Poll The Reverse Bucket List for ME/CFS: If You Were Well.....What Would You Do?

[sharonklb]

I got M.E as an after effect from being superwoman and backpacking around the world, climbing (as the pic shows, Sugar Loaf Mountain)...doing all sorts of crazy things, but I missed out on abseling down Table Mountain in South Africa...the thought of travelling there, and then not being able to do it makes me really sad
Now I live on my memories lol.

 

[Cort]

Another thing I would love to do - but not near downtown LA

http://diycozyhome.com/6000-lbs-of-food/

The Dervaes family live on 1/10th of an acre 15 minutes from downtown L.A.. In itself that’s not strange. What’s crazy is that they manage to maintain a sustainable and independent urban farm. Complete with animals!

In a year they produce around 4,300 pounds of veggies, 900 chicken eggs, 1000 duck eggs, 25 lbs honey, and pounds of seasonal fruit. There are over 400 species of plants. What?! They have everything they need to ‘live off the land.’ From beets to bees. Chickens to chickpeas.

What the family doesn’t eat they sell from their porch, making around $20,000 a year. Local organic food is so popular that they don’t have any problems finding customers. Even chefs from restaurants seek them out.

I tried to figure out how big 1/10th (0.1) of an acre is in perspective to other things . I used this website,findlotsize.com, and put markers around my ‘house.’ I got a rough estimate that mine is 0.062, but my math seems wrong since my place looks way smaller. It’s interesting to know all the same. Check it out here… if you’re curious to learn what size yours is.

 

[Julie]

A big difference between ME/CFS and FM and depression is many people with ME/CFS/FM know exactly what they would do if they got well.

It's good to dream!

I know what I would do - given the free time and money - me and the dogs would backpack the Pacific Crest Trail top to bottom in the Sierra Nevada. What would you do?

Not so much what I would change but I would not have lost my job and my marriage. The best thing is my daughter is with me. I would make sure I'd travel more than I did.

 

[LondonPots]

I find the depression/MECFS distinction very useful amongst 'friends' who are still somehow convinced that I am really just feeling a bit low. I say to them "Depressed people can't think of anything that's worth doing or caring about. Me, I have dozens of things I seriously want to do, but I can't do them. CFS/ME is above all FRUSTRATING! [I'm usually shouting by that time]

I have a fashion line for older happenin' real women in my head and on a few bits of paper. I'm still working on the base pattern. It may take a while. I'd also simply be sewing and designing every day.
I also am trying to gain fundraising skills so that I can attract and dispense funding for local projects (which I would also assist in developing).

Stuff just for me, though: hiking, weight-training, learning and crafting.

 

[fdotx]

A big difference between ME/CFS and FM and depression is many people with ME/CFS/FM know exactly what they would do if they got well.

It's good to dream!

I know what I would do - given the free time and money - me and the dogs would backpack the Pacific Crest Trail top to bottom in the Sierra Nevada. What would you do?

 

[fdotx]

What a gorgeous pic of the Sierra Nevadas Cort. Maybe a bunch of us could do it together, then tackle all the 14'ers in Colorado and finally the highest mountain on each continent - culminating in a book that is made into a movie.

 

[Kate]

What a gorgeous pic of the Sierra Nevadas Cort. Maybe a bunch of us could do it together, then tackle all the 14'ers in Colorado and finally the highest mountain on each continent - culminating in a book that is made into a movie.

There you go! Exactly. Each of us helping the others along, some of us gaining strength as we go 25 fee the first day, thirty feet the second day, thirtyfive feet the third day, then a rest for a couple days, but we make it anyway and aren't we amazing, hahahaha. : ) Indeed we are as we have great adventures all the same even if they are all occurring within a 12 x 12 room.

 

[JustStevie]

I would go back to living my old life. Where I excelled in every job I ever had as well as in my own business. I would be back to serving on several boards. I would go back to organizing and producing bridal shows and fundraising events. I would get back full swing into the charity I founded and ran for 25 yrs. I would go dancing with my husband and blush at compliments from those watching. I would go back to being the Matriarch of my family and host all the birthday parties and holiday celebrations. I would go back to thriving and loving stress and piling my plate with more than I could possibly do but yet somehow did. I guess I would need the help of a plastic surgeon to get back my figure and beauty. And I would go wind sailing even though my husband insisted I didn't have the strength to hold the sail. Come to think of it; that couldn't have been me. I must have read about that person in a book.

 

[Cort]

What a gorgeous pic of the Sierra Nevadas Cort. Maybe a bunch of us could do it together, then tackle all the 14'ers in Colorado and finally the highest mountain on each continent - culminating in a book that is made into a movie.

That gave me a good laugh

 

[Tammy7]

The first thing I would do is to go out dancing...........love to dance! Camping, hiking, concerts..............well too many things to list!

 

[repose]

Can you actually imagine being strong enough to walk an entire mountain crest!? Imagine that!
Just imagining being strong enough, let alone all of the amazing scenery and being in tune with health and stamina!
That dream has got to me, so I will settle for any mountain range anywhere that has a reasonable climate and friendly humans and wild life, and stroll it with a group of recovered ME people , who just like me will in no way take it for granted.

Wow!

 

[TigerLilea]

I'd go back to school and update my computer skills. Find something I could do to earn money from home that didn't require having to rely on other people. Buy a car and get back to driving. Hit the gym and get myself back into shape. Go to night school and take the fun courses I had planned on doing in my 30s - ethnic cooking lessons, landscaping, home repairs, etc. I'd be outdoors gardening for hours at a time instead of 10 minutes here and there. Visit more often with family and friends. Go camping, hiking, swimming, bowling, cooking, baking, finally learn to play my piano. Read a book and actually remember what I read. The list is endless.

 

[Lissa]

Can you actually imagine being strong enough to walk an entire mountain crest!? Imagine that!
Just imagining being strong enough, let alone all of the amazing scenery and being in tune with health and stamina!
That dream has got to me, so I will settle for any mountain range anywhere that has a reasonable climate and friendly humans and wild life, and stroll it with a group of recovered ME people , who just like me will in no way take it for granted.

Wow!

I dream of the day!!! In fact it brings tears to my eyes... What joy it would bring!!!!

 

[Cort]

Yes i did read his story.
another old forum friend heapsreal likes weightlifting too

Just heard about Jamison - his health has basically collapsed! He's in horrible shape....It's just astonishing to see someone go from being fit and strong like that to just completely depleted.

Particularly with Jamison he was such a go for it kind of guy. He had his head on straight...

 

[Cort]

I dream of the day!!! In fact it brings tears to my eyes... What joy it would bring!!!!

Check out these guys story - http://www.cortjohnson.org/forums/t...great-article-from-down-under.2541/#post-4621
The young and strong part brought tears to my ears.
I can't imagine how much grief we're all probably holding in...

 

[Cort]

That would work, too.

I was thinking of one of the books from that huge library.

What book would you read first?

If I was really on top of it....
I'd read Thomas Mann's 1,000 page plus Joesph and his Brothers
Then I would tackle Proust
Then I would dance through Shakespeare... (I can still do Shakespeare at times)

I think I'd also tackle Heidegger....(if I was REALLY good shape )

 

[Shannon]

I can so relate to that story. I didn't make much more than minimum wage at my last job, but the one prior to that (that I had given up due to my declining health) was extremely promising and only going to get better. I worked in the SEO industry where my job title was "Link Ninja" lol. I built links for major clients' sites so they ranked on page 1 of Google and other search engines. LOVED that job and still do a bit of it today for my own sites, but it is so not the same. The company I was with is now doing crazy mad business. Being with them nearly from the start, I can only dream about the kind of money I'd be making now. And it hurts, a lot. The loss of my income has really taken it's toll financially. We had to give up so much.

When you have to give up your career, especially one you not only loved, but thrived in, is like a kick to the face - and then the gut. So yeah, I grieve.

Fibro is kicking my ass, but there's no pity party here. It is what it is. I'm a Fibro Warrior, still fighting. Never give up!

 

[sharonklb]

I am lucky, I did a RTW trip in 2006/7 before I became ill and even before then, I ticked off my bucket listing. Climbing Sugar Loaf, Shark Diving, Jumping out of planes and off mountains, visiting amazing places BUT, my wish now would be to become "normal"...get up, go to work, enjoy social activities and earn my own wage without having to beg for a pittance to survive.

 

[fdotx]

Ohhh I'd have a huge list of things I wish I could still do, or want to do.

Like many mentioned already, I wish I could garden again! We rent now, with no yard, so that'd be out. But I would if I could. Nothing beats fresh veggies and glorious cut flowers for the house.

Golf! I could go golfing again. There are tons of great courses near where I live that I have never been to. The hubby and I have done 1 or two in the last 14 years, but not since I got really sick in 2010. I golfed a lot when I was living in BC and had a membership for a really nice 9 hole course for a few years. Really miss golfing.

Join a local mixed slow-pitch beer league team. Slow-pitch is like softball, but the ball is pitched underhand with a big arc before it gets near the plate. I played for many years in my early 20s and really miss it. We even went to Costa Rica as a sports holiday. A very large group of 30 or so included spouses or family members of the team. We played one week in San Jose. Mostly against kids because it's not a big sport there, at all. They whooped our asses. Our team was a good deal older, on average. The second week we lounged around on Jaco Beach. Fantastic trip, I'd love going to Costa Rica again. So that's another wish for my reverse bucket list too. I had been in a pretty nasty t-bone accident and was in a neck brace still. On pain killers as we flew into the Costa Rica airport that was on the side of a mountain. You cannot see anything but the mountain while flying in. Pretty scary! I put my arms up like I was on a roller coaster - blame the pain meds. lol

Curling. Same deal, played for a few years in my early 20s and really enjoyed it. Something I could not imagine myself doing now.

Downhill skiing! I grew up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I lived and breathed skiing as a teenager and well into my late 20s. Having skied all over British Columbia and Alberta. I lived in Jasper, AB for 4 years. Two of those years as a night auditor in one of the more popular hotels. That meant my shift was from 11pm to 7 am. I simply stayed up and went skiing at Marmot Basin until 2pm. Came home, slept til 10pm and back to work. Rinse, repeat. It was HEAVEN! So many fond memories of working and living in Jasper, AB. I worked at the famous Jasper Park Lodge for the first year I live there. I have so many stories from that amazing experience too.

Travel! My main wish destinations include Ireland, Scotland, the UK, Italy, France, Denmark and Australia. I have family in Denmark and had 2 chances to go (once as a kid and another when my parents went), but I was too ill both times. My ancestry includes Scottish, Irish and English. I'd love to travel to see where my ancestors lived.

I too have a keen yearning for a kilt-clad Scotsman! My hubby is Scottish and English himself. I totally can imagine him in a kilt, but he lacks that glorious accent, you know?

Thanks for the fun thread Cort! It was fun reading everyone else's reverse bucket list.
Shannon @ livingwithfibromyalgia.ca

Wow Shannon you've had some great experiences - I went to Jasper and area when I was 18, 43 years ago - beautiful! Grew up in Ohio so didn't ski - the skiing you did sounds amazing! I did used to play softball and have been to Costa Rica.

 

[Mary Hamilton]

A big difference between ME/CFS and FM and depression is many people with ME/CFS/FM know exactly what they would do if they got well.

It's good to dream!

I know what I would do - given the free time and money - me and the dogs would backpack the Pacific Crest Trail top to bottom in the Sierra Nevada. What would you do?

I would ride a Friesian Stallion for miles and miles! I would also get back into photography and go places to shoot lots of pictures!