Today I wanted to share something that happened when I was waking up this morning. 

First of all I should mention that I am starting to be back on the mend with the sciatica and bursitis nonsense I’ve been dealing with since last August. I’m trying hard not to over-do however as it just takes way too long to recover all over again. So I’ve been steadily adding more to my day physically but at the same time keeping the reigns in. I know my limits.

Over the last several months, I’ve been trying to get more positive in the way I look at things. For example, there was a time when how I woke up would colour the rest of my day. But it’s also smaller things like trying not to be as critical of myself and others – not that I often voice my criticisms, but I sure can think them! While out shopping today I managed to be in line at the grocery store behind someone who clearly wasn’t thinking of the most efficient, easiest way to put her groceries on the black belt. While I was standing there, shifting the weight between my legs because standing for any length of time isn’t comfortable, I was mentally criticising her method of emptying her cart and I wasn’t being very charitable. ‘Brain dead’ came to mind. When I realised I was doing this I tried to change my attitude and realised the lady really was brain dead – not because of being dumb or anything, she looked exhausted and probably was pretty much running on auto-pilot. Instead of the annoyance I had been feeling, I felt a bit of compassion for her. We exchanged glances, I smiled at her, she smiled. Had I not changed my perception of things would I have smiled? I don’t know, but it felt better to give her a break, if only mentally, than to tally up all the dumb things I thought she was doing.

Back to getting out of bed this morning.  My first 30 minutes or so in the morning are painful. This isn’t a complaint, it’s just a fact I pretty much need to learn to live with. Between the arthritis and sciatica, I tend to wake up very stiff and in pain. Once I get moving around, and after I’ve had a sip or two of hot coffee, certain regular body functions take place and after that I no longer have pressure against the nerves in my spine. Everything improves after that.
If I let how I feel when I first get out of bed colour my attitude for the rest of the day, I’m going to be the most miserable cranky lady you’ve ever met. At some point along the way I must have been working on this in the background of life because it’s not like I’ve given it a great deal of thought.  I just really need to be clear with myself that it gets better, that this isn’t how I’ll feel all day – it’s only temporary.

So, this morning as I’m sitting on the edge of the bed putting my socks and slippers on, it hurts and I’m reminding myself that this will pass… when my brain decided to have an imagination (unusual before my first coffee). I imagined a friendly voice – similar to maybe a stewardess on a plane making an announcement. “Welcome to your day. The pain you are experiencing is only temporary and will ease soon. We apologise for the inconvenience. If you could please keep the moaning to a minimum it would be appreciated, else you’ll wake the healthy.” (My husband was sound asleep behind me, snoring at the time).  Wake the healthy?  I nearly giggled aloud. For the record, I don’t moan once I’m awake. I think I might as I’m waking up though as generally I wake up from moving just the wrong way and it hurts. But really, ‘keep the moaning to the minimum so I don’t wake the healthy’ – How funny is that?

Who knows, maybe the imaginary friendly voice-over start to my day could become a regular thing.  As long as she’s funny and on the positive side I’m fine with it.  If I have any more of these, I’ll be sure to share them.

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