Hold, please . . .

*** I’m glad to post another blog, this week. I had to take a little break. We have recently sold our home. We will be building a new home, soon. During this period of transition, we will live with family. ***

Thank you for bearing with me during this time of change.

Who remembers phones like this? The phone would ring and most of the time, the person who answered the phone was not the intended recipient. The only way to put the call “on hold” was to lay the receiver down like in the picture. Of course, the call wasn’t really “on hold”. The person on the other end could still hear whatever was being said.

Life is kind of like that. You try to put things on hold – home projects, a dreaded phone conversation, etc. But, just because you lay something aside, it’s not really on hold. Life goes on. And, if you’re like me, you have more than one life . . . mom life, wife life, friend life, volunteer life. How many lives do you have?

When you have a chronic illness, you lead a double life. You’re either the sick version of yourself or you’re the “normal” you. And, sometimes, you land somewhere in between. I know there have been times that I have kept going when I should have put everything on hold.

Stress can be a big trigger for a Crohn’s flare. I have made special efforts to keep my stress down during this move to avoid a flare. Thank God for wonderful friends and family who have helped with anything we needed. The more help I am able to get, the more I am able to do and the less I have to put on hold for another day.

There have been many times, during a Crohn’s flare up, that my life is on hold. All of my lives are on hold. I have lots of experience being a patient. The worst part of having a chronic autoimmune disease is putting life on hold. Believe me, there is nothing glamorous about sitting around watching TV because you’re too sick to concentrate on reading. It’s very humbling to know that when you’re sick, your family has to put their life on hold to take care of you. And, there are times that I should be helping my mom to clean her house or do other projects, but, she has to drive me to procedure appointments or clean my house.

With my recent move, I have unintentionally put some of my life on hold. Sometimes, you have to put some things on hold to regroup and prioritize your projects and obligations.

I would love to put my Crohn’s life on hold. Maybe one day there will be a cure and Crohn’s will be in the rear view mirror.

One lesson Crohn’s has taught me is that you voluntarily put parts of your life on hold to re-charge your batteries. It is much better to approach life that way rather than wait for your body to hit a wall and shut itself down. Then, you have to put ALL your life on hold.

Reflection: Are you putting your life on hold or is life putting you on hold? Take care of yourself and all of your lives.