Today has been pretty good. The chest pain has been low and thankfully so has the rest of me! :-D I love, love, love good days. They also tend to make me a little lazy. I'm almost afraid to even move at all in case it makes me hurt more. So....just took it easy and soaked up the goodness of the whole day!!

Connor was too cute tonight. I think he saw something outside tonight after he came in. He sat looking out the sliding glass door pretty hard. Then, he's looking up at the handle and the latch which locks and unlocks it. I swear I could see the wheels in his brain spinning! He stood up a few times to paw at the handle and the latch. It wasn't locked but he thought it was. He was at it for a good 5-10 minutes before he gave up in disgust at not having opposable thumbs to get the dang door open. He's one smart kitty and is always watching what we do. I think people don't give animals enough credit in the brain department. They really are intelligent and if they had hands.....there'd be no stopping them!

I'm doing two wolves in the forest paint-by-number. I worked on it today some more. It's looking really good. There's enough done you can see the wolves now and branches on the trees. The water will take more numbers before it really shows itself. When I finish it, I'll post a pic of my masterpiece. :-)

Other than this my day was boring! So what shall I write about tonight. Let's see, something insightful. How about some things I've learned.

Patience was non existent before rsd. I have learned patience, a little. I'm still woefully short on it but hey, it's better than none!

Compassion has always been with me. Being an empath and feeling what others feel, well, it's hard to not have it. I taught my children to see each person for who they are, disability or not. To have manners and be thoughtful of people in wheelchairs or with any assistive device who may need a door held open. Having an invisible disability has taught me more compassion. I now know you can't always see when something is wrong on the outside. I realized despite my words to my children, I had judged other people. If I saw someone in a wheelchair or using a store scooter, I looked at them and thought, why do they need that? They look fine to me! Must be they're just lazy. If only I had known it was one of the many invisible disabilities that are out there, I certainly wouldn't have had thoughts like that. I've been on the receiving end of some odd and downright hostile looks from others myself. These looks I got had nothing to do with using a scooter or being in a handicapped parking space either. They came when I was in a wheelchair or using my crutches. Their look said, Why does she need that? She looks just fine to me! I admit I felt so ashamed of my past behavior. I know of so many invisible disabilities now that it boggles the mind.

What should you take from this? Don't judge ever!! One day you may be on the other side of things. With rsd, it only takes one stupid thing. Something that's happened to you a million times already, a sprained ankle, a broken bone. Suddenly you're struck down by pain so intense it makes you wish you were dead or that you could cut off an arm or leg. Or, fibro which is also so very painful, maybe spine problems. There are endless possibilities which could end life as you know it and open a new life. One you never want to have. Be mindful of everyone, pass along a smile, hold a door open for someone. A small kindness goes a long way.