I’m not very coordinated when it comes to dancing or even walking sometimes. To be clear, I’m a klutz. I proved that in college while in the choir. I was incapable of clapping and singing at the same time. And, when the director added swaying and a candle, it proved disastrous. The sleeve of my robe ended up a few centimeters shorter and singed by the time I concluded, “This Little Light of Mine.” I know the stereotype says black people have rhythm but I’m living proof that’s far from the truth.

Yet, when I got thrown the curveball of being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease while trying to jumpstart my career I adjusted. I somehow became a master juggler. I immediately figured out how to balance doctor’s appointments with work, medications with my eating schedule, and time to heal with time out with friends. Necessity has allowed me to keep up with my priorities straight while tossing in frivolous activities every now and then.

I thought a few things would get tumble by the wayside when I had the audacity to add a relationship and stepchild to my one woman act. However, I just got more adept at keeping a balance. I concede I’m not perfect at it. Every day isn’t smooth. I falter at points. Still, my life isn’t as out of synch as I suspected.

Turns out, all I need to be more coordinated is the drive and determination to make myself the center of everything I do; to figure of what needs to be done, when, by whom and how. I’ve learned to ask for help when I need, turn down opportunities and activities when I have to, and realize there’s usually another day to get things done if it doesn’t get finished today. Every day I start my juggling act again; resolute that I will occasionally drop things but I’ll always try again.

About the Author:

Nika C. Beamon is the author of Misdiagnosed: The Search for Dr. House, a medical memoir. It’s available now on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. In 2009, her first non-fiction book, I Didn’t Work This Hard Just to Get Married: Successful, Single Black Women Speak Out was published (Chicago Review Press). She is also the author of two mystery novels.

#Misdiagnosed #NikaBeamon #ChronicIllness #DyingwithDignity