Spilling the Tea re “Brain fog”

[jesse_the_k]

I first encountered the term brain fog in the mid 1990s on a fibromyalgia listserv. I see it popping up all over mainstream media in re: Long COVID.

Vocabulary derail:

I’m a picky fussbudget so I describe my current cognitive issues as "trouble making new memories" as well as "difficulty word-finding."

massive frustration derail:

can't nail down the source of these impairments: candidates include ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, PTSD, depression, anxiety as well as the medications I take for all those things.

Couple months back I realized I spilled every time I drank out of my tea glass (sipping through a straw!) My grip strength seemed to be declining.

Brainstorm! I could use an adult sippy cup: my Camelbak 600ml water bottle with a bite-valve straw. The only drawback was my tea infuser was too large for the sippy bottle opening. I asked MyGuy to find me something I could make tea in.

He came home with a polyethylene 2-cup measuring vessel. I put 100ml fridge water into my sippy bottle then added 500ml from the kettle to make 165° water. I prop my tea infuser in the measuring cup, pour the water in to brew, then pour it back into the sippy cup.

Now I was spilling the hot water out of the measuring cup, because my grip isn't so great anymore.

Up north I said I'd prefer a vessel that's a little bit deeper and has a narrower throat so I don’t spill. Our host BB, who has stunning thrift powers, came back with a possibility the very next day. Sadly, that heavy glass pitcher cracked.

Amazingly, I did remember to poke MyGuy again when we got home. He reached up to the top cupboard and handed me a porcelain teapot--indeed a teapot just large enough for my 600 mL sippy bottle. Its sunny yellow color matched one wall of our kitchen.

It took me four months to realize that I needed to use a teapot I'd already bought to make tea.

That is brain fog.

How do you feel about the term brain fog? Does it build a bridge from our disabled experience to non-disabled people? Does it minimize the impact? Feel free to rant.