"How come your chicken looks different than mine?"

I decided to take a break from writing about my history with IC and say that I have gotten some very positive responses from my friends and family about this blog. My husband, Tom, and I just returned from a trip to Colorado for a wedding of a long-time friend. Travelling is always difficult due to the numerous bottles of medication, homepathics and herbal supplements I am taking. Food is also always an issue. There are so many things that I am not able to eat anymore because they can exacerbate the symptoms of IC. Thankfully, my friend was gracious enough to special order a meal for me at her wedding so I could eat comfortably. This however yielded lots of questions from the people around me, some of whom I have known since grade school. "How come your chicken looks so much different than mine?' "How come you are eating that?" I had not anticipated having to talk about my battle with interstitial cystitis. "Hey, my life has changed dramatically in the last 2 years. Things are a lot different since the last time you saw me. I now have a chronic illness that affects the bladder and causes constant pain. I am lucky to be able to come here. I spend a lot of money on doctor bills and have a hard time working full time. Congratulations on your new promotion!" I told an abbreviated version of the story to old friends. They were surprised by the news and commented that I "hid" the disease well. For me, it has never been about hiding the fact that I have interstitial cystitis from people. Although it's part of my life, it's still not me. I have realized through all of this that I have an overwhelming amount of perserverence. There's a drive within me that won't, maybe can't, stop striving to live life. I love life and want to experience all that it has to offer! I had not anticipated on IC being part of that plan, but that was MY plan and I believe in something BIGGER. I guess the reason that I don't really tell people that I have interstitial cystitis (until this blog) is because I am too busy trying to kick it's butt. My friend referred to me as "strong." Maybe, but I don't really know. "Strong" is the belief that I have that circumstances can change and be changed.