10th Annual Lupus Summit

This past weekend several of us attended the 10th Annual Lupus Summit in Charlotte, NC. The keynote speaker was Christine Miserandino, author of the Spoon Theory and Blogger at http://www.youdontlooksick.com/. While all the sessions were informative and helpful, Christine spoke on being a "Professional Patient." This was probably my personal favorite. I think one of my favorite tips from that talk was to give gifts that serve. We all enjoy flowers and cards are always a bright spot to any day but when some one is suffering the gift of service can go a long way.

Several years ago, I had mono (no cracks please) while my kids were still very young. Hurricane Floyd had just hit and my husband was called to serve so I was left extremely tired and no help in sight. Even my sweet son, then 10, offered to clean the bathrooms because the house was getting so messy. If you know him at all you know that he is my neat and tidy boy so he was really at his personal limit when he offered. At the time, we did not know what was going on. All we knew was that I was falling asleep in the carpool lines and had to take numerous naps throughout the day. A neighbor stopped by one day and helped us do laundry and get "caught up." It meant the world to me. We are called to serve one another. What a nice reminder that helping clean, cooking meals, grocery shopping, running errands, etc. can be a way to show that you care!