Being Busy

I have not blogged for a couple of days because I have been busy. It was wonderful to be busy.

I have spent so much time by myself over the last six weeks. I have kept myself busy and on some levels, very productive. The only people I have seen with any frequency, other than my husband, are the physical therapists when I go to PT twice a week. I have been starved for the sight of other people. I needed face to face interactions.

Normally I spend a lot of time on my own which I don't mind. But over the course of a week, I would go to the gym three times, go to the grocery store, the library, my parents house, and see a friend or two. But I had six weeks of nothing. A friend drove me to the doctor, my sister and my cousin took me to PT once. I took a cab to PT. I could only go to the grocery or library when my husband was off work.

But this past weekend I had two craft shows. They were really busy. I probably did too much walking and standing on my knee (never mind my back and all the rest of my body which hates me today). But I talked to dozens of people each day. I interacted with the public. And it was wonderful.

I know I will be paying the price for the rest of the week and need lots of rest (and ice packs and heating pads). However my mood is greatly improved. I needed interactions with the outside

Living the life of an isolated unhealthy person, if it is compounded by a period of enforced isolation, can be very stressful. All of a sudden you are encircled by a wall of limitations and restrictions.

So this week I will spend a fair amount of time recovering from two days in the outside world. But I will take myself places - PT, lunch with a friend, the grocery store, library - all on my schedule. I am back into my world where I can pace myself as I want.

I Was Too Busy To Blog

Its the truth. I was too busy to blog. Tomorrow we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. My mother, after 45 years of hosting Thanksgiving, has decided that she wants to go to someone else's house for dinner. Now I do admit to doing a fair amount of the cooking for the past 30 years or so, but its the first time at our house. In our new house with its big living room and open to the kitchen dining room which is why we now can host. In our new house with all my health ailments.

That's okay, my husband helped a lot and I can always take a nap if I get tired. Since I have cooked, I do not do dishes.

So anyway, today I have:

• brined the turkey
• chopped celery and onions for two kinds of stuffing
• chopped vegetables for veggies and dip
• made a pecan pie
• chopped the Brussels sprouts
• Set up beds for four guests after finding the sheets, pillows and blankets
• Went to Michaels (for a frame for the picture that should have gone on the wall weeks ago), the grocery store (for butter - you can't make Thanksgiving dinner with two sticks of butter, bagels and cream cheese), and the drugstore for my two prescriptions that I needed. 

I still have to:

• Make the dip for veggies and dip
• Wash and trim the green beans
• Set up our pill boxes for the next week
• Order take out for dinner
• Make a second dinner for our house guests that will show up around 9pm.

So all that being said, I am exhausted (but don't tell my brother or husband or they will start telling me what to do all the time). I need to take care of our pill boxes and go to bed early. And sleep late.

With my health ailments (and even before then), I do not do well with not enough sleep. I need sleep, I need sleep, I need sleep. Last night I was so tired I fell asleep before taking my giant pile of nighttime pills. I did wake up in the middle of the night and took the important ones which won't mess up with my morning pills (some need to be spaced out). 

But I digress. I do not want my health ailments to interfere with my enjoyment of Thanksgiving. I want to be able to enjoy spending time with everyone. After I sleep and take all my pills. And delegate more cooking stuff.

Where does time go?

I still think its maybe early May. I had a break coming from my doctor appointments, its spring, lots of time to plan vacations, and more.

Where does time go? Its mid June which means we are almost halfway through the year. How did that happen? The last few weeks have been a blur. I was not productive last week because (a) I needed a break, and (b) we had guests. All I did was have fun. I ignored pending doctor appointments, volunteer work, and the rewrite of my disability application.

Earlier this week I had doctor appointments (so far I am fine). I rewrote my disability application with some help (which the lawyer actually thought was good). I worked on my volunteer work but got stuck. I did make some vacation plans for us in early August. I also need a lot of rest after the past week.

Now its Friday (but feels like it should be Wednesday) and I have lots of work to do. I have friends coming over in a few hours. I am not sure I will be done in time.

I think I need to go back and dream about early May.

Retirement

A friend emailed me yesterday and asked how is retirement? I can honestly say I have never been so busy in my life. This is my life: 

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday I go to the gym - the gym is now 25 minutes away so its not around the corner any more. And there is not another gym like it anywhere closer. Going to the gym is more like PT for me and is very important in my life.
• Wednesdays I do grocery shopping for us and my parents.
• Thursday I have my knitting group which is in the opposite direction 20 minutes away. 

Never mind any doctor appointments I might have - this week on Wednesday and Thursday. Or errands, the library, or anything else.

Today I am flat out: 830 am dentist, 10 am conference call to help train one of my replacements at my old job, and then 12 noon leave to help at the cancer center and my knitting group. I'll be home at 4 pm when I want to make a Cinco de Mayo dinner.

I also need to allow down time in my life so that I can actually rest to recover from whatever else I have been doing. Today, I will fit that in. Actually what I do is watch more Hallmark and Lifetime movies than I ever thought I would. I sit or lie on the sofa or bed and watch a movie (or DVR'd shows) so I can rest. This is when I get caught up on my knitting and reading.

When I have a busy day where I go to the gym and the grocery store and a doctor appointment, I take little breaks all the time. I sit in my car with my eyes closed and seat back for a bit. Or at the gym I lie on one of the stretching tables for a few minutes. And then I come home and collapse for a bit. The cats like this life style. They can take their naps with me nearby.

I do not know how I could work as well. Actually I know I could not work because I really can't do anything that takes more than 3 hours out of the house before I need to rest. I could have a job if there was a bed nearby for 30 minute rests after each hour of work. And if my work shifts lasted no more than 3 hours so I could go home. Working from home would be the same schedule which does not allow for much productivity. If you have a job that I could do like that, feel free to let me know. As long as it pays at least $30/hour.