It has been 6 months since I stopped working. On the job, I felt like I had no time to
myself. I was always playing “beat the clock” and losing the struggle with my
schedule. Until I was diagnosed with cancer, I did not really care that I never
seemed to have time to think about things and meditate on life. Now that I have settled into this new
lifestyle, I feel much more at peace with myself and less stressed out. My friends and family thought that I would
not deal with retirement well and that I would “be going crazy”. This turned out not to be the case at
all. I was concerned that I would focus
too much on my cancer and symptoms. This
did not happen either. Don’t get me
wrong; I still have major gastrointestinal, fatigue and nutrition absorption
issues but they are becoming more like my new normal. I've gotten used to
them.
Also, now that I am not working, I am getting enough sleep
and I think that is making me feel better.
I am not always running around worrying about what I have to do
next. I am eating healthier foods and
more home cooked and smaller meals. This helps with some of the digestive
issues.
I go out with friends sometimes when I'm feeling up to it. I've been to movies, plays and day trips
outside of the city. I've started doing
a little bit of volunteer work as well.
Some days though, I don’t do much except read, putter around the house
and maybe pick up some groceries. I just don’t have the energy level that I had
prior to my surgery. It’s amazing how
fast the day can go by even when one is not busy in the conventional working
sense.
I also had thought that I would be spending more time on my blog
and on the cancer message boards but I do not really dwell on my cancer. I
haven’t been spending much time on anything related to it. I am currently in maintenance mode with
monthly Sandostatin shots and regular scans. Other than that, not much is going
on in my cancer life.
All in all, I am living in the moment and trying to enjoy life
to the fullest. It’s nice to
finally get some time to myself! I read
a great book called How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free – Retirement wisdom
that you won’t get from your financial advisor by Ernie J. Zelinski. Most retirement books focus on financial
planning but this one focuses more on how to stay happy and fulfilled and using
your time well. One of the best ideas in this book is the “Get a Life
Tree”. It’s a chart of activities
categorized by:
- Activities that turn me on now
- Activities that turned me on in the past
- New activities I have thought of doing
- Activities that will get me physically fit
An example of a “Get a Life Tree” is below:
Enjoy the holidays and here’s to a happy and healthy New Year
to all!
