What would you give to be normal, she asked
Looking me straight in the eye
I paused a moment in order to give
A completely honest reply

What would I give to be normal
The question, itself, wasn't new
Quick to mind came all the things
I could now no longer do

The list was long, and the list was sad
Of that I was painfully sure
I could sit a while, with my “losses list”
And continually add to it more

I returned my thoughts to the question
What did it really mean
And decided the answer was simpler
Than at first, to me, it seemed

I faced my well intended friend
My response, I knew, was true
In every way that matters the most
I'm just as normal as you

My world is restricted and narrow
Compared to where you reside
But it doesn't mean my spirit or soul
Need lessen in worth or size

No matter how wakened my body
I&

#039;ll persist at any length
Not to allow my frailties
To negate my inner strengths

I wish, I hope, I dream, I pray
Quite often, I sit and cry
As long as there's laughter and love in my life
I'll know I'll continue to try

As children of our creator
We're equally valued the same
We're not defined by health or wealth
Position, power, or fame

I may never be fully, physically well
While here upon our earth
But normal or not, I'll do my best
Not to let it determine my worth

*
by Saundra Sharp
140 Jessie Stoudemeyer Rd.
Little Mountain, SC  29075

This poem won third place in the Toxic Times Literary contest.  Saundra is homebound with MCS.  If you benefited from her poem, you can drop her a note acknowledging her fine work and wishing her well.  You may or may not get an answer.  Hope you understand.

Hi. . .My Name is Fibromyalgia, and I'm an Invisible Chronic Illness.

I am now velcroed to you for life. Others around you can't see me or hear me, but YOUR body feels me. I can attack you anywhere and anyhow I please. I can cause severe pain or, if I'm in a good mood, I can just cause you to ache all over. Remember when you and Energy ran around together and had fun? I took Energy from you, and gave you Exhaustion. Try to have fun now! I also took Good Sleep from you and, in its place, gave you Brain Fog. I can make you tremble internally or make you feel cold or hot when everyone else feels normal. Oh, yeah, I can make you feel anxious or depressed, too. If you have something planned, or are looking forward to a great day, I can take that away, too. You didn't ask for me. I chose you for various reasons: That virus you had that you never recovered from, or that car accident, or maybe it was the years of abuse and trauma. Well, anyway, I'm here to stay! I hear you're going to see a doctor who can “get rid” of me. I'm rolling on the floor, laughing. Just try. You will have to go to many, many doctors until you find one who even BELIEVES I EXIST.

You will be put on

pain pills, sleeping pi

lls, energy pills, told you are suffering from anxiety or depression, given a TENs unit, get massaged, told if you just sleep and exercise more I will go away, told to think positive, poked, prodded, and MOST OF ALL, laughed at when you tell the doctor I am debilitating. Your family, friends and coworkers will all listen to you until they just get tired of hearing about how I make you feel, and that I'm a real disease. Some of them will say things like “Oh, you are just having a bad day” or “Well, remember, you can't do the things you use to do 20 YEARS ago,” not hearing that you said 20 DAYS ago. Some will just start talking behind your back, while you slowly feel that you are losing your dignity trying to make them understand, especially when you are in the middle of a conversation with a “Normal” person, and can't remember what you were going to say next!

Eventually, most of them will be like all the doctors who say “It's All In Your Head.”

In closing, (I was hoping that I kept this part a secret), but I guess you already found out. . .

The ONLY place you will get any support and understanding in dealing with me is with Other People With Fibromyalgia.

1. Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
2. Thou Shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
3. Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
4. Thou shall face each problem as it comes.  You can only handle one at a time anyway.
5. Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make poor bedfellows.
6. Thou shall not borrow other people's problems.  They can better care for them than you can.
7. Thou shall not tr
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   y to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!

8. Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own.  It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.
9. Thou shall not become “bogged down” by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
10. Thou shall count thy blessings, never over looking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes
midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important.

My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or … I can be thankful
that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or … I can be glad that
my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from
waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or … I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing
up or … I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns

or …I can celebrate that thorns
have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or …  I can excitedly embark upon a
quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or …  I can shout for joy
because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind
and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can
appreciate that I have a place to call home.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the
sculptor who gets to do the shaping.

What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will
have!

Have a GREAT DAY … unless you have other plans.