THE MORNING CHECK

I don't know about you but every morning I do the Morning Check.  First I check my hands. Are they swollen? Do they hurt? Then I check my feet. Can I step down on them? Do they hurt?  Then I check the rest of my body.  Does anything feel inflamed? In pain? Weird?

Then I step down on my feet. Since I have RA significantly in my feet, it is always a test to see the pain level when I take those first steps. My days of bounding out of bed are long gone. While I walk to let the pups out does the pain subside or do I want to climb back into bed for a bit longer. 

For the majority of the days the pain level drops as I move around or take a hot shower. But for a smaller percentage of the days, I do climb back in bed and get a little more time. For an even smaller percentage I get back in bed for a majority of the day. I haven't had one of those days for some time. But with this foot I have had so many days laying on the couch.

I read about this great book China Dolls by Lisa See. She also wrote Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It sounds like an interesting story of three women who danced at a Chinese-American club in San Francisco in the 1930s. I plan on reading it in the future.  I just finished reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore. It was such an entertaining story. I can't even think of how to describe it other than to say it was a treasure hunt of sorts. 

Until tomorrow...