Hi, I'm Summer. I'm Funny, I'm Tired, and I Have a Lot of Feelings About T-Shirts.

Let me set the scene.

In my teens and early twenties, I was an athlete. A dancer. Someone whose body was basically her whole identity; movement, strength, performance. Then fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis showed up uninvited, made themselves at home, brought some friends, and absolutely did not ask before rearranging all the furniture.

A few doctors had been casually tossing around the possibility of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome for years, and eventually, that diagnosis came too. Later in life. As a fun little bonus.

So yeah. The athletic life? Gone. The dance career? Restructured. The oversized t-shirt collection? Thriving.

Life Looks Different Now. Different Isn't the End.

Here's the thing nobody tells you about chronic illness: it doesn't just take things. It also, eventually, grudgingly, on its own timeline -- gives you things back. A different kind of strength. And sometimes a dark sense of humor. A deep, unshakeable appreciation for what your body can still do, even on a two-spoon day.

I had to grieve the version of me that used to leap across a stage. I won't pretend that was easy or quick or done in a single montage moment. But somewhere in the middle of all of it, I found that my soul didn't get the memo that it was supposed to slow down too. My personality? Still compassionate. My laugh? Still loud. My faith? Absolutely still showing up, even when my joints aren't.

Disability doesn't have to be disabling to who you are.

So What Even Is This Place?

Summerz Spoonz is what happens when a chronic illness girly who thinks she's funny gets access to a print-on-demand platform and zero impulse control.

It's apparel for people who live in the overlap of:

• Chronic illness awareness -- because we deserve to be seen, not just pitied

• Chronic illness humor -- because laughing at the absurdity is a legitimate coping strategy and also cheaper than therapy

• Pop culture obsession -- because some of us did extensive research into every episode of our favorite show from a horizontal position and we deserve credit

• Movie and TV humor -- because fictional characters have gotten us through more flare days than we'll ever admit

The spoons in the name are a nod to Spoon Theory, the framework many of us in the chronic illness community use to explain our limited daily energy. Some days I have twelve spoons. Some days I have two and one of them immediately goes to remembering to take my medication.

Either way, I'm going to be wearing something comfortable and at least a little bit funny about it.

The Part Where I Get Sentimental (Briefly, Don't Worry)

If you found this little corner of the internet, there's a good chance you know what it's like to have a body that doesn't cooperate. To explain yourself to people who don't get it. To lose something you loved and have to figure out who you are without it.

I see you. I am you.

I built Summerz Spoonz because I needed it to exist -- a brand that holds space for the grief and the giggles. The hard days and the hilarious ones. The awareness and the absurdity. The faith that something bigger is still at work, even when your body is staging a full revolt.

We're not just surviving over here. We're doing it in a really great shirt.

Welcome to Summerz Spoonz. Grab a tee. Save your spoons.

-- Summer, founder, chronic illness girly, service dog user, professional patient, occasional comedian