The "New" Normal

Hello All.

I missed posting the past two Sundays simply because of life happening. On May 28, my oldest niece took me to a Little League baseball game in which her grandson, Kayden, was playing. After two games she brought me home because my energy had gone kaput! This past Sunday (6/4), I enjoyed company from out of town. I hope to blog about that visit this coming Sunday. This mid-week posting is in three parts. Part I helps explain why the next two parts are important in my life right now.

Part I: Background:

Right now I’m dealing with the consequences of four ailments.

1.     Because glaucoma has severely affected my field of vision, I had to give up driving back in October, so mobility is somewhat difficult at times and asking for help in getting to doctor appointments and shopping is stressful because I have only five people to ask and many appointments. Moreover, I am finding three or four organizations from which I can get rides. All that is working out well.

2.     I live in an area known as “tornado alley” so the barometric pressure often changes, causing Meniere’s headaches, which are like migraines in intensity, without the light sensitivity. They come almost every day during this time of year, but I have a prescription that helps immensely with this.

3.     In 2011, I was diagnosed with a form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. At that time, I needed light treatments—3x a week for nine months. It is now active again, so I’m doing the treatments, which will keep the skin cancer in Stage 1. Mobility, however, is an issue as the clinic is in another area, nearly twenty miles away.

4.     I’m still recuperating from the back operation that has left me prone to feeling down in the dumps on overcast days. Fortunately, that six-month recuperation period will end in mid-September. I am getting better every day.

Part II: A “New” Normal:

Recently I watched a television ad for a cancer drug. It ended with the woman and her collie walking outside into a lovely day. The narrator says, “She welcomes her ‘new’ normal because a lot has changed, but a lot hasn’t.”

That advertisement captured my attention. For me, a lot has changed also—especially the not being able to drive—but I am so grateful that I can still read and write. Also my friends—near and far—and family give me great support.

Part III: Over What Hill?

Recently Arkansas Patti posted an eloquent review of a series of five novels by Effie Leland Wilder, who was 85 when the first one, “Out to Pasture,” was published. At that time, Wilder lived in the Presbyterian Home of Summerville, South Carolina.

I got Wilder’s second book—Over What Hill?—from the library and enjoyed it so much that I’ve purchased a volume containing her first three books. With her humorous stories, Wilder helped me realized that I’ve been concentrating on what’s wrong with my life, rather than being grateful for all that is good about it; I haven’t been grateful for the “new” normal.

I highly recommend Wilder’s books. As the flap of her third one says, “With grace and humor, Wilder gently pokes fun at growing older, all the while reflecting on the challenges and losses that seniors face, as well as the special wisdom that can be gained from aging.”

Peace.