Just because You Can........

Just because you can, doesn't mean that you SHOULD!

I need to plaster this saying all over my house and maybe even the palm of my hand and my forehead so that others can see it and tell me "Just don't do it!" If you have ME, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis or many of the other auto-immune diseases that are so prevalent, you can surely understand this little statement.

I have a drivers license, I can drive, and sometimes I do, but that does not mean that I should. I try not to unless it is necessary and never when I am very tired or early in the day. But, my son missed his school bus on this day - not his fault - and so I drove him to school. It was a necessary evil but as I was driving back home after dropping him off, I realized the many reasons that I SHOULD not be driving. It is only by the Grace of God and dumb luck that I have not had a major accident.

Most with ME or any other brain altering illness will know what I mean. While driving, I no longer am able to remember familiar routes that I used to drive every day, I become confused as to what button or dial makes the turn signal versus the lights and wipers work. My car is 11 years old so I can't blame it on not knowing. Left or right pose a problem and can be easily confused and the more anxious I become, the worse my driving becomes. My son would tell you that I wait way too long to pull out when making a turn, trying to be sure that no one is coming and I am doing the right thing. This often causes problems when those waiting behind me are no so patient. The Interstate is a very scary thing and I don't feel comfortable traveling there at all anymore. It is all too fast and not within my control.

The same can be said of foods like chocolate, beef, sugar - just because I can eat them - my hand goes to my mouth with a fair amount of ease - it DOES not mean that I should! I won't begin to die immediately if I do but there will be consequences and sometimes we don't even know what they will be. Over doing in any capacity has many consequences - especially for my family - but I do it anyway and suffer later.

My point here is, if we know there are things that we CAN do but just SHOULD NOT do ---- then Just don't do it!!! This little rule does make life a little small bit less unpredictable in a world that seems so out of control and can make each day just a little easier. When that box of brownie mix whispers to me again, just for today, I may tell it to be QUIET because I can't partake - just for today!