Is it just me, or is it ridiculously difficult to get out of bed some mornings? This morning I was given a helping hand getting out of bed when I woke up to an enormous crashing sound. Worried about Robin, I leapt into action before I'd quite finished opening my eyes to check he was okay. He was. Which is more than can be said for the kitchen, as the shelf holding all of my cookbooks had taken a spectacular dive towards the floor, taking the contents of the kitchen table with it. While Robin gathered up all of the books and drill bits (which I had left on the table after my bathroom DIY escapades yesterday), I swayed dangerously on the spot before turning around and heading for the sofa to regain my sense of balance. Even on days when I manage to spring like an ungainly gazelle from my bed, I have trouble staying in action for more than a few minutes.
Usually it takes me a bit longer to manage that first step. When we need to be out of the door for a certain time, we have to set the alarm at least half an hour earlier than we should need to get up to make sure that I will actually be able to stand up in time to leave. What we always forget is that when I wake up of my own volition it takes me half an hour to come to. It takes considerably longer if I have to be roused by the infuriating buzzing of my alarm clock.
I have developed a little trick to bring me to a little faster. Basically, I lie on my back, kick my legs into the air and waggle for a couple of minutes. This gets the blood flowing, and will usually allow me to get straight up from there. The real problem comes on mornings when I don't have either the strength to kick my legs up in the first place or the wherewithal to remember that this trick can help to speed up the process. Luckily these days are becoming fewer and further between, but they do still seem to be annoyingly existent.
Even when I've managed to get out of bed without faceplanting into the carpet (or anything else, for that matter), I don't function correctly until I've sat upright for a while and poured at least 2 pints of water into my system. That's half of the government's RDI, for anyone who's keeping track. I've managed to get enough of a routine to do the important things in the morning, but beyond that I'm useless for a couple of hours. If you don't want me to feed the rabbit, feed myself, take my medicine or check my email, I don't know what you're asking. That's why my appointments tend to start from about 11am.
Twice this year I have woken up feeling less tired than when I went to bed. Given that this is August, that would be a shocking statistic for anyone not affected with ME. I wouldn't go so far as to say I felt refreshed, but after 9 years of illness those two mornings are ingrained on my memory as being some of the best mornings in memory. As my memory is also failing, that's perhaps not the complement it could be, but I'm still proud. If I could make it to the hat-trick by the end of 2011 I would be a very happy girl.
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