Ask Lucy.

Ah yes. Isn't fibro beautiful? Actually, I'd love to be able to get into this position, but I probably wouldn't get out again.

Another gorgeous sunshiney morning. More rain has been predicted for days, but God keeps foiling the weathermen. It was supposed to pour yesterday, and I've been braced. But don't we just know that bracing ourselves for dreaded events is almost worse for our fibro than the events themselves?

So, ever the optimist-in-training, I drove into town, just because I could.

And since were no showers after all, what a relaxing morning it was! Cappuccino at my cybercafé and good progress on my essay contest submission (deadline moved to this Sunday). Nevertheless, it wore me out and today I'm lounging around in my peach negligée, waiting for a photo op.

Exhaustion and fog. These are the hardest parts of fibro for me. The best remedy I've found (when I don't have to work and I'm too stubborn to nap) is just to do something I love. So I write, or weave, or crochet. I'm still tired, I still can't remember what I just did, but it renders me basically harmless and sometimes I even get something done.

Today, I'm going to write. I have an essay to finish and some similar writing things to do. Later this evening, I'll watch the first hours of 24 I've recorded and work on my El Niño blanket , crocheting little hurricanes and giving thanks for being dry.

And that's the easiest part of fibro for me. Boy, do I love to have an excuse to take it easy! How silly is that?

FIBRO-TIP: Don't wait for an excuse to take it easy. Just take it.

Anyway, that's what Lucy says.

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Fibro flair.

Ironically (but probably not surprisingly), I've been sitting here for two days, staring through the fog at this picture and wondering what to write.


I like this picture. I'm sure I'll be sued any moment now for using it, but I can't recall the photographer and it's just too beautiful not to use. This image is my fibro fog on a good day, when the distance may be hazy but at least I can see what's up close.


The first post on a new blog is so important. Or we think it is. We feel we have to make a mission statement or some such thing, announce our existence to the world so it knows who we are and what we're about, and then stick to that purpose with steely intent until we just can't do it anymore and the whole thing implodes.


In my experience, blogs tend to morph over time into unexpected shapes. This one will, too.


I'll tell you what, though--everything I read about fibro on the Internet makes me want to bury myself alive, and my goal here is exactly the opposite.


I can handle the pain--not well, but I can--and I can handle the fatigue. But what really gets me is the fog. So this blog is dedicated to cutting through the fog of fibro and living life with some modicum of creativity and zest.


There are ways to live with love and light despite fibromyalgia, even when it affects our professional lives. I invite you to check in with The Artful Day-Jobber once in a while to see how I tiptoe around that particular landmine.


In the meantime, let's just keep smiling, every day, step by step , as we pick our way through the fog by the light from above.


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