A Young Wife’s Tale

Each April, in honor of National Volunteer Month, the National Psoriasis Foundation recognizes it’s thousands of volunteers – people who work each day to help further the mission of the Psoriasis Foundation: to find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and to eliminate their devastating effects through research, advocacy and education. Our volunteer network is thousands strong and working in infinite ways to help people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis lead healthy, fulfilling lives and hope for a future without their disease.

Volunteering can be an intimidating idea, but it’s not always a matter of giving hours and hours each week; sometimes it’s the smallest action that has the biggest impact. Writing a letter to your member of Congress asking for support of psoriasis legislation could be the difference between getting a bill passed in Congress or not. Speaking to your child’s class about psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis could prevent a child from being bullied because of their skin. Sharing your story on the TalkPsoriasis message board could be the encouragement another person needs to seek treatment.

Haven’t written a blog post in a week? Can’t get past chapter 3 in the novel you’re writing? Here’s what to do when you have writer’s block.

1. Read your favorite book or blog. Perhaps you could analyze the writing style a bit.

2. Read a book by an author who’s work is unfamiliar to you. Bonus: pick a book in a genre you don’t normally read.

3. Vacuum, knit or exercise. These always work for me. Activities like these make me feel like I’m accomplishing something, but my mind is free to wander.

For me, being a wife to a chronically ill husband is like being a communication device. Maybe not all men have trouble communicating, but David definitely has a hard time verbalizing his pain and suffering. It’s actually one of the most frustrating aspects of having a husband with an invisible chronic illness. I get really angry when David doesn’t tell me he’s hurting. I get so upset when someone at church asks him to help move heavy furniture and he does it instead of saying, “Sorry, I can’t.” It’s like he wants to be the strong, silent type.

This is my first blog post. It was originally published on April 25, 2009.

I went for a physical a few weeks ago. My most dreaded day of the year. The doctor spent the entire time talking to me about David’s arthritis. He was really nice and encouraging. He had great advice, but when I got in the car afterwards, I couldn’t help but think, “Hey! That was my physical! Why were we talking about David?”

This post is a meme from ProBlogger.

*Your first post

My first blog post was about my physical. Physically, my doctor said I was fine, but he was concerned about my mental and emotional state. He encouraged me to find people my age who were dealing with chronic illness and taking care of their spouses. That physical was a catalyst for my blog.