I have a job.
Yup. A J-O-B.
I’m spending as much time working at healing and getting well these days as I would if I had a “regular” job, with overtime, so I might as well call it what it is: I’m working; I have a job.
I’m even using some of the same skills I utilized in my working life:
- scheduling (making appointments with doctors, specialists, therapists and other healers)
- negotiating (discussing with a doctor/therapist/healer what we’re going to do to address an issue)
- report writing (filling out the endless paperwork for doctors and hospitals)
- record-keeping (keeping track of who said what and when; tracking my blood pressure every day, etc.)
- R and D (research and development – researching other therapies and treatments and advocating that research with the doctors, etc.)
- budget analysis (reading EOBs and doctor bills; tracking deductibles, out-of-pockets and payments and how it all fits in with buying groceries this week)
- field work (driving to and from all the appointments; picking up prescriptions)
- equipment maintenance (making sure the heart monitor base station is properly installed; keeping the transportation vehicle operational, etc.)
- QA (quality assurance – making sure I’m getting the best care possible)
- PR (public relations – writing this blog; posting updates on Facebook; lunching with friends; keeping up with all of you, etc.)
- “Other duties as assigned”: doing the physical therapy exercises several times every day; fixing (and eating) food that’s good for me; making and drinking green juice; meditating; giving myself reiki; riding the gym’s recumbent bike at least 4 times a week; taking my vitamins and meds; making a cup of Golden Milk every evening; and other duties as assigned 😀
Sounds like healing and getting well can truly be called a full-time job, doesn’t it? And yet I feel like I’m doing nothing, all day, every day. Like what I’m doing every day is being a slacker. Like taking care of myself is a super low priority and I should be out there working, making money, volunteering at the animal shelter, or some other such thing as a “contribution to society.” Even though I spend a lot of time every day doing this getting-well work, the little guy in my head says I’m really doing nothing. Keeping my head in the “business” of healing has been more work than all the other work of juggling my health issues put together. If I can just get that little guy in my head, the one who thinks I’m doing nothing, to think I’m doing something worthwhile, I think it’ll be much easier to do this job.
So right here, right now, I’m announcing that I have a job, and that job is to get healthy and well, or as healthy and well as my body will allow me to get. It’s a long-term position, one that’s going to take some time, a lot of perseverance, a ton of work, and the dedication to make this a job well done.
Well, that’s it, everybody. I’m working. I have a job. I guess I’m actually self-employed, but it’s still a job.
Most days it’s a good job to have…. and some days, it’s a killer. Just like a real job.
* * * * * * * * *
Thank you all for being here for me. It wouldn’t be possible to do all this on my own, without knowing that you are all out there, rooting for me, sending prayers and healing energy my direction, letting me pet your dogs and cats, allowing me to stay in your spare bedrooms, offering me your friendship, fixing me dinner, giving me a hug. I appreciate each of you, because every time that little guy in my head talks loud enough that I begin to listen to him, I remember that I have you all out there, giving me the thumbs up, telling me to hang in there, and reminding me to not give up! Thank you! You all rock!
A great analysis! Never thought of it that way. You are doing a great job of doing your “job”!
Thanks, Lorna! Of all the jobs I held in my life, this one is the most important – and yet, I feel like it’s the least important. I’m adding in my metal health to this job description as we speak 😀
Loved your post today. You are right, it is a job to keep healthy. As someone said if we don’t have a body we have no place to live. Sounds as if you deserve a raise!
Hi Barbara! Getting well isn’t for wimps, is it? It’s much easier to stay well than to try and reclaim your health, I think. Onward and upward!
Right on Lois! Taking care of ourselves is a job and one that we need to always be looking at how we can make it a better job for us and for how we can be successful in doing the right thing for the job! Looking forward to seeing you sooooon!!!!!!!!
Hiya! So nice to have the tools available to do a “proper job”! I’m looking forward to seeing you, too, Cyndi!
Keep up the good work, Lois. My favourite saying is “Life is 5% about our circumstances and 95% about our attitude.” So you’re on the right path!!! Spring is just around the corner now. Nothing more healing than the smell of that lovely spring air and the colors of those blossoms.
I like that saying, Marilyn. I’ve often said that it isn’t what happens to us; it’s how we respond to it that matters.
I was thinking about the spring flowers today. The geese are already making their way back north and I hear little birds of some kind chirping away madly in the bushes. Indeed, spring is on its way!
Tell that guy to “knock it off.” Your 1st priority is getting your health back. I recall being unemployed (3x). I felt like the lowest of the low. It was the employment counselors who said: “Finding a job IS a full-time job.” It took a long time to get there — sometimes as long as 14 months. But, eventually I did get there and was able to finally reap the benefits of all the hard work. So, tell that guy to “knock it off.” Love you, ~Nancy
I’m telling that guy to knock it off! I was so happy when all those guys in my head became just one voice, and one that I don’t hear quite as often as I used to 😀 I’ve been learning to discern the punitive voice from the intuitive voice because that’s a voice I want to hear more often.
Stay warm and dry out there, Nancy! Big hugs to you! <3
This is a great post, Lois. A good reminder to all of us that our health is important, even if we are not currently healing from something big.
If you had a friend who talked to you like the little guy in your head does, I hope you would quit being friends with that person. (Get my drift? We have to be a good friend to ourselves.)
And what is golden milk? Did I mess reading about it in a previous post?
HUGS!
Thanks, Blaize! I took my good health for granted for a long time, although I’ve always been a “health” nut – give me an herb, a vitamin, a supplement of some kind any day! But over the past few years, when money got so tight (or was it non-existent?), I couldn’t afford to buy extras like supplements so I quit taking them and then also wasn’t able to buy them to help my body get well when it began to get sick. I’m just trying to play catch-up now… I trust that my body wants to be well and I’m trying to give it what it needs to accomplish that. Some days, it’s meditation and reiki; some days it’s an extra supplement.
Golden milk is basically turmeric, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper. There are many different methods/recipes for making it, all with their own amounts of ingredients, so I just made up my own concoction – and I like it. I have more blood work scheduled for this week so we’ll see if it’s helping in the numbers game. Here’s the basic recipe I use; feel free to alter it however you want 😀 I do use organic ground spices, organic virgin cold-pressed unrefined coconut oil, and organic raw honey to make the paste and then use a good quality hemp or almond milk to make the drink.
1/2 c. ground turmeric
2 tsp. ground Ceylon cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup filtered water + additional 1/2 cup if needed
1 – 1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
pinch of Himalayan pink salt
1/2 cup organic unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
Mix turmeric with 1 cup water in saucepan. Add cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and pink salt. Using a whisk, mix it all together over medium heat. Add more water if needed to make it “whiskable.” Should not be too runny, more like a thick pudding. Heat for 6-10 minutes (do not boil). Add coconut oil and honey. While still warm and pour-able, pour into clean jar. Keep refrigerated.
To make a cup of Golden Milk to drink: heat a mug-ful of almond/hemp/etc. milk with a heaping spoonful of paste to just under boiling point. Pour into mug and enjoy!
I’ve heard/read that the paste will keep a couple of weeks in fridge but I’ve been known to keep it 3 weeks and haven’t seen any ill effects.
If I was still in my trailer without refrigeration, I would mix up the dry ingredients in a ziplock, and heat up a mug of milk using a spoon-ful of the dry spices with a half-spoon of honey and a half-spoon of coconut oil. I don’t think the exact measurements are important. I’ve read that it’s important to have the black pepper with the turmeric because it helps the body assimilate the properties of the turmeric, and that it’s important to use Ceylon cinnamon when using cinnamon as a medicinal spice. Other than that, I think the ingredients of the recipe are fairly negotiable. The paste can also be used in cooking, like adding it to soups, curries, etc. 😀
Have fun! Let me know if you try the Golden Milk and if you like it.
From: drarjan.com, Turmeric Paste-Golden Milk: “Turmeric is great in food, but also has many health benefits. It can be used as an anti-inflammatory for people suffering from arthritis, joint pain, clear the skin, muscle pain & many other benefits. It also aids in digestion, works as an anti-parasitic, and anti-bacterial. Turmeric is currently being investigated in many studies for possible benefits in Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, arthritis, and other clinical disorders.”
Just read your post. Thank you.
Seems like the step by step list you constructed would be a useful handout for anyone who is going to embark on a medical “tah dum”. So succinct and a huge reality check. I am totally respectful and empathetic to what you are going through.
And once again, though you are not feeling 100% physically, I admire your adept writing abilities.
Hi Susan! I think I’ve always been a “detail oriented” person so making lists has been my thing. It’s a way for me to make some sense out of what’s going on around me or for me to get the list out of my head so I don’t have to think about it any more 😀
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!