My thumb hurts. Really bad. With the dry weather, my skin is cracking and this place on my thumb is split open, bleeding, and painful.

But I’m not disabled.

You just don’t think about how much you use your thumb. I feel like I’m hitting it on everything. Trying to take notes at Bible study this morning, I had to hold my pen funny to be able to write. It’s bleeding because I used it (as I always do) to push the button on my daughter’s car seat, and it split open. I’ve had to pick things up, push buttons, and turn things on at strange angles for two days now. Over Christmas, it happened at the same time that I burned the tips of two other fingers. I felt like I couldn’t do anything without pain.

Yes, it’s irritating and frustrating. But it mostly makes me think about how good I have it. I’m able bodied and agile and can make my body do pretty much whatever it needs to do, usually without pain.

Sometimes I start to think my “slob issues” are a disability. I’ve blamed them on self-diagnosed ADD, people-over-things focus, creative/distractable brain, even exceptional brilliance (ha ha). All these things might be true in some way, but I’m not disabled.

There are people who do notice the mess, and hate it. They would give anything to be able to stand long enough to do the dishes. They would love to be able to bend over and clean behind the toilet. They would love to have two little boys who make it necessary to do that.

I’m not disabled.

I am so thankful for my health, and that I am physically able to make these changes and develop these habits.