What NOT To Do When You're Tired

So, it's been a rough few weeks for me, energy-wise. As in "I've used more energy than what I had stored and now I'm running on fumes that are rapidly drifting away".  I had things to do. Sometimes, especially when you live alone, you just have to do things.

Since I've had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome it's rare to feel like I have 'enough' energy. For anything. A shower. A trip to the grocery store. A visit with friends. Most of what I do is done in short spurts - 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, with lots resting in between. Sometimes a shower requires a rest afterwards. A trip to the store requires a very long rest afterwards and I sometimes don't feel back to my new 'normal' until the next day or the day after. Sometimes things just don't get done.

Other days, I'll (think) I have the energy to start a job and finish it - like painting my kitchen door on both sides. So a few weeks ago I bought the paint - blue for the outside, white for the inside. Made sure the door was clean. Applied the paint to the inside first. Whoops!  Applied the wrong paint (I used the flat exterior trim I'd bought for something else). Ok.  I'll pretend it's primer.  Repainted with the satin. Uh-oh. It's looked flat, too.  Called my brother, got instructions. Sanded with 120 grit paper. Wiped with a tack cloth. Repainted. Finish was still flat. Added another coat the next day. Got tired. Door is still there, finish is still flat and I'm getting used to it. I finally took the painters tape off after about a week.

I got up the energy (I thought) a couple of days later to paint the exterior. I was told the door had primer on when I bought it, so I applied the beautiful blue latex satin paint directly to the metal door. It was  pretty streaky. So, I applied a second, then a third coat and it looked beautiful!!  Until 4 hours later when I removed the painter's tape and all the stretchy latex paint pulled off with it in big huge rubbery sheets.  Except for the parts that had to be scraped off with an old credit card.  I'm getting used to the door being white. And now I have a blue gate.

Speaking of which, there are days, like today, when I decide that no matter how awful I feel I'm going to tackle that simple little project I've been putting off for weeks.  All I wanted to do was put a colorful pull handle on my pretty blue gate. The gate itself is a long story - made by a handyman who was clearly not handy - but at least it's now a pretty color and deserving of a pretty pull. After all, it's simple! It's easy! How long could it take? How hard could it be?  It probably would have been a 5 minute job if I'd had the right size drill bit, a long enough cord for the drill, a drill that didn't stop every 1/4", and if I hadn't had to sit down and rest every time the drill stalled.

Lessons learned today:  Don't use a drill when tired. Don't assume you can drill to hole level without measuring. Don't forget to look at the back-side of where you will be drilling. Buy a new drill.

The good news:  It may be crooked, but it works and it's festive!