Pushing the Limits: Entertaining With Fibro

I’ve been feeling better lately, not wonderful, but much better than I was through July and August. Life is getting back to normal finally and with that I’ve been feeling a lot better. I still have pain and such but overall I’m sleeping better (most nights) and instead of not feeling like I can do anything most days, most days I feel like I can at least get some things done before I spend the evening worn out.

This weekend was my hubby’s birthday and I wanted to do something special for him. 2 years ago I spent his birthday in the hospital. Last year I don’t remember what we did, but I’m sure we did something. I knew going out of town wasn’t going to happen just yet but I wanted to do something he’d enjoy. With my ability to eat normal food so limited it takes away from being able to go out to a nice dinner, so the best idea seemed to be to throw him a party of some sort. I decided on a Poker party, have some friends over, play some poker, have a good time. The idea seemed like a good one, even though I knew it would mean some work on my end to get things ready for the party. But, it seems like a lot of time it’s easier for me to entertain people here than it is to go out and add the stress of a different location (as well as people) to the mix. The closer we got to the party day the more I felt myself stressing a bit and in a way wishing I hadn’t planned this event. I was worried I wouldn’t have the energy when it came down to it, as well as all the usual worries that come with hosting any sort of party.

I had nothing to be worried about. The party went well and we had a great time (hopefully, everyone else did too). Even my energy managed to last. I was smart about it, I rested during the afternoon before the party, and spread out the preparations throughout the week before. I think the most amazing thing was that after staying up till 2AM on Saturday I still managed to get up at a decent hour on Sunday and go to brunch with my hubby. Granted I was dead after that and spent the rest of the day in bed. But, it was worth it.

So, my tips for entertaining on a limited ENERGY budget.

1. Make a Plan – know what you are planning to do, and make a list of what needs to be done and spread the preparations out as much as you can the week before.

2. Get some Help – let your hubby, kids, friends help out as much as possible. One thing I’ve always been bad about is over-planning for food. I make a ton then friends bring food and I’m left with tons of left-overs. So, this time I made just a little, and as usual friends brought more. At the end of the night we didn’t have a ton of left-overs (but we still had some).

3. Use disposable stuff – plasticware is one of the best things you can do for yourself. We use it regularly. Yes, it’s not the best for the environment, but I’m not trying to save the environment, I’m trying to save myself. So we use disposable cups, plates & forks & spoons.

4. Rest up. You know the party day will take a bit extra out of you, so rest up ahead of time. Rest up during the week prior to the party when you can. But, also make sure to plan some time on the day of the event to rest. Take a nap, take a bath, whatever you do to relax. Make sure you do it.

5. Plan your outfit. Don’t wait till the last minute to figure out what you are goin to wear. As a woman, we know how much this stresses us out. It stresses our guys out too. So plan ahead. Figure out what you are wearing the day before, or early in the day and make sure it’s ready to go.