I have decided to add a new task to my daily resting schedule. Instead of only reading, watching t.v., or listening to Audible, I am going to learn Spanish and do some good for the world at the same time.

How? I am using DuoLingo and Freerice.com.

DuoLingo is a good program. I haven’t had the chance to speak much with other people so as far as I know I may not be progressing as quickly as they tell me I am but so far I am learning lots. For example:

Mis elephants come pan. (My elephants eat bread.)

No es un pato, es un penguino. (It is not a duck, it is a penguin.)

Ellas lean mis libros. (She reads my books.)

The most interesting part has been learning about common idioms. Some correspond to English idioms, like; Más vale tarde que nunca. (Better late than never) but others I have never heard before: Mala hierba nunca muere. (Bad grass never dies). 

So I run through several exercises a day in Duolingo and then I move over to FreeRice and test my vocabulary while earning food for the World Food Programme.  Each correct answer earns ten grains of rice. Yesterday I earned three thousand before going to bed.

I may not be working but I am learning and doing good, all from the comfort of my bed.

Update:

Oooooh! I like this one: No hay rosa sin espinas. (There are no roses without thorns.) 

A while back I quit Facebook and deleted my account. I was going through a divorce and that was part of it but the biggest part was being so chronically ill and seeing everyone’s shiny FB life while mine seemed to fade more and more each day. I didn’t want to post about my pain or illness because it felt like no one wanted to hear it. Each day I had less to post about until I would sit at the computer staring at the screen casting about for something to say that had noting to do with my life. My post dwindled to nothing and I left.

When I joined Facebook again I swore I would post about my day whether or not I was in pain. If I hurt, I would post about hurting. If I didn’t I would post about something else. For the most part I have kept to that resolution. However, it hasn’t been easy.

I feel like a whiner most of the time. I try not to imagine people rolling their eyes and thinking “yeah yeah yeah she hurts. We know.” when they read another post from me but sometimes I do imagine just that. Of course “people” and the people in my life are two different things. No one I have on my Facebook feed actually would roll their eyes and yada yada me, but the internal me that is still struggling to exist in this world of lowered expectations is still really impatient with herself. She is the person who rolls her eyes and tells me to shut up. In fact, she is likely the reason I quit Facebook to begin with.

I think Susan Sarandon said it best. “The world is made for those not blessed with self-awareness.” I’m aware of the difference in my posts and those of my healthy friends each time I post. Most of my pictures on social media are from inside my room, with my cat or my children, as I work to make it through each day and accomplish something meaningful. It’s a stark difference from the pictures of children ice skating and of travel and of work and parties and friends. I am aware each time I post that I have said some permutation of this before and I feel the self criticism rising.

Be interesting, be different, be someone other than you.

The barometric pressure flirting with the Rocky Mountains this week caused me to hide in my cave and bemoan having a head, much less trying to use it. As usual though the best way to handle constant intense discomfort is to trick your mind into thinking that pain is just in the background and convince it there are better things to pay attention to.

I began the week watching Season 3 of Mr. Selfridge because I hurt too much to do much else. When I started to get bored with life as a great store owner in London during the 1920’s I began to look into other things to do. I read a book Marlena recommended called “Nobody’s Princess” about Helen of Troy as a youth. It was a cute YA novel and took a couple of hours to peruse.

Then I got creative. I made yarn pom pom kitties with a funky device I got after Christmas.

I started brushing up on my Spanish using Duolingo. I am now able to say, with confidence, that El mono come la manzana. Just in case you were curious.

Then I began working with my jewelry again. I had to take a bit of a break after getting so much done for the craft fair in December so my little jewelry bench sat quite forlorn and neglected for nearly a month. Not anymore! It is once again a disastrous example of the creative mind’s idea of organization. I have been making rings with wire and having a grand ol’ time doing it.

Today I awoke feeling a little bit better than I had been feeling. I am still up in a 4 out of 5 but there is relief that I am not a 5 out of 5. I hope the trend continues and I am able to get back down to a friendly 3. Until then, I am continuing my distraction treatment.