What are you up to today if you have chronic illness? Thread 4

[MewithME]

Link to last thread 🧵 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5438353-what-are-you-up-to-today-if-you-have-chronic-illness-thread-3

This is the bumper Christmas issue with the added challenge of all the work Xmas brings and feelings it might bring up...but we're here. Highs and lows. 🌲🌲😴🤕🤗

Happy New Year to anyone awake!
Hope this year can be a good one for everyone

Happy New Year @Stressybetty

It's all gone wrong here already. I have managed to upset my DS which wasn't my fault but because he had some funny idea for how to do new year in his head and somehow I spoilt it but I didn't know.

So no happy new year hug from my boy. I've seen the new year in alone. And I only stayed up for his sake. Anyway, sleep time for me now. 🙄Good start! Ha.

Happy New Year you lovely people.

MewithME , I'm sorry your son's got the hump. Hope he gets over it very soon.

Happy New Year all!

Have a good one @Stressybetty hope everything works out.

@MewithME Happy New Year to you, sorry things went a bit flat but hope today is more fun for you both xx

We were so tired we went to bed at 10 and slept through all the fireworks!

Happy new year! Well I abandoned my own party silently just before 11. Kids and dh came up and wished me happy new year. I was just in too much pain to manage being sat and making small talk. Very sore this morning, too. My sciatica is flaring along with my hip and neck and back, I feel run over.

@MewithME I’m sorry your evening wasn’t as planned 😌

Happy New Year @FurForksSake you were better off in bed but it sounds like everyone had a nice time.

Happy New Year to you all 🎉

Was in bed for 8:30 last night, so missed midnight, but DD very kindly woke us up when she got in at 3am! 🤣

I am now the only one awake in the house apart from the cats. Think I'll go and make my first cuppa of 2026 ☕

Have a restful day 💕

Enjoy the peace @Swanhilde Happy New Year to you and your cats!

I’m not enjoying some alone time in the house. Well not quite as I’ve got the cat!

As per my 2026 intention, I went for a wander around the garden with my cuppa. Most bulbs seem to be up and there's a snowdrop on the brink of flowering. Only ones I couldn't see were the new tulips but maybe it's too early for them 🌷

Came in because I was getting cold and it was spotting with rain. Decided I am going to leave my 'big' coat by the back door so I can put it on whenever the urge to go out comes. Wellies are already there 🧥

@FurForksSake I like the single word idea. I have such a dreadful memory these days, but even I can remember one word!

I like 'create' because I do like a craft project, but also I need to reduce my anxiety, so maybe 'peace'?

I want my word to be "serenity" but fear it might end up as "grumpy".

Yes me too but only silently! DH has enough grumpiness for both of us so I am outwardly calm. Good job telepathy isn’t a general thing.

I barely see my neighbours, our house is far back from the road. One side is always tenanted but they change, the other side is a perfectly nice lady who only calls round to request tree trimming access. But honestly, you can guarantee whatever we chat about on the doorstep. She will say “Aw bless you” several times. It is a bit unnerving!

Happy New Year to each and every one xx

Happy New Year @Middlemarch123 ! Hope it’s good one.

Happy New year again!
Went back to bed and still there. Hungover from my one glass of prosecco last night.
Getting up for a cuppa and something to eat.
Today will feed dogs, wipe office desk for tomorrow and tackle last nights washing up.
Finish MIL washing and start dog bed washing. That's about it till the weekend.

Have spent a lovely chilled day knitting. DD liked DM's Christmas present so much, she's asked for a pair herself 🧶

Having a takeaway for tea and am definitely feeling more with it than I've done for a while. Have cut sugar down to one treat per day this week and actually, I haven't had any so far today. Maybe I will for supper ... 🍰

Hopefully your tulips appear soon, such beautiful flowers. I've had one start showing for the past fortnight. I'm looking forward to seeing them all come up. I planted them in September when I was going through lots of tests and scans. I thought it would be something nice to see come spring. No sign of the daffodils yet but they've been in a few years and I haven't tended to the area around them so it'll be a surprise to if they attempt coming up this year.

My indoor bulbs are doing well! These are pretty frugal if you’ve got a big vast and some rocks. Just buy new paper whites every year and you get the joy of indoor flowers and watching them slowly growing. Great for the kids to see how the bulbs develop.

Relatively easy one today. Gave DH a hand collecting the Christmas decorations and putting them in the loft. I was too unwell to help getting them down so he was shocked that after three sessions of chemo I am more myself. Have lost all my upper body muscle mass but that is on the list of things to improve on over the rest of winter. Tomorrow DH is back at work so I'm solo parenting with the kids. No idea what to do with them as it's so cold and I'm avoiding busy indoor spaces. Might be all the winter clothing and the park for a few hours maybe.

Love the paper whites @FurForksSake , bet they smell amazing. That reminds me that I bought an amaryllis bulb just before Christmas and I need to pot it up asap. I actually prefer them to flower later and give some much needed colour in February 🌺

@Oioiqueen you are doing well sorting out your Christmas stuff! We don’t get much out but always worry about forgetting to tidy every bit away.

Hope you have a great year with lots of energy and strength returning!

Lovely bulbs @FurForksSake

Happy new year everyone!
love the bulbs @FurForksSake I must get some indoor ones and great you got in the garden @Swanhilde
My DH planted some gorgeous tulips last year in pots, they were so pretty and unusual. He put them somewhere for safekeeping over the winter only he can’t remember where! ( He does have memory problems so can’t be too cross!) Garden isn’t so big we could lose multiple pots so I do wonder if he replanted them in the borders but we’ll just have to wait and see what comes up in Spring!
Sorry New Year’s Eve didn’t quite go to plan @MewithME hope today was calmer.

A very quiet one here, not the best nights sleep, awake at 5 am worrying about various things. I can rationalise it in the day but at nighttime I just lie there in a state of panic.
Managed a shower this morning and a quick dog walk this afternoon which was nice.
DH is cooking a roast and we will watch the new series of traitors together.

Happy New Year everyone. I've mostly been offline this week so will try to catch up on posts.

@MewithME I hope that you and your son are friends again. There are so many eggshells to tiptoe around with teenagers, especially when they are ND (apologies if I have remembered this wrongly about your DS)

@FurForksSake beautiful beautiful bulbs. I haven't planted anything this year so am hoping that the pots I did in 2024 when I was on extended sick leave will come up this spring. I fear the hot summer last year may have done for them.

@Orangesandlemons77 i saw the post about your MIL and her unkind comments. I will read back to see whether you have updated but I really hope that your DH will speak to her. How horrible to add insult to injury when you are living with a health condition and hosting her in your home.

All of the friends that I kept, gently, at bay during 2025 seem to have popped up today with New Year messages. Can we meet? Can we go out? Can they come and stay?

I just need a standard message to send back that says "I'm sorry, Viking is out of action right now due to having so few spoons she may never be able to eat a bowl of soup again. Thank you for your kind thoughts, I hope to see you in 3-5 years."

I'm so grateful that they still like me but it's so hard to keep pushing them away. I totally crashed over Christmas though and I know I can't just push on through.