enjoy yourself.

**NOTE: If you are also a reader of my personal blog, this post is the same as the one on there. I felt it pertained to both this time.**

A few days ago, we was eating at Szechuan Palace, one of our favorites. We were tired and the girls were grumpy, but it was so late that we just wanted to eat something decent and quick (not fast food) for dinner before we went to bed. We happened to be seated in a corner of the restaurant where we have never sat before. In this corner, there was a little sign that said "Enjoy yourself. It is later than you think." At first I thought it was talking about drinking and how the drinkers should hurry up before the bar closed, but as I continued to eat my yummy deliciousness, I kept thinking about that sign. My eyes kept returning to it, reading it over and over again. And I came to the conclusion that it was in fact NOT talking about alcohol. Instead, it was talking about life. MY LIFE.

I have been glum. Since before Thanksgiving, I have been fighting depression. Some days are good, others not so much. Lately it has been hard to fight it. I sit at home and watch Mr. M sleep, day in and day out. I feel hopeless and helpless. Our closet collapsed a few days ago, so there was a whole other mess of things to add to the already covered floor. Our new apartment is just too small for us. But there is nothing we can do. We have gotten rid of most everything that we could. When we finally called maintenance to fix our closet, I was left alone to move EVERYTHING out of the way so that the job could be done. It made me sad. It made me feel overwhelmed. I wanted to just throw it all away. I actually got down on the floor and cried. I begged Mr. M to get up. I felt like a two year old throwing a tantrum. It was ridiculous, I know. The cat came over to see if I was ok, then I got up and started to try and clear out the closet. Mr. M would not get out of bed, and I had to put everything somewhere, so I just piled it all on the bed on top of him. Then I started bagging things up. I was going to throw things away. But just at the last second, when I thought I couldn't take anymore, Mr. M got up and helped me. Maintenance soon came, and I took the girls and left the house. It felt good to get away with just them.

Back to the sign.

Seeing those words made me realize that I don't have forever to be happy. It is later than I think. Time on Earth is short. We know that. It should not be wasted feeling angry or sad. We should find "joy in the journey." This is hard to do. But at least I have recognized that I need to try and find some happiness, even if it is just a smidge, each day. Life is too short to be depressed all the time.

I don't know where that sign came from. Perhaps my great-grandfather put it there (he is known for his "trinkets") or maybe it is something that the restaurant owners found. Either way, I am grateful that it was there to lift me up. Thank you, little sign.

bitter.

Today I have felt so angry. Mr. M went to bed before 9:00 last night. We usually spend time together at night. It is our time to be alone, without the kids running around. We talk, watch TV or a movie, and just enjoy each others company. But on the days when he is extra tired, he goes to bed early. I should be grateful that he went to bed after 8pm. There have been many times where he has been so exhausted that he couldn't even make it to dinner. Still, I was being selfish and wanted more time with him last night. One of my biggest problems I have with his fatigue is that I feel lonely when he is asleep. I feel like the dreamworld gets to see him more than I do. Mr. M is fully aware of how I feel, and last night he promised me that he would wake up early this morning and help me with some errands.

But when morning came, he couldn't do it. Again, I was left alone. Again, I was promised that he would be there for me, and he wasn't. I took the girls to school, hoping that he would be able to get up when I got back. Instead, I said some hurtful things to him and went on my way. I felt like crying, but I had to be somewhere public, someplace where people knew me and would ask what was wrong. So I held it in and kept my sunglasses on, just in case. Sometimes I hate living like this. I wish my life was more "normal." I wish my husband was healthy.

Today I have been so bitter. I know I have so much to be thankful for. I am blessed to be a wife and mother. I am blessed to know that there is a God, who loves us, cares for us, and provides for us. And I have been blessed with wonderful friends. As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I am going to try and focus on the good. I know it helps to keep a positive attitude, but sometimes it is hard. I need to remind myself of the wonderful blessings that abound in my life.

the fatigue monster.

Fatigue. Exhaustion. The feeling of being so TIRED that you simply cannot get out of bed, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you push yourself. This is how Mr. M ALWAYS feels. And it drives me crazy.

When he was first diagnosed, Mr. M suddenly became tired. ALL THE TIME. We were still newlyweds, and this behavior hit me hard. He was too tired to do anything. I was bored out of my mind, waiting for him to wake up so that we could do something. Anything. Talk, go out, anything was better than waiting for him all day. One of the biggest things that bothered me about MS was the fatigue. It changes a person. My sweet, adoring husband was a different man. Different from the one I had married. I was so devastated with his diagnosis, it put me in a deep depression. But I allowed it to. I wasn't as strong then as I am now, or maybe I always was, but I had to go through that trial to realize my inner strength.

Today is one of those days. He can't get out of bed. But sometimes I wonder if he just doesn't try hard enough. I feel like I am always trying. Trying to understand his pain, his depression, his fatigue, his mental faculties that he has lost. When I see him, lying in bed, it makes me angry. I feel like everything is up to me. I have to take care of the house, the children, the bills, everything. And all he does is sleep. But I know that that is the nature of the beast. I miss the support groups that we used to have where we once lived. Here there is nothing.

He has tried all kinds of medications in hopes that he could fight the fatigue more easily. Provigil, Dex, Ephedra, B-12 vitamins, 5 hour energy shots, and caffeine. Nothing seems to really work. Provigil is supposed to be one of the best meds out there, but it stopped working for him. Even his new drug, the Dex, doesn't live up to our expectations. It's almost as if this monster is unstoppable. How do you fight it? I don't think you can. I urge him to take his medications everyday, in hopes that they will work, that he will muster up enough energy just so he can get out of bed. But they don't always help. This is why he can't work. This is why he needs social security. This is why I am going back to school, to support our family. This is one of those days...