Going for a Song

One of the problems with having CFS/ME is you become very isolated. It’s a very lonely illness, as are many debilitating illnesses. You just cannot get out and about as much as most people and travelling is hard work.

Although I have been living in the same area for twelve years now, the number of people who live in the area who I consider friends I can count on one hand. Most of the friends I made here were at university, where I have spent eight of the last twelve years. Sadly (for me) most of my university friends have scattered to the four corners of the country, and I can see them only occasionally.

Anyway with the exception of my husband I see very few people. My family visit when they can, but I spend at least half of all my waking hours alone (other than Walter). Walter is a wonderful little individual, and I love him dearly, but at the end of the day he is a dog, and it really isn’t possible to have a meaningful conversation with a dog. Or any kind of conversation for that matter.  He has definitely alleviated my loneliness, but he can never replace the need for human company.

So with all this in mind and my steady improvements in strength and stamina, I started thinking about how I might meet some new friends. I remembered seeing a programme about the Women’s Institute (WI) that said that a lot more younger women were members these days and that it wasn’t just about baking and jam making (not that I have any objections to backing and jam making). So with that in mind I decided the WI might be a good place to start. I found several WI groups in my area and one in particular looked promising: the Bath WI. They had an up to date website and even a facebook page. I felt this boded well for the group to be young and thriving. And so I plucked up some courage and went along to their meeting at the beginning of July.

Well, they turned out to be a lovely and welcoming bunch of ladies. There were lots of other new members too, so I felt comfortable. The first meeting was a tea tasting session, which was fascinating and very enjoyable, and all in all a great success. So I went to their next meeting at the beginning of September. I recognised a few people, and a few ladies recognised me. This meeting was a singing lesson taken by the assistant director of music for Bath abbey. Now, I used to sing a lot and have been in choirs on and off for a lot of my life. But it was only during this meeting that I realised how much I miss singing. I had a wonderful time. It was a fun and light-hearted evening with a good dose of singing thrown in. I got home very tired but feeling very happy and positive. I definitely think it may be time for me to find a choir again.

So I shall be off to the WI meeting again next month. I’m already looking forward to it. And I shall be investigating local choirs – yet another opportunity to meet more people.

Down by the River

One of the difficult things about CFS/ME is it’s very difficult to stay fit. In fact when your health is below a certain level it’s impossible. You just don’t have any energy to spare for exercise. It’s getting used up on much more basic everyday tasks.

Two years ago we got our dog Walter. At the time he was a puppy and I hoped that as Walter grew up and could walk further I would get stronger and be able to walk further too. Unfortunately that didn’t go to plan, because as Walter inevitably grew I deteriorated. However, two years later I feel ready to start improving my fitness levels more seriously.

I have been gradually improving them for the best part of a year now, and Walter and I have a little circular walk we do through our village. As the months have gone by I’m gradually extended it as my strength has improved. The circuit started out as just over a kilometre and then I expanded it to about two and three quarter kilometres. Last week I suddenly realised that a path along the river that has been closed for a long time had reopened and would be a perfect opportunity to expand my route and give Walter a new and hopefully interesting outing.  It also increased the circuit to three and a quarter kilometres and included several hills. So last week I tried it for the first time. I did cut it a bit short as I felt I was pushing my luck, but we did it again this week and I did the whole circuit.

Walter loved it. The day after we first did it I was only able to do a shorter version for our walk, but Walter really wanted to cross over the road and go down to the river. He stood by the crossing and whined, and looked at me and back over the road and whined some more. Never has he expressed such a desire to do a particular walk. On that occasion I had to say no, but we did it again yesterday, and he trotted eagerly over the road and we went down to the river. He had to stick his nose into everything. Obviously there are lots of new and exciting smells by the river.

Eventually I hope I can link this walk up with another one I do along the canal, which at the moment requires a trip in the car. But it’s something I need to build up gradually.

So why the sudden obsession with fitness? Well apart from the fact that I need to build up some physical strength, my husband and I are hoping to make a trip to the Lake District later in the year and I really want to be able to do a bit of walking. In my pre-CFS/ME life we did a lot of walking in the Lake District. In fact when I first got CFS/ME I said I would know I was better when I could walk up Skiddaw again (a very steep walk). Well, I don’t think Skiddaw is on the cards this year, but I’m hoping I might manage some shorter and less demanding walks in the fells.