Done Done Done
Done!
Well, done with the hardest part. It still goes on for another nine months, but that’s a walk in the park compared to the last three. So this is the last you’ll be hearing from me, at least on this topic. (I HOPE.)
That said, it’s been about a week, and I can already feel life taking over. This whole experience is shrinking into a little dot in my rearview mirror. All those well-meaning intentions to change my ways are losing their urgency, and honestly, their relevance.
It doesn’t help that nobody is really talking about anything except protocol. What to do in this case, what to do in that case. There’s no real emphasis on what to eat, how to move, or any of the everyday habits that can help or hurt the future you. There are a lot of specialists involved, and that’s exactly what they’re doing: being special. At diagnosis I had a nurse navigator who worked for no one in particular and was there to be my advocate. Maybe I didn’t use her correctly, but I haven’t heard from her in months. Is she there to help me navigate the health care “system,” or to help me with mysystem? Those are very different jobs.
It’s pretty easy to picture myself a year from now, having forgotten all about this, no longer connecting what I eat and how I move with how things turn out. Sure, I kind of get it. But will I still eat a cold cut sandwich? Pizza? Yep. In a world of cold cut eaters, how can one stand a chance?
Which got me wondering: is there a support group for this? Something like AA, where you show up every day, or at least a few times a week, and people talk about how ultra-processed food is everywhere and how to avoid it, instead of alcohol. “Hi, I’m ___, and it’s been three days since my last Lunchable.”
And as I’m writing this, I think that might actually be the answer. Education, peer support, peer learning. It’s exactly how I approach spirituality and how to be in this world. You don’t automatically forgive, for instance. You have to learn about it, practice it, talk to other people about it, mess it up, try again. I do that every week now with Ruhi Book 1, Reflections on the Life of the Spirit, and I have a great group of people to learn from and practice virtues with throughout the day. Why would my body be any different from my spirit? They live in the same house.
So. I promised you a plan. Here it is:
Find, join, or create a support group for mindful eating and exercise. AA style. (Know of one? Tell me. Want to start one? Call me.)
Get into a rhythm with my next round of “infusions” (still hate that word), and bring friends and family into it.
Probably plan a getaway.
And last but not least, get my groove back.
About that last one. I was getting a bit down: the weekly drudgery, what it did to my looks, the pause it put on my career and my life plan. Well, no more. No more, I say! I’m back in charge. And yes, Dr., thank you for helping me, truly. But no, that appointment day does NOT work for me. I have plans. Others can work around it.
Thanks for following along. I hope you aren’t reading this because you’re in the same spot. But if you are, I hope this gives you a little inspiration, and a little light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m excited for the next chapter!