The Twelve Days of Lupus

The Twelve Days of Lupus
On the first day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
A bad pain in both of my knees

On the second day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the third day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the fourth day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the fifth day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the sixth day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Six new red mouth sores
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the seventh day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Seven brand new lab tests
Six new red mouth sores
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the eighth day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Bone crushing fatigue
Seven brand new lab tests
Six new red mouth sores
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the ninth day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Red, white, blue fingers
Bone crushing fatigue
Seven brand new lab tests
Six new red mouth sores
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the tenth day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Protein in my urine
Red, white, blue fingers
Bone crushing fatigue
Seven brand new lab tests
Six new red mouth sores
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Butterfly on my face
Protein in my urine
Red, white, blue fingers
Bone crushing fatigue
Seven brand new lab tests
Six new red mouth sores
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my lupus gave to me
Trashed self-esteem
Butterfly on my face
Protein in my urine
Red, white, blue fingers
Bone crushing fatigue
Seven brand new lab tests
Six new red mouth sores
Dense lupus fog
Stiff, achy fingers
Hair falling out
A creepy rash
And a bad pain in both of my knees

Inspiration

How often do you hear or read something that touches you deeply? How often do you think, "I need to remember that?" How often does that flicker of inspiration get lost an hour later?

Years ago, at a very hard point in my life, a good friend shared his own book of inspiration. This was not a book, but just a bunch of quotes printed out and placed in a notebook. His quotes were helpful to me.

Over time, I forgot about the inspirational quotes. Then, as I was learning to live with lupus, I started keeping my own book of quotes.

I am reading It's Not the End of the World by Joan Borysenko, one of my favorite authors. Here are some quotes that really spoke to me:

"Resilience is a reflex, a way of facing and understanding the world, that is deeply etched into a person's mind and soul."

"Those who have a 'why' to live for can bear with almost any 'how.'"

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."

"What's your habitual story about why bad things happen?"

Consider getting a notebook and writing down the things that inspire you, the things that make you feel good, the things that bring you back to who you are.