Please don’t stop inviting me
When you have a chronic illness, one of the things that cause guilt and stress is letting people down, I hate that I am sometimes so slack and have to say no to plans, often at the last minute. To anyone I let down, I am sorry.
But please don’t stop inviting me…
I know it is frustrating when I call (or more likely do the cowardly text) at the last minute, I am sure you look down at your phone and roll your eyes and think ‘here we go again!’ I am sorry that I cancel on our plans, but I swear, in the cheesiest of lines, it’s not you, it’s me.
Whether it is last minute pain, fatigue or anxiety, whether it is physical or mental, I know that it can seem to you that I must not care. I know that you may analyse my excuse and logically come up with an outcome where I could make it if I really wanted to. I know that it makes you sad, or angry, or fed up.
But please don’t stop inviting me.
I know you have been there for me and come to my events, my parties, my coffee breaks. You make the effort to visit me and be an amazing friend. You put yourself out and very rarely cancel and it must be so frustrating to have a friend who doesn’t return the favour.
It must be quite difficult having me as a friend, I don’t have a normal level of consistency in my life, it is one thing or another with my health and if it isn’t a physical thing, years of living with these issues have made me mad as a bag of frogs.
But please don’t stop inviting me.
I am sorry for that time I missed your child’s birthday party, I am sorry I didn’t come on your planned trek to the countryside, I am sorry I bailed on your last party, I am sorry I cancelled our brunch date, I apologise for saying I would definitely come to that yoga class with you then abandoning you to do it alone.
I feel terrible that I didn’t call you more regularly when my problems seem to fill my whole head space, it makes me sad to know that I am not the best friend in the world, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.
But please don’t stop inviting me.
I know I am sometimes slack and I cancel on you. This illness of mine sometimes makes me selfish and clouds out everything else, but know this. I may not be present, but you are always in my thoughts, I might miss your event but I love you dearly, I bailed on your party but I am loyal, caring and my friends mean everything to me.
Even when I don’t make it to your events, please know how much it means to be invited. Your offers mean everything even if I know I can’t make it. Thank you for making me feel normal, for not being put off by my illness, my cancelations, my issues.
Please don’t stop inviting me.
It takes a very special person to be friends with someone with a chronic, life long illness. You lose friends and family members along the way when you are ill, it is a time where you find out who is really there for you. Some people can’t hack it, they walk away and don’t want to be part of your life because it isn’t all sweetness and light. These fair-weather friends are only there for the good times, when the shit hits the bedpan, they are out of here!!!
But the people who stay are true gems, and I appreciate the friends and family who have stuck by my side throughout the terrible lows and been there to cheer for the amazing highs.
Thank you to my amazing friends.
Thank you for never stopping inviting me.
Sam xxx
Well said sam, you are so right. All the best from a fellow ostamate.
Thank you for putting into words so eloquently something most of us struggle to get across to friends when we are not well.
Brilliantly written again Sam. You can express what many of us feel but may not always get across. Hope it’s ok that I’ve shared this on my Facebook page. Take care xx
Exactly what must be said, thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this. You made me cry, in a good way! I’ve lost friends because of cancelling or not being fully present as a friend. It’s been tough. Past depression has robbed me of friendships but I’m learning not to feel guilty about this. I know previous friends believed that I asked too much in cancelling and hoping they would still invite me. It’s their decision how they want to deal with that. I know it’s a big ask to expect friends to keep you in their lives when your illness makes you unreliable. But the very best of friends recognise just that; your illness makes you cancel, not you. Cherish the ones who stick around and keeping extending the invitations – in all aspects of life. They are golden.
Thank you so much for putting into words what I could not 🙂