Delusionary Me

For the last couple of days, I've been wondering -- how do you fight an illness that nobody believes is real? Sometimes, it feels like I'm just being humored. They'll play along with my delusion for awhile, but then they seem to lose patience. Like, when my disease gets in the way of what they would like me to do. I can feel their eyes rolling. But if I ask about it, I get, "No, no, we believe you!"

I would like to pace myself. I would like to determine what I will and will not do. I would like to have rest periods that are respected. I would like to decide what is important to me. I would like to follow the path that I believe will lead to healing. I would like to do it on my own time schedule.

It would be a lot easier if there were people in my life who lifted the burden and filled in the blanks instead of waiting for me to get around to it. It takes a lot of energy to defy people you care about, even at my ripe old age. Sometimes, it's enough to make me doubt myself again. Am I crazy?

Do they have to believe, or is it enough that they love me?