Rachael's Comment

The weather has recently picked up after another long cold winter and finally spring seems to be in full flow. The sun is shining, the trees are in blossom, and the birds are singing everyone is making the most of the sun. People’s routines can change dramatically now the sun has appeared, they no longer wear layers upon layers of clothes that cover every inch of flesh but instead they appear to take on the challenge of finding ones that expose the absolute most flesh that they can get away with! People flock to local parks or open areas and begin to do previously unheard of things like cook their teas on the ground on portable BBQ’s or spend the afternoon sunbathing in the back garden with a long cold drink. Children run around chasing Frisbees, playing in streams, riding bikes and eating vast quantities of ice creams. Everyone suddenly becomes more alive and happy, even researchers seem to suggest that the sunshine and increased temperatures help to dispel peoples bad moods.

I’d like to suggest though that it isn’t the same for everyone: sun brings lots of pressure too, to look good, to do more active things and to have the garden looking nice. This just isn’t possible for some people.

I have M.E. and while winter does bring many challenges such as negotiating the icy roads with crutches, it is at least acceptable for people to finish work and go home, eat tea and then get snuggled up with a cuppa watching TV or reading a book. Suddenly once the sun comes out this is no longer OK, people instead should be mowing lawns, chasing children around the park or going on long walks admiring the scenery.. Now don’t for one minute think I wouldn’t love to do any of those things, there is nothing I would love more than spending the day hiking through the Peaks with my children, eating a picnic on top of a hill, dipping our feet in a stream and just generally surveying all that Mother Nature has to offer! Sadly for many people with any sort of physical difficulty this is not always an option, instead all our energy and strength goes on the mundane tasks that we all have to do and take for granted, such as getting out of bed, getting dressed, making and eating food and for some working or doing the school runs. Life becomes about weighing up these options and trying to balance out what energy you have for that day, everything has to become a choice between things rather than an as well as.

As examples of this I often have to weigh up if I go to bed early, stay in and rest all the day before and conserve all my energy will that be enough to allow me to make a picnic and sit on a rug on the grass while my children play the next day? If I really push it so I won’t be able to do anything the day after will I be able to squeeze a walk in there too?

I’m not writing this in order to garner sympathy but instead so people actually look around them and see if there are people who maybe aren’t able to enjoy the new sunshine as much as they would like to. Maybe you have an elderly relative or neighbour who is no longer able to do their garden or get out and about, or maybe you know someone who for whatever reason is not as physically capable as you? Maybe instead of spending one afternoon in your own garden or Local Park you could see if there is anything you can do to help them enjoy the sunshine too? It might be as simple as just helping them to get a chair, drink and a book outside or maybe you could spare an hour to help tidy their garden so they can enjoy the bright spring flowers too? Mostly it doesn’t have to be huge gestures or big expense to make a difference to someone’s day.