Two phrases bother me: “You don’t look sick” and “But you don’t let your health stop you from doing stuff.”First of all, what does sick look like? Secondly, it’s not a matter of being sick, though that does happen, it is a matter of living a constant state of pain and fatigue. Finally, yes that does stop me from doing things. I retired 3 years before I had to because the grind of maintaining the pace required to remain on active duty was beyond what my body could take, so I left on MY terms.
There’s lots of things I don’t do that I used to, because I know what happens if I don’t pace myself properly, if I get careless about what I eat, and what is likely to happen if I go larking about in the middle of a pandemic. I actually have to constantly remind my self that if I nut it out and gut it out today, I could pay for that one day for the next week, or longer.
It’s also a matter of not caring if some people think you’re a wimp for not doing what they think you’re capable of, when in doubt, you don’t have to prove anything to anybody, do what is right for you and do it wisely and with full knowledge of your limits. If people don’t like that, well, that’s where kiss my ass comes into play.
© 2021, Tim Boothby. All rights reserved.