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I took a lot of photos that night. I love my camera, but it isn’t very fast in the dark, so every image was slightly fuzzy. I found a bench and tried to rest the camera on that, leaning out over my left armrest to find a surface that was reasonably flat, but still a good angle to get a picture. Then I did the same on a garbage can and by this time, we’ve been out for a good hour and I was shivering with cold which didn’t help matters in terms of getting a non-shaky image. Nonetheless, I kept on going and at some point heard my mother’s voice behind me saying “no wonder you hurt if you put yourself through those kinds of contortions to take pictures.”

There is much talk in the disability field about range ofmotion exercises. It means taking a limb through the extent to which it can move and it keeps joints from developing contractures or fusing. There have been times where an eager health professional will discuss – okay, monologue – about getting the attendants who provide service for me to do range of motion exercises. Thanks to the fibromyalgia, my body does not respond well to other people moving parts of it because it’s very easy to go past my limit and my body responds to such indignities with a month’s worth of injury. Still, eager health professionals persist and I’ve finally found the perfect comeback.

Very simply, I say “my entire life is a range of motion exercise.”

When I make a cup of tea, I hold the cup in my left hand and reach forward to fill the cup, reach to the side to put the cup in the microwave and then move my right hand across my body to press the numbers. This takes me through my range of motion as far as my arms will go in several directions. Playing with Lucy does the same, as do brushing my teeth, making lunch, putting groceries in the door of the fridge, turning off my computer by pressing the button on the power bar with my foot, using the other foot to press the automatic door opener to get into the bank and… well, you get the idea.

It shuts up any well-meaning professionals. Okay, it makes them laugh first and then makes them go away so I can get on with my life range of motion exercise.

Pretty handy.