Happy Holidays 2016!

Happy New Year to all and Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah! I hope you all are enjoying your holiday season!

On our end, the holidays are not very holidayish at all. But we are making do.

I got the flu just before Christmas. This meant we hibernated. And packed boxes in preparation for our move next week. I was pretty sick and running a fever over 100 for two days (even though I did get a flu shot) before starting to feel better.

For New Year's, we are having dinner at home just the two of us (which is what we like) and packing boxes. I am taking the car for an oil change and getting my nails done in celebration of the holiday. Aren't we exciting?

Our biggest problems are packing and moving. Its so much work. Every room is full of boxes and more stuff to pack. It is very difficult for me to get too much packing done. I successfully make my back hurt every day. This morning I packed three boxes and now my back hurts so I am taking a break.

The last time we moved, we had a lot more going on. My soon to be husband was mobilized and spending all his time at Fort Drum. We were planning a wedding. And we were house hunting. It was a little stressful. But the big difference was I was healthy.

Now I am not so healthy and packing is much more difficult. I am not allowed to lift things (but I admit to cheating a little bit - maybe that is why my back hurts?) which limits me quite a bit. Its not fun.

So we will have a small New Year's dinner and get plenty of rest so we can continue packing tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

PS We are never moving again. But that's what we said last time we moved.

Ailments on a holiday

Today is Christmas and for Christians around the world it is a special day. Other cultures have their own special days - which should be respected just as much as the special days for your beliefs. Holidays are not a day to argue about which belief is better. Its a chance to relax and enjoy ourselves with our families.

It is not a shopping day nor a work day (unless chosen by the employee). Unfortunately the one thing that does not ever get or take a holiday is an ailment, especially a chronic one.

I have just a few ailments and am also recovering from the flu. After a night of insomnia (when I tracked Santa for a bit of fun on noradsanta.org) as well as lasting flu symptoms, I am a bit tired and possibly cranky as well.

I wish ailments would take a holiday from time to time. Shouldn't we be able to feel decent for a little while from time to time? It would be nice.

If you know someone with ailments who is not able to get out and spend much time celebrating the holiday, please take a moment to give them a call and chat for a while, even suggest a quick visit. (But never unexpectedly show up!!!! Us ailment people have a tendency to hang out in our pjs for longer than most and take naps.) Our ailments are persistent and we can use the company. So in the holiday spirit, take a moment to visit with those who would appreciate it most.

What did I miss?

I blog every day about events and issues that touch me. I also read a lot of other blogs as well. Many of them are on my favorite subject, cancer. Last night when I got home I caught up on the day's blog posts. Through them, I learned that I missed World Cancer Day.

I may have celebrated it in the past but through my chemo brain/fibro fog, I don't remember. I don't even know what World Cancer Day is about. Should I?

I guess its some kind of awareness or appreciation day to remember people with cancer. But this year it really isn't something I am interested in. Cancer apathy maybe? I am not sure.

My thoughts are that these appreciation days get to be too much. If every week contained a holiday or two, would they matter that much any more?

Maybe I just need a vacation. We have been blasted by snow recently and I have been stuck at home. I can't shovel because of my back and other health issues, so I can't just dig out of two feet of snow and hop in my car to go somewhere. Never mind the fact that we no longer have room to put snow anywhere.

Last week I didn't go to work on two days due to the blizzard and then had a cold so I worked only one day. This week we were snowed in on Monday and Tuesday this week so I finally made it to work yesterday. Snow fatigue anyone?

But back to my topic (I know I have a tendency to babble and get side tracked), I get so focused on my life that I sometimes ignore the rest of the world, or even my neighborhood. I am wrapped up in dealing with being snow bound, dealing with a very painful back, trying to lose some weight (the scale is obviously broken because it is going in the wrong direction), and coping with new prescription changes (thank you health insurance). I couldn't care less about what is going on in the rest of the day. Well I keep up with the news (and am completely appalled by the death of the Jordanian pilot) and try to stay current. But a little awareness day didn't pierce my little bubble until after it happened. Ooops.

Cancer doesn't have a holiday

If you have cancer and its Christmas, its not as fun. Holidays are supposed to be the time of families, friends, food, and celebrating, and depending on which holiday, gifts. But cancer doesn't take holidays. You can't take a day off from cancer. You can stick it in the back of your brain for a bit but it always comes out, some how.
If you are in treatment, you can try to participate in holidays. But chances are you won't have much fun. The year I was in treatment, I don't remember Thanksgiving as being that significant. But I don't think I did much cooking as usual because I felt like crap. Then Christmas wasn't much fun either because I had just had another lumpectomy because of a suspicious area.... I remember being tired and not doing much shopping or cooking. I don't even remember what I did for my birthday that year except I believe I had a Taxol infusion and none of the nurses noticed the date.

If you are post treatment, you can celebrate another year of being around to enjoy it but it may be more difficult to celebrate. Depression is common after cancer as is PTSD, so it just might not be as fun as it used to be. Financially you might be able to be as generous as you were before cancer - many cancer patients can't work after treatment or take a step back from their career during treatment. And then there are the medical bills that take a crimp out of their wallet. Physically you may not be able to travel as much or participate in as many activities because of limits to your mobility or stamina.

If you know someone who is coping with cancer, take a moment out of the holidays to reach out to them to say hello, give them a call, or send a message.

Me, how am I celebrating this year? A cancer friend is coming over this afternoon to enjoy a bottle of red wine which aged for a decade in her wine cabinet. Christmas Eve I will cook and then go out for Chinese food with my family. Christmas Day there will be eight of us for dinner - until I run out of steam and have to go to bed. Next week will be more family to enjoy. My diet will wait until then. And I will have to nap a lot.

In the meantime, I have to go for blood work tomorrow and get organized for a doctor appointment shortly after the new year. And I have to go get a copy of the receipt for my eye glasses so I can request a reimbursement from the insurance company. And I have a doctor appointment tomorrow.

See, cancer people don't get holidays. We squish them in between medical crap. But we are still here.

Holiday gifts!

Christmas is not about gifts. It is supposed to be about the spirit of giving and enjoying the season and all that. However Christmas gifts are given and received and are supposed to be enjoyable. But not always.

There are always the BAD gifts. You know the ones you want to regift them. That really ugly sweater. The electric wine bottle opener. The seventh calendar for the same year. The ham that was the biggest joke at a Yankee swap last weekend.

Or the gift of spending too much time with family members where all those old childhood issues begin to resurface as the time lengthens.

But then there are the nice ones. The things you really wanted and appreciate. Or the fun and unexpected ones.

Or then there are the other gifts - the unappreciated ones like back pain, foot pain, and more. I'll take a pill and a nap.

Happy Holidays

Today is Christmas and a celebration among Christians of both a religious day for some and a holiday celebrated by the spirit of giving and sharing by all. I hope you all spend a day sharing the things you enjoy with your friends and family.