So I took a week long break and then I disappeared from the blog for a month.
A whole bunch happened but nothing that felt like it required reporting. But when I thought further there was a bit of a theme for the last month.
Movement. I kept moving forward in all manners.
Since the break I have walked over 170 kms with so many different people. I’ve had countless conversations and inspirational moments along the way. I truly believe these walks and conversations play a huge part in keeping me alive. And smiling.
Since the break I interviewed six people for Mark Kondrat’s podcast and in each interview I spoke with the guests about their ‘hard’ and how they overcame the challenge put in front of them. Each person dealt with, or is dealing with a challenge and each of them displayed incredible resilience. Hearing people overcoming challenges and exhibiting resilience gives me ongoing strength.
Dave Kelly and I hosted an evening with Wellspring Calgary. It was educational, emotional, we laughed, I cried and I think we provided a positive experience for hundreds of viewers. Doing work like this gives me a sense of purpose and connectivity to others. I like helping.
Since the break I’ve had two Penderwicks moments with my daughter Amanda. Penderwicks is a book I used to read to her when she was in elementary school and a few years ago another book was published. In an effort to stay connected with Amanda I’ve been reading the book to her over the last few semesters while she is away at University. I love these moments and I am hopeful they are long time quirky memories for her for a very long time.
Since the break I’ve purchased an Oculus 2 and am using it for exercise and keeping my brain active. Also having fun competing against DocRockster (my online arch enemy in VR). Also got a chance to play CodeNames online with the whole family and the kids significant others. As much as online is difficult I’ve appreciated the connectivity it’s provided.
Since the break I’ve discovered that I have secondary cataracts. It’s not uncommon after cataract surgery (had mine 16 months ago) and is solved with another surgery. Waiting for that meeting now, but in meantime I’m kinda shocked at how quickly my vision has deteriorated. I wonder what affect the chemo and steroids have on this growth. It’s an inconvenience for sure, but not something that will slow me down.
So as you can see I keep moving forward remembering that the break was sooo good for me physically and mentally.. Like I said in the last post it is amazing how good the body feels when you rid it of toxins like chemo. And I’ll repeat, if you are healthy do not take it for granted.
Unfortunately the opposite happens when the break was over. All the side effects came back within a week and continue to annoyingly accumulate as each day proceeds. Skin feels like it has a sunburn, diahhrea is back, brain fog is, umm, foggy, joints are sore and I have on ongoing headache. The usual.
While the accumulation is a drag it’s certainly easier to mentally manage as I continue to remind myself that if it becomes problematic I know I can take a break. And that counts for so much.
All in all life is great and I can’t wait to see the end of this darn covid thingy so I can get some hugs.