Coffee Talk Is Good Medicine

Image found here.

 finally allowed myself to hop in Goldie and do an entire morning's worth of running-around stuff yesterday. What fun. I began by meeting a friend for coffee. Over steaming mugs, we spent two hours catching up on each other's lives. Aahhhhh.

During our conversation, Cheryl mentioned how much it meant to her that in spite of us living about an hour's drive from each other, we've managed to continue to meet fairly often. We've chosen to routinely meet at a coffee shop that's approximately halfway between our houses so that it seems less inconvenient to get together.

I agreed with her - it means a great deal to me too. I think that nurturing this friendship which began many years ago when our kids were in school together is not only fun, it's also therapeutic. It's too easy for me to become totally immersed in the "sick" life......by writing about my experiences with chronic illness every day, by spending big chunks of time reading medical literature and participating in online forums which deal with autoimmune disease. All of which are extremely important in their own right, by the way.

But everyone needs balance in their lives. When I can, it's wonderful for me to hop into Goldie after spending some time fussing just a little with clothes, hair, and makeup. I zip off to the outside world and get a much needed dose of perspective and reality. There's so much going on out there!

When I shared my opinion with Cheryl, she nodded. "It's easy for me to become totally immersed in my interests, too," she said.

I was a little surprised at her response.

"I spend so much time in my volunteer work that sometimes I find myself thinking of nothing else. It's great to come up for air every now and then. To catch up with you and my other friends, and to see what's going on in the world. Then I can head back to my volunteers stuff with a clear head and more energy."

Hm. Sometimes I forget that even though others may not have the same physical ailments that I may have, we all have a basic need to connect with others. To re-evaluate our perspective. To adjust our priorities.

To refuse to allow one facet of our lives to control the whole of our lives.