August is rushing by like it can't wait to be over and I'm being pulled along with it. This is always the busiest month for canning and freezing with corn, tomatoes, peaches, and apples in season. Although I don't need to preserve nearly as much as I once did, neither do I have a flock of children to help. Besides, I'm older and slower so it takes me longer to do a smaller amount by myself. This year it's taking even longer because Rheumatoid Arthritis is slowing me down even further.
I was doing very well for several years but now the RA has flared up and stubbornly refuses to respond to the medication. So I'm hobbling around on swollen ankles and with fat fingers that don't have their normal strength.
I am constantly asked if the weather affects the RA. The answer is no. It is not like other kinds of arthritis that comes from wear and tear. RA is an autoimmune disease and all the home remedies and potions will not help. It is incurable but the symptoms can be treated with medication. I am going to see the doctor again tomorrow and hope we can find something to knock it down.
The blessing in all this is that my children noticed the difficulty and the daughters-in-law are pitching in to get my canning and freezing done. The beginning of the month Amy came and helped do the corn. One of the big four chalked off! I managed to get the peaches done by myself last week. Tomorrow Kelly is coming to help do the applesauce. And Velma offered to can some green beans and spaghetti sauce for me when she does hers. That will bring me to the finish line in a hurry. I will do a few quarts of pears yet but that won't be a problem.
It's such a blessing to have my sons marry women who can see the need and know how to pitch in and help. I'd rather be on the giving than the receiving end of things but sometimes you just have to be a gracious receiver. This is one of those times and I'm thankful for the help. Lord willing, this will pass and I can be on the giving end again.
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