My almost 12 and half year old border collie has once again taught me a valuable RA lesson. Despite recognizing my need to slow down and respect the fact that RA is Who I am, I have continued to push myself in a way that is quite unlike myself.

RA has reached out again and is being a little more demanding this time around. What started out as a flare in my elbow has turned into a pretty wicked full-body flare unlike any I have had in years.

Finally, with swollen fingers and wrists, a stiff knee, throbbing foot, and absolutely no energy left, I laid down on the bed with a little snack. Izzy jumped up to join me but she didn’t make it. This has been happening more frequently lately. She tries to jump on the bed and can’t get all the way up.

But you know what Izzy did? She found a nice comfy spot on the floor to watch me eat. She didn’t keep trying to jump on the bed. She is smarter than that. She understands her body. She knew that at this time, she wasn’t going to make it and she accepted it. Me? I keep going as if my body isn’t in pain. I’ll just do one more thing and then rest. I am not even acting like myself. And since I can’t seem to act like my smarter self, I am going to follow the lead of Izzy because apparently, she has things figured out better than me.