Thanks for all the excellent replies- very nice to see so many people doing their best to keep up with life- Now; if you do what I do then be prepared to be told off with a very loud voice by the other half-
Here's my story-
When in school I hated being told to go outside and play football/hockey/netball/ or anything else to do with PE.. so every Friday after dinner, I "Vanished" to the school library to read car repair manuals. I did that for 2 years and got quite knowledgeable- leaving school at 16 I walked straight into a job doing small repairs replacing batteries, bulbs, dynamo's, alternators etc- The deputy Head came to my garage one day and saw me bending over a car.. he didn't know it was me and said, "hey mate" I turned and smiled and asked what was wrong, "Oh its you Jones" he said: I replied "its Karen now, I'm not in school"
He said "its my lights they don't work"- so I fixed them- they were both blown with age..He was amazed at how clever I was in doing the repair so quick.!- And guess what.? the school now does car mechanical training-(Girls and Boys).. all of my life I've done for me, not anyone else, and I am very self driven.. My brain says "go for it" - "do it now" my body screams out for rest before I've begun.. So I do it, I go for it and end up on the floor exhausted, like last year when I mowed our small lawn..! But I won't stop until its done- work- rest-get up, work -rest-get up, work-and so on- Yes I get tired, don't get me wrong, very very tired, but I won't stop, Until him indoors shouts at me and demands I stop walking around like a drunk and come in to rest- He even has a video camera watching me to ensure I don't fall and hurt myself which has happened on too many occasions..! But it WON'T stop me- while I breath, while I can still move around with or without pain, I will never let any illness drag me down to the point of not doing anything- I'm not brave, more stupid to be honest, the dss know exactly what I do and what I've said, I've never lied to them about me- don't see the point as I won't remember what lies I said in six weeks never mind months..!
I take Flurbiprofen (NSAID) which is a Non Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drug since 1994, and have a list of other problems longer than my Doctors arm.! But giving up is not something I can do-EVER.. please don't take my life as one of "you must do more or better" but its a personal drive not to let life put me into an early retirement- from being alive- I take a month to do what I used to do in 7 days, but so what.. I still do it eventually... and to me, that's all that matters... remember this.. PMA.. it'll get you thru- Regards to all..
KAREN.