I went to sleep last night with the thought in my head that each day is going to be better. Yesterday was the crash day after coming home from the hospital. Today with a day of rest on the books, I would be stronger.
I woke up working to shake the cobwebs out of my head. Had a Boost and my first meds, sat down and checked email and favorite sites. Wasn’t feeling great. Morning is the most challenging time of the day. Instead of making Cream of Wheat right away, I decided to wait until my stomach said “feed me.” Over the past few weeks, I have accumulated a list of home office chores. Started at the top of the list and took each task on. Nice feeling to check each one off. As I kept busy, I felt better. I took the focus off of chemo and put it on accomplishing small chores. My small list spanned over two hours. I was hungry and made Cream of Wheat while finishing the last two items on my list. Ate my cereal and decided I’d earned a nap.
One of my chores was to try to fix Ann’s laptop. It’s off its three-year warranty. Trying to repair the most visible issue, I discovered a couple of larger issues. Decided that the potential cost of fixing the computer versus its value once repaired didn’t justify the repairs. A new item was added to the list (a fun one), get Ann a new laptop.
As Rudy & I tried to nap (I was tired but less fatigued – keeping busy did the trick), Ann phoned me from her office and we decided to do a Best Buy and library run. Best Buy is a fun store. It’s prudent to have a firm list in hand when entering those doors. There were two models of MacBooks that fit Ann’s criteria of a 13.3” screen. After playing with the two, she picked the MacBook. We’ll set it up tonight and move all her user data over from the old machine.
The last week or so, a gradually louder howling has been emitting from behind the television. I traced the source to the fancy surge protector all the components are plugged into. While at Best Buy, I picked a simpler model. It’s all gray, instead of a rainbow of colors. I think it will still work fine.
We made the drive through unusually slow traffic to the library. Ann dropped off a couple of books and picked up one we had on hold. The drive home in heavy rain and heavy traffic was not a lot of fun. Worcester is great at starting road projects but not so good at finishing them. A friend from St. Louis once thought the city’s name is really “Under Construction.” I had to explain a loose consortium of Boston songwriters had already claimed the name (great CD, by the way, echoes a seminal time in the MA music scene.)
We arrived home. I opened the new surge protector box and edged behind the television. The fancy old one seeing the plain new one began to howl. I powered the old one off and was rewarded with delicious silence. Moved seven plugs & power blocks to the new one, powered it on, and we were good to go!
Now, I was good tired. I lay down on the couch with Rudy, put baseball on the TV, and eased into sweet sleep. Note on the baseball games: when I was a child, Zady would put me on his couch with blankie and pillow, turn on the baseball game. Instant sleep. The technique still works.
After the nap, I made a few phone calls from my phone call list (tomorrow morning’s keep busy list.)
My mouth is still a wreck, a little worse than yesterday. I know one morning I will wake up and it will be a little better than the day before. Then, it will improve daily and at a rate that will amaze me. In the meantime, I need to keep busy and be productive. It’s easier to live in the day or the hour when I’m active. My thought tonight as I go to bed will be on my early morning tasks for tomorrow. Keep busy, boy!
Thanks all for your support, notes, and comments. I never feel alone on this journey. You are wonderful beyond words.
Love…
Richard
You are so strong...!
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