It was definitely a bummer seeing all the things crossed out on my kitchen calendar.

I heard an excellent idea from a former Lyme patient who now makes her living helping others manage all the ins-and-outs of this disease. She suggests ditching pens for pencils when it comes to writing down calendar entries.

Because back when she was ill, she started noting social events and appointments in pencil. That way, she says, if she had to cancel something, she could erase it and move on. She didn’t have the stress of seeing her calendar filled with all the thing she crossed off because of Lyme.

That’s an idea we can all use as we move into 2013. In the past few days alone, I have had to miss the funeral of a friend’s mother, pass on my wonderful brother-in-law’s major birthday celebration four hours away in New Jersey, and cancel a reunion lunch with a dear family friend.

At least when I look at my kitchen calendar now, I’m not reminded of all that, and can look to the next week with a fresh outlook.

Tagged: calendars, keeping track, lyme, lyme disease, memory, tips