Journal
Birdie’s journal
Seaside, seagulls, steady weeks.
Walking
week 38tired but good energy 22 replies
Kept the two sessions that matter and dropped the two that were vanity. Fewer, heavier, done. Grip strength has gone off and I noticed it opening a jar before I noticed it…
An hour on the floor
week 37grateful energy 51 reply
Evening. Sat on the floor and played for an hour, and then got up. That was the entire reason I started, and I have now done it. Tied my own laces standing up. I am aware of…
Off the floor
week 35pleased energy 53 replies
Got down on the floor and back up again unaided. I have not been able to do that since 2021 and I did it twice more just to check. Walked to Botany Bay and back. Slept flat.…
Nine minutes
week 35frustrated energy 52 replies
Nine minutes. I took three written questions and got three answers, which is the best return I have ever had from an appointment. Left with a printout I could not read and no…
A new bin and a plan
week 33organised energy 52 replies
Anchored injection day to my shift pattern rather than to the calendar, which solved a problem I had been feeling guilty about for four months. Small logistics win: worked…
No mask
week 32rested energy 2
Evening. Slept through. Whole night, no waking. It has been so long that I lay there in the morning trying to work out what was different. Vivid dreams, every night, the sort…
Steady
week 30steady energy 13 replies
An unremarkable week. Ate, walked, worked, slept adequately. This is what most of it looks like. Quiet. Injection Tuesday, mild Wednesday, fine by Thursday, and then a normal…
Sunday night, four lines
week 28held energy 14 replies
My buddy noticed something in my journal before I did and asked me a very gentle question about it. Paired up. We text on Sunday nights, four or five lines each, and it has…
Quiet
week 26flat energy 33 replies
Evening. Quiet. Injection Tuesday, mild Wednesday, fine by Thursday, and then a normal weekend. No news. The dog is well, the weather has been foul, and I have taken my…
What is your secret
week 24loved energy 41 reply
Evening. Sunday lunch at my grandmother's. Small plate, long afternoon, no drama, and she was happy. A wedding. Three courses I could not face, a table of people who noticed,…
Both bags, one go
week 23grateful energy 11 reply
Evening. Swam. First time since school. Two lengths, badly, grinning. Sat on the floor and played for an hour, and then got up. That was the entire reason I started, and I…
Laces
week 21quietly delighted energy 21 reply
Up the stairs at work twice without stopping at the landing. I stood at the top for a second like an idiot. Nobody saw. It counted. Got down on the floor and back up again…
Awake at four
week 19tired energy 34 replies
Slept through. Whole night, no waking. It has been so long that I lay there in the morning trying to work out what was different. Vivid dreams, every night, the sort you have…
The pattern of it
week 18sore energy 32 replies
Evening. Sore at the injection site for about ten days, a small firm lump under the skin. The pharmacist looked at it, was unbothered, and told me to move further round next…
Steady
week 16fine energy 53 replies
No news. The dog is well, the weather has been foul, and I have taken my medication on the correct day for the eleventh week running. I nearly did not write this week because…
Unpleasant, not dangerous
week 15flat energy 54 replies
Constipation, which I have avoided writing about for six weeks out of pure squeamishness. It is the thing making me most miserable and I have said nothing about it to…
Quiet
week 14flat energy 51 reply
Evening. I nearly did not write this week because there was nothing in it. Then I thought about how much I have got out of other people's boring weeks. Steady. That is the…
Flat, whole night
week 13grateful energy 41 reply
Evening. Carried both bags up in one go. Small thing. Wrote it down. Swam. First time since school. Two lengths, badly, grinning. Sea air.
Steady
week 11fine energy 21 reply
Steady. That is the whole entry. Nothing to report. Writing it down anyway, on the theory that a journal made only of eventful weeks would give a false impression of the…
My mother cooks
week 10awkward energy 11 reply
Sunday lunch at my grandmother's. Small plate, long afternoon, no drama, and she was happy. A wedding. Three courses I could not face, a table of people who noticed, and a…