One Second Every Day: August - Week 5

• Monday 27th August - Operation bedroom tidy! Paced myself today and managed to got through all my loose paperwork and either filled it, shredded it or binned it. I also put away all the clothes hanging around my room. I was exhausted afterwards but it was a good exhausted. The evening wasn't so productive due to a prolonged seizure but I managed just about to sit though a film with Dad and Mandy once I came round enough though couldn't tell you much about it. 
• Tuesday 28th August - On hind sight I should have gone to bed after my seizure instead of watching a film but yet again I was determined not to let FND win. The day was mediocre. Managed to clean Flop out in the afternoon before I flopped. Did 10 more minutes of tidying and am going to keep up with little bursts of tidying in my rom until it's all nice again. Perk of the day was going to bed with nice clean bedding.
• Wednesday 29th August - Got up and ready. Katie my carers came at 11.30am and we went to the post office to post some letters and but some more international postcard stamps, then we went onto Tesco and I accidentally bought more make-up (oops!) and as a nice thing for my tidier bedroom I bought myself some sunflowers. Katie and I then headed to Sports Direct to but some ankle/wrist weights to use in my physio exercises at home. We then just had enough time to nip into The Range before heading home. When I got home I put my purchases away and got some lunch and watched and episode of Ackley Bridge. I then paced between watching TV and doing a bit more tidying in my room and also had a little nap. Just before half 6 Rik arrived and we had tea and then we washed a horror film called 'Thriller'. I'm was shattered and wanted to go to bed but accidentally knocked over my vase of sunflowers that I bought today so Mandy to the rescue. I'm now tucked up in bed and ready for sleep.
• Thursday 30th August - Another mediocre day at group therapy, struggling a bit with my mood and fatigue not helping. Didn't manage any tidying when I got home. I started to type a reply to a letter but I was a bit too brain fogged so I just put series 2 of The Great British Bake Off on Netflix and accidentally nodded off. Dad woke me up for tea and after to I went back to the sofa and nodded off again so by half 8 I was ready to go to bed.
• Friday 31st August - Up to make a phone call or 8.30am and then when back to bed for a rather long lay in, but I had nothing  to get up for and my body must have needed it. I got up and watched a bit of the television and had breakfast and then summed up the energy to get washed and dressed. I could veg out a bit more on my pj's without being nagged at as Dad and Mandy had gone to Lincoln to pick up the new car. In the afternoon I had an appointment at the beauty salon in the village. Mandy challenged me to the idea of getting the bus back home; its literally only three stops. I was so nervous having had bad experiences on terms of accessibility on buses before and also being alone and having seizure in public (thankfully all positive experiences if you discount the seizures!). So when I finished at the salon the bus stop was literally just outside and I checked what bus I needed and very shortly after I sat down the number 9 came along. The bus diver very nicely lowered the bus when I asked him to and I showed him my disabled bus pass and explained quickly that I have a memory impairment and needed to get off just after the pub. The gentleman sat one one of the priority seats stood up to allow me to sit next to him without me even asking (in the past I've had bad experiences of people not wanting to give up priority seats e.g. move their shopping off the seat or telling me to go upstairs despite me politely stating that that seat is for people like me and you and I can't physically stand let alone get up the bus' stairs) which made my anxiety a lot easier as I didn't have to put up a fight. I then text my Dad who was going to meet me off the bus to make sure I was okay and hadn't say had an absence seizure and forgotten where I was or to get off the bus. Thankfully where our house is situated we have a private access gate down a private drive from when the plot of new builds used to be an orchard and our secret gate was the access for Mr Dickinson who lived on the orchard so its only a 30 second/1minute walk to the bus stop; if we lived elsewhere on the ploy of new builds I wouldn't be able to get the bus as our road is far to long for me to walk down to get to the bus stop at the end of the road. So that took a huge amount of bravery, anxiety and courage so I gave myself a bravery bead and its defiantly something I will try again such as going to the Drs or into the village if I'm having a good day with my mobility. And I just have to keep reminding myself that just because I did it doesn't mean it was easy. Oh and the new car is AWESOME, it has parking assist, which basically means it parks itself (how crazy is that), it has heated seats in the front and dual climate control so I can be toasty warm and the driver be nice and cool and it has a USB socket and in the back is a pull down arm rest with drinks holder and also a 12V socket so I can charge my own devices in the back. Best of all it's a sparkly black colour!

Gratitude list...

• Having the energy to start getting my bedroom tidied
• Cuddles with Flop
• Clean bedding
• My carers
• God for creating sunflowers
• Nap times
• Friends and films
• Netflix putting on The Great British Bake Off
• Lay ins and pjs 
• Kindness in other people
• My own bravery
• My Dad and Mandy for helping me out and supporting and challenging me
• Sparkly cars with cool features