Post 440: Why moan? Get on with it and accept happy help.
Work is great, especially with all the care and consideration everyone has already shown me in these first few weeks. Considering I’m only there for lightweight hours, and still something of a stranger to many of my colleagues, it’s quite amazing.
I’m enjoying it, and that’s the main thing.
Going back to work was the right decision and it’s helping me in many ways.
Except…
…it hasn’t helped me start my book.
I’m using the fans, work, and the book I’m reading to keep myself occupied and to do something in my life that pleases me and, hopefully, helps others but not yet, starting my book.
Is the book I’m planning a self-help book?
Is it simply for me?
Why am I finding it so difficult to turn the page and begin the first draft?
Is it getting me down? - no, certainly not.
Meanwhile, my pal—who works for no one these days and has nothing standing in the way of his life and friendships —is diligently signing up for the cruise of a lifetime.
So I’d better thank him properly.
Thanks, Mr P.
There are so many things you’ve helped me with over the years it’s unreal.
Is there anything you can’t help me with?
Probably not.
But now it’s your turn.
Get yourself over to the States and enjoy that cruise ship you’ll be calling home for the next six months or so.
Have the most amazing adventure.
—————
My weight isn’t worrying me today, or even this week now that my appetite has returned.
It still feels a little strange eating meat again, but there’s no adverse reactions.
The chicken curry was sublime, although the chicken itself was just… alright.
Perhaps I simply need to grow back into being an easy eater again.
Easy…
…and strong.
Tomorrow the scales will be dragged out from beneath the bathroom drawers and, within a matter of seconds, we’ll have the answer as to whether I’m heading back towards my normal weight.
I’ve really enjoyed these steroid tablets.
From the moment they almost instantly removed the pain from my back, pelvis and legs, to the return of my appetite, they’ve been remarkable.
Now I’m heading towards the final week of weaning off them, and that’ll be enough for me.
Time to stand on my own two feet again.
As it is, the Gabapentin has been another amazing medication.
Where would I be without these drugs?
I often wonder what life would be like without them - but living with cancer, I don’t suppose I can really retreat from any of my medication, even though I feel strong enough to reduce some of the pain relief now.
Even easing back on the paracetamol worries me.
I’m frightened that all the other aches and pains waiting in the wings would simply step forward and replace the ones we’ve finally got under control.
Not today though.
Today I’m simply happy to be free of that misery.
My Darling’s calf is beginning to show lovely shades of yellow bruising, which I hope means the injury is healing.
Her leg is still being kept with a pressure dressing and elevated as much as possible while the swelling slowly disappears.
She’s still using her walking sticks.
Tomorrow’s weigh-in is something she’d really like to attend with all her friends, aiming, altogether for their target weights.
I’m sure she’s lost weight again this week but she’s already at target. There’s a need for her to gain weight and gain strength, but it’s calories
She’s been eating like a little mouse.
Hardly anything at all.
She keeps refusing all my offers of food.
Am I really that bad a cook? Surely not.
After a wee chat with herself a plan is made simple and
I’ll drive her there and drop her off as close as possible so she hardly has to walk.
That immediately put a smile on her face.
Within seconds she was on the phone letting everyone know she’d be there after all tomorrow, back on plan.
Brilliant.
At least that’s cheered her up.
And while I’m thinking about it…
Thank you to everyone who’s sent such kind wishes for her speedy recovery and for your friendship, which carries both of us through the darker days.
Thankfully those darker days seem to be behind us once again.
With our special meal and overnight stay coming up next month, I’m beginning to believe that little days away—and perhaps even a proper holiday—will be fun and will be still possible.
Today we also received a wonderful message from our late brother’s wife over on Long Island, New York.
It was full of good news.
Alongside her kind words for my Darling and her dancing injury came the news that she’d finally battled through all the red tape and paperwork and managed to sell the pub our brother loved so dearly.
You could almost say he lived at that pub, that community.
Running that place wasn’t just a business to him.
His regulars became family.
His wife understandably never shared that same passion, so once he was gone, the decision to move on became the right one.
After the Fourth of July, a new landlord will take over.
Hurrah!
And now, without the responsibility of the pub tying her to New York, she’ll finally be able to visit Europe simply as herself, visiting her family and beginning a new chapter.
How lovely is that?
And about time too.
We wish you all the happiness in the world, Ms G.
Your quiet support over these past months has meant far more than you’ll probably ever know.
Enjoy your family.
Enjoy your travels.
And enjoy this exciting new chapter in your life.
So that brings today’s little ramble to an end.
The boiled eggs were excellent, even if I do say so myself.
Work has given me my first complete week since returning.
A grand total of six hours.
Whoo-hoo!
I also managed to help a friend by downloading a form, while another friend helped me complete one in return.
Thank you, Millibob.
It all added up to a well-balanced day, ending with the familiar grunts and screams drifting across SW19 on the television.
So…
Was today simply about surviving?
No.
I think I’ll choose a better word.
Enjoying.
Good night.
Take care.
