Coddiwomple – The Perfect Word To Describe Living Life With A Chronic Illness And 2020
Have you ever thought that you were on a journey with chronic illness, but you didn’t exactly know where that journey was heading? Or have you ever started a plan, without setting a true end goal in mind? I know your answer is yes, and my answer is yes too. This is part of life living with the adversity that come as a Spoonie.
So what is the definition of coddiwomple? Well, in reality what is the Urban Dictionary definition of coddiwomple because it hasn’t made it into the Webster’s Dictionary just yet.
Coddiwomple – To travel in a purposeful manner to a vague destination.
When I first saw the definition I thought this describes my life perfectly, now more than ever with the new world we’re living in. Normally, a big part of my life is crossing a finish line which my definition is NOT a vague destination. I know what needs to be done, I know what the purpose of my training is, and I know how it will hopefully end.
The pandemic has made me look at things very and I mean very differently though. Not only have my physical finish lines been taken away, but normality has been taken away. This got me thinking, when were things truly normal? Living with a chronic illness is anything but normal. Then when I really broke it down, isn’t living and managing a chronic illness exactly what coddiwomple means?
As a Spoonie, we wake up every day with a purpose to manage our illness, navigate our challenges, and get through the day the best we can. But with all the work we put in, there is no final destination. There is just a vague destination of trying to balance life and somehow make it as good or even just as survivable as we possible can.
So now for a little tip on how to deal with a coddiwomple life!
When I realized that my life and probably your life if you’re reading this has some form of coddiwomple, I started to have some anxiety about it and then even panicked a little bit. For the last few years I had my routines and such structure in my life, and all that was stripped from me when the pandemic started.
Once I got me feet underneath with me and settled into the reality that the world was going to be changing for a long time, now what should I do?
My #1 Piece Of Advice…
is create a purpose, create a vague destination that you have in your mind, and the build your own world around it. Health should always be a priority for us, and this was an easy one for me to lean into. For you it might be your career or a new career, maybe more quality time with your family, maybe it’s prioritizing your health more.
No matter what it is, I can tell you that once you create a plan around whatever your new vague destination may be, you’ll find more purpose, and you might just find some peace with this entirely sucky pandemic we’re all stuck in right now.