I didn’t think too much about getting out of bed (albeit a little slower now), and long before daybreak (being an insomniac), until my Achilles heel hurt. The pain hindered my out of bed movements, and made me reflect on things that should be important to me. The heel was just a reminder of the many things in life that I take for granted. That said, it is not the first time that I’ve stopped to contemplate life after a protracted illness or when a body part needed immediate attention. What usually happens is I quickly and easily forget when all is well and in working order.

My heel is healing now, and my plan to buy a good pair of trainers has been placed on the wayside, momentarily, at least. I did a bit of homework. Read up on shoes that provided heel and arch support, and shortlisted two brands. To be fair, I was about to shop online only to discover both the shoes that I had identified were no longer available. I am still looking for a good pair of trainers, but not quite as urgently as I should.

It’s the same with my arthritis. When my fingers behave themselves, I forget they are there and how useful they are to me. When they flare up, I take notice. The joints feel like they are on fire and are excruciatingly painful. Bending the fingers is an effort and there’s not much I can do, short of waiting it out. The upside, yes, there’s always an upside, the pain subsides in time. The downside is me. I am the trigger. Too much sugar and junk food and I am in for a rough arthritis ride. Despite knowing the cause and effect, I still falter and do damage to myself. I forget how painful the last episode was. Yes, this is true. Amazingly, I do forget and eat myself silly.

As always, my weakness is all things sweet. My sense of taste is stuck on sweet.  I cannot forget anything chocolate that goes into the fridge. I continued to think about the chewy caramel Tim Tam that I bought last weekend. But I didn’t bother nor care to remember to eat the tofu or the sweet potato that have sat in the cold for a month. Two days on and I had already eaten all nine of the Tim Tam biscuits in one packet, and five from the second. It was on offer, buy one and get one free with a sell-by-date that was three weeks away. My husband commented that it shouldn’t be a problem for me. He was right.

I also have a dodgy stomach. To date, there is no clear evidence on what causes my tummy to bloat up and leave me feeling uncomfortable, almost all the time. Food that is perfectly alright today is not tomorrow. The usual suspects are Indian spices and very spicy food but even those are not consistent. I know this sounds convenient but desserts don’t trouble my tummy. This food group also doesn’t bother my southern region, which has its own issues. Unfortunately, I feel it in my bones.

I do remind myself to try to eat healthy as often as possible. Admittedly, I don’t always succeed because I am forever looking out for new dessert treats, and this preoccupation occupies a fair bit of my headspace. Luckily, I have my exercises. I do them diligently because I do like jumping up and down in the mornings. Lubricates my bones and sets me up for the rest of the day. So, hopefully, the exercises will balance out the bad eating habits.

My ‘If it ain’t hurting, I forget’ attitude is not all bad, I think, as I don’t want to constantly think about aches and pain and be morose. However, it did remind me of my mum’s often-told, rather funny story about a forgetful little dog. Every night, this little dog promises to get himself a nice, thick blanket as he always shivering in his sleep. The next morning when he is up, he promptly forgets.  And, enjoys running and playing with his friends all day until its time to sleep. Each night as he shivers, the little dog chides himself. Each day, the little dog forgets… again. Familiar.