Staying true

This time last year I set the wheels in motion on changing to part-time work. My health was suffering with working five days a week, and I finally came to the realisation that I couldn't do it anymore. After sitting down with Tony, we decided it would be better for me to go to at least a nine day fortnight, if not a four day week. 
I approached my manager and asked if there was any chance my current role would allow me to do this and if they would let me. 
This wasn't going to be easy, and it also meant more people were going to be told about the MS. I am not ashamed of having Multiple Sclerosis, and for most of my life, I have worn my heart on my sleeve and never been particularly secretive about how I feel or what is happening in my life. But by choosing this road, I would need to share with people I wasn't ready to tell about the MS. 
I don't ever want my MS to define who I am, but some times I need to realise I can't do everything I want to and won't have the energy or the drive to do things. It was very hard to admit that I couldn't work full-time any longer, and to feel like I was relying on Tony to take up  the slack and to cut back on things that I enjoy or covet. 
My managers, although weren't able to keep me where I was, were fantastic about trying to find me something else within the company. I enjoy where I work. The people are fantastic and the company itself is somewhere I am proud to work. I came up with a suggestion of what I could do, and this was also taken on board. I initially suggested I did the nine day fortnight, but a couple of my managers, in their infinite wisdom, said the four day week would probably be better for me.
I think my way of accepting going part-time was to drop one day a fortnight, that way I was compromising with myself. But at what cost? I now know after having the four day fortnight, that choosing any other way wouldn't have been good for me. The reason behind cutting back the time was to help my health and to make sure I was looking after myself, not to try to prove to myself I could still work at a "full-time" job. Giving up what to me is my independence was difficult.
So now, after nearly a year of being a four-day week worker, I am loving my role. It has changed a little bit since I started, but in a good way. My new manager is great to work with and I feel like I'm able to live my life in a normal way, but also look after myself by only being at work four days a week. 
In my mind now, this is a battle won. I haven't given up my independence like I thought I would. I have been able to stay working somewhere I enjoy, with people I like and respect. And I'm able to have an extra day at the weekend to regenerate and reenergise. Some times the weekends are busier than they should be, and I need to monitor this a little better. My day off is a day to look after myself and I try to do this as much as I can.