Spoon Theory

Are you familiar with spoon theory?  I only recently came across the concept and it really fits for me.  I’m not going to try to explain it; instead I’m going to provide a link to the explanation as explained by the woman that developed the theory.  She explains it much better than I could.  So go read it and then come back here and we’ll talk some more.

The Spoon Theory written by Christine Miserandino  

OK.  Does this idea make sense to you?  It makes so much sense to me.  And I feel like I never have enough spoons.  And I’m constantly wanting more.  And I’m constantly trying to make my spoons go further than they really can go.  It’s an exhausting battle and a futile one.

Now, I don’t think it’s exactly true to say that people without disabilities have unlimited spoons.  But it seems like a lot of people without disabilities have a lot more spoons than I do.  And I think they often don’t understand what it’s like to live with limited spoons.  To have to plan each day so carefully or risk running out of spoons before the day is done.

I can remember being younger and having so much more energy.  These days, I find myself having to make decisions like should I wash the dishes or should I take a shower?  Should I fold the laundry and put it away or should I cut up some veggies for dinner?  And when I go grocery shopping I am careful to make sure all the cold items get packed together so I can carry those into the house but leave the canned goods and other non-perishable stuff in the car to get later or for Mike to carry in when he gets home, because carrying everything into the house on top of doing the shopping is just too much.  Those just seem like things “normal” people don’t even think about.