Having a chronic illness seems to go both ways - some days your experiences allow you to truly appreciate each day for the gift that it is. Having gone through so much pain and suffering sure makes you have a new appreciation for a good day when you feel just fine.
On the other hand there are those "woe is me" days when the chronic illness makes us feel bad, crabby, and really sorry for ourselves.
Crohn's Disease itself has a cyclical nature, going from good days to flare days. Up and down. People ask me "How's your Crohn's Disease going" and I don't know how to answer. Sometimes its fine and sometimes I am puking my guts out at 3:00 AM. I manage to work, take care of the kids and spouse, but sometimes there's not much energy left over for anything else. Its up and down.
Just like the up and down of the disease, you get ups and downs in your mood and outlook. Some days I feel like I have a special clue as to how precious life really is - and the "normals" (maybe people who are so healthy its disgusting!) just don't have a clue. Other days I am right there with the "woe is me" crowd laying in bed with my heating pad and making my husband take care of all life's details.
Do we have a choice of what our attitude is? Yes, partly we do have a choice and its up to each one of us to try to pick the grateful attitude instead of the woeful attitude. But remember, we are only human and bound to get down sometimes. Just remember even when life is at its worst, we have the people who love us and that is enough.
