#2: a bed (or a couch, or a reclining passenger seat in the car, or even a floor really.)
Now, this one seems pretty self explanatory. Everyone needs a place to sleep, right? Well, yes. That is true. However, I don't just mean a place to sleep at night. I don't mean you need a bed (or a couch or wherever you are able to sleep) just because it's a human necessity to sleep. I mean, there are times when you all of a sudden NEED to lie down or else your body will force it upon you in the form of passing out. And, at that point your body has given 100%, plus some, and it needs to recharge.
I like to think of my bed as my charging station.
I'm that phone that gets to 30% and then suddenly the battery goes dead and it needs a really long time even on the charger to come back on. We've all had that phone and we all know how annoying it is.
Well imagine that happening to your body.
You're chugging along (most days your chugging is along the lines of the little engine that could; "I think I can. I think I can.") and then all of a sudden your body is done. Usually without warning. And usually without much time to do anything about it. You need that charger and you need it now. Or else you're going to be absolutely no good for quite a while.
It's not a question at that point--you have to lie down.
So there's always that thought in the back of your mind of "where am I going to be able to lie down?" When you walk in a new place, you scan the room for a place you can at least sit, if not lay. And if all else fails, you find the exits so that you can get to your car as quickly as possible.
(P.s. I can show you all of the quickest ways out of Walmart, Target, Michaels, etc. if you ever need to know.)
Somewhere to lie down is 1,000 times over a survival necessity.
You probably don't think much of your bed. It's just a thing. But, as I write this from the comfort and security of my own bed--knowing that I'm not going to fall down, I can close my eyes safely if I need to, and if I get dizzy I'm not going to go anywhere--I'm super thankful.
I feel that way about my recliner. Post chemo isn't as fatiguing as Lyme and other chronic illnesses, but when my bottom falls it, it often does so without warning. I have no looked for the quickest way out of a store, but I sway when I stand in line (I think it's a circulation thing) or I will get dizzy. Jess is a pro at noticing I'm "going down." Good coping skills, Leigh.
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