By Sabrina Dudley-Johnson
May 26, 2017
I developed Fibromyalgia when my children were very young. Life was very traumatic and chaotic for us back then. I sustained a series of injuries on the job as a police officer that resulted in the sudden and severe onset of FM. This was the catalyst for an unexpected and ugly divorce. My children never knew what Mom was waking up in the morning. Would Mom be energetic, or confined to bed? So they came up with "What color is your day".
If Mom was having a red light day, that meant that her pain and other symptom levels were high and her energy/stamina was low. On red-light days, Mom has to reduce all activity to the bare necessities.
If it was a yellow light day, Mom could probably do one or two tasks above the basics of getting out of bed and putting something in the slow cooker for dinner.
If it was a green light day, Mom felt like she could conquer the world. Basically, that's all children want to know. Mom, do you need me to bring you some water or a sandwich? Mom, can you make me a sandwich? Or, Mom, can you take us to the park?
Children and other loved ones, just want to know, What color is your day today? Now, I personally combine the Checkbook theory with What Color is your day. If I'm having a green light day then I realize that I've built up a reserve of high energy/stamina, and low pain and other symptoms so I'm starting my day out with a lot of Fibro bucks in the bank. I make a list of what I want to accomplish that day, I assign a dollar amount to each activity, then I balance my Fibro Checkbook. If completing all desired tasks will leave me in the red, then I cross items off my list. I allow for unexpected FM expenses like thoughts and emotions that might pop up during the day. I set my daily budget, the number that I do not want to go below. If I stick to this Fibro Budget, I'm able to build up a reserve for planned future activities.
If I have planned ahead far enough for a special event, ex: the Jazz Fest in New Orleans, visiting my friends in Las Vegas, celebrating my grandson’s birthday in Chicago, or attending a cooking workshop conducted by Dr. William Spurlock in Dallas, TX (yes this is on my bucket list). Then I have to reserve my Fibro assets for the big event by reducing my activity prior to the event. Yes, I could save Fibro assets via practicing the envelope theory, the 50/50 principle, and/or the spoon theory, however, the checkbook theory works best for me because I understand the concept of saving money for a rainy day and the What Color is Your Day theory works best for my grandchildren because all they care about is can YaYa help us bake and decorate cupcakes today?
So, What Color is Your Checkbook?
Mine is purple.
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