Today my body refused to do as it was told. Logic and parenting instincts told me I really did have to get up when the alarm went off at 6.50am, but my arm still hurt after its stabbing yesterday and my head appeared to be glued to the pillow.

Any grand plans I might have had that day went right out of the window. Nothing unusual there. I ended up sitting in a chair in the window, nodding off in the sun like an old woman. Or a cat. When my limbs started to contort to the shape of the furniture I accepted defeat and ended up on the sofa.

Totally impossible to stay awake at this stage of the game; I hit that metaphorical wall and disappeared deeper under the blanket. Chronic fatigue is like being injected with anaesthetic. One by one, my limbs become dead weights as ‘sleeping serum’ seeps through the body and knocks you out. Bloody horrible feeling, not dissimilar to being encased in concrete, I should imagine.

With his chances of a trip to the park now ranging from slim to none, the dog gave up pacing the room and settled down next to me. He stretched out on the sofa and methodically licked each and every inch of his fur clean. Pretty sure this was his payback for the lack of a walk. The noise of the licking was like the drip, drip, drip of water torture, but I didn’t have the energy to bat him away with my foot.

Interesting how the dog still felt it important to look presentable, even if no one was going to see him that day. Couldn’t really say the same for his now comatose owner. I’d already encountered plenty of people that morning and had yet to brush my hair.

Not much else happened from here on in. I had a dream that I was desperately trying to get to sleep but was in too much pain. I woke up with a start to find I was crushing my poorly arm; it now hurt even more. The dog was patiently sat there, staring at me. I staggered out for the school run and a few hours later was back in bed. My hair remained much the same.

Some days you really just have to set your expectations low. Very low. Or better still, horizontal.