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The Unexpected Gifts of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
You have no choice but to slow down.
I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome just after my fortieth birthday. After twenty years of living with this disease, I have accepted it without resentment. In fact, there are times that I am grateful for it.
For years I hoped that someone would find a cure for it. Or at least a drug that would magically give me energy.
Such a drug has not been found.
At age sixty, I am grateful that I know how to manage my life with this invisible illness.
How do I adapt? I don’t try to do too much. Even though I am retired, I cannot just do stuff all day. Actually, I’m not sure how I managed to teach high school English full time for the last five years of my career. Before that, I would occasionally take a full year off or work half-time.
I lost count of how many times I did this over my thirty-year career.
But as my retirement date neared, I decided I wanted a larger pension, so I forced myself to teach full time. Six English classes every year. About 600 English essays to mark every year. No such thing as a break when there are no essays or exams to mark. Lot’s of planning, calling parents, attending meetings, taking courses.
