple tasks are no longer simple tasks. So please give yourself credit where credit is due. Making a cup of coffee is not one single thing anymore. It’s lots of little things that add up and each of those things requires something – energy, memory, concentration.

Let’s break it down:

•Walk to the kitchen
•Lift kettle
•Carry kettle across to the sink
•Turn on tap
•Hold kettle under running tap. It’s going to get heavier so brace yourself!
•Turn off tap
•Turn around and walk back with the kettle to the worktop
•Put kettle down
•Maybe have a breather
•Switch kettle on
•Leave room while it boils to avoid sensory overload from the noise
•Come back into kitchen (you’ve only perched on the edge of the sofa waiting as sitting down properly might mean you struggle to get back up)
•Open cupboard
•Choose a mug
•Lift it down onto the worktop
•Remove coffee canister from cupboard…

Do you see? I could go on (we haven’t even had to pull the fridge door open yet!) but I actually fancy a coffee now and need to have enough in the tank to actually make one. This applies to everything we do pals. Everything. Eating, dressing, showering, housework, phone calls…

Go easy on yourselves. You are doing far more than you think you are. And I’m cheering you on through every single step.

Previous posts similar to this:

(Not) So Straightforward

Bitesize

2 responses to “No ‘simple task’”

  1. Alison Cardy Avatar
    Alison Cardy

    Just thank you for saying this. A friend phoned this am and they’ve just moved house, lovely and proud of all they’re achieving but of course in chat … What are your plans, doing anything exciting. Never mind not been out for weeks and you get enough of explaining that it is enough to get through each day – an achievement being to stay out of bed for whole day. Putting phone down, hubby looked across and said, ‘that’s enough for you – just that phone call.’

    Anyway before I ramble and wear you out with long message – just thanks for understanding. Take care Alison x

    Like

    Reply
  2. Kari Avatar
    Kari

    Yes, sometimes the simplest little things are just too much!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

Hello,

I’m Anna

Welcome to M.E. myself and I, my tiny little corner of the internet where I share snippets of life in the slow lane. You’ll also find all things Blue Sunday here, the annual fundraising event I started in 2013 to raise awareness of M.E., include people living with the illness, and raise money for the M.E. charities who support us.

Social media links

Subscribe

Sign-up to get new posts sent straight to you