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I am. Much better today. Slept well, feel pretty good. It’s a gorgeous fall day, too. Sunshine, breezy, comfortable. I have showered, but I need to get dressed so I can go down and get my mail. Last time I got it was last Monday, over a week ago. I’m sure the mailman is not happy with me.

I found this program on tv the other day about a food challenge in Canada. It was to only eat items produced within one hundred miles of where you live, for one hundred days. Not so simple as you might think. No sugar or coffee or salt or pepper or any spices. A long list of things we take for granted. It really got me thinking about how we live. My first thought was what if it was winter? I live in New England, and there isn’t a lot in season in winter. You’d have to live more like our ancestors, learning how to preserve food. How would you do that? Canning, root cellars. No brining, because no salt. I think this would be really hard for anyone, but for someone with a chronic illness, the work involved would make it impossible. How fortunate we are to live in a time where food is easily available in pretty much ready-to-eat forms year round. I could not survive otherwise, since I live by myself and cannot afford a private chef.

That’s something I’ve learned since becoming ill. Not to take so much for granted, because I can’t. You have to be healthy to grow your own food, prepare your own food, raise your own animals, all the things people had to do not that long ago. Illness makes you count your blessings. I know some people spend their time bemoaning the fact that they can’t be their pre-illness selves, and trying to find something to fix them. I do that, too, sometimes. But I prefer to learn the lessons of illness. Appreciating what I can do, what is available to help me survive with illness, friends who are willing to help out with the really hard stuff. I think I have a wonderful life, even though it isn’t the life I thought it would be, or the life I used to have. It is still a good life, with friends and fun and lots to be grateful for. Like Jack and Ianto. *smile*