Everyday Fortitude

Chronic pain can be the pits, especially when you are a parent of four children you home school. There never really seems to be a good option for pain management. Prescription medication often leaves you feel a little loopy or sleepy which is not the preferable way to go when you are managing five schedules simultaneously. Non-prescription medication may not decrease the pain enough to make tasks doable, and sometimes has side effects that are physically draining.
What is a parent to do? Increasingly, I have found that it must always begin at the way I start the day. Step 1: Get out of bed early, before others in the household are up whether I feel like getting out of the bed or not, regardless of how achy or painful I am feeling. Step 2: Put the kettle on for a strong cup of coffee or tea. Step 3: Morning prayer. Whether the interval is a few minutes or an hour, this is absolutely crucial. Skipping my Morning Offering is not an option. It is best when I give myself plenty of quiet time to pray through all of the things that I know I will be called upon to do during the day. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours helps get my mind focused on the grace that I can draw on to make it through the day. I really need that grace. I need the strength that comes from being mindful of the prayers of the saints on my behalf, and the angels that are there working in my service. Step 4: Don't procrastinate about getting the kids out of bed. Getting the kids up early and setting them to work on their lessons with fresh minds means the day will go more smoothly and I am less likely to feel I ended the day in failure because none of the chores got done.
What about when, mid-day, the pain is nearly unbearable? Delegate the lunch duties and allow myself a break. Getting my legs up and a heating pad or ice on sore muscles and joints means the afternoon will not be a washout. Get in a 15 minute prayer session while icing/heating the painful areas, and it sets me up for a productive afternoon. It is okay to put feet up while working kids through math and reading lessons or discussing the literature assignments, too. Pacing is a good thing.
Ultimately, do what is truly a priority. The clutter of today won't matter to anyone when the kids are grown and starting their own families. Their general health, education, and the life skills they have gained at my side are what they will carry with them. Even that has a finite impact, though. My children need to know where to find strength when they feel weak, consolation when they are feeling down, and fortitude when they don't want to go on.  They need to know where my help comes from so they can draw from that same well.