One Day at a Time

Some days are tough....

Do you ever have those days?  You know, the ones where even pushing the covers back to get out of bed is an issue?

One of the better things about aging is that my bladder speaks so loudly that even on the WORST of mornings, getting out of bed is an absolute necessity... no matter how I feel :-)

I am still struggling with back pain since the stupid deer jumped onto our car.  And, while i am grateful that my guys and the car pulled through it fine, I am a little bit ticked that I am still hobbling along.  When does 'long term healing' become 'chronic pain'?  (I am choosing NOT to focus on this question today)

The key is, I think, to choose how you want your day to go ANYWAY.   This morning is (note NOT WAS) one of those mornings!   I got out of bed because my back hurt too much to stay there...... and my head exploded when I got up!   And I whined..... my poor husband got to wake up to my whining.  (Well, that is not exactly true... with two vessels aground in the river in front of our house.. there was a LOT of horn blowing in the dark hours of the morning :-)

But, back to the point..... it is a given that I will hurt today.  Some of it will probably ease as I move around.... some will get worse... and some new areas will begin.  For example, I've had some coffee and walked the dog... so the head has eased a little, the back is a little less stiff - but my shoulders are starting to ache from being upright...  but it's okay.

I want to be clear that this post is not about the fact that I hurt.  It is about what I DO with my day.

It's my situation.  It's my life... no one escapes this life without pain.

It is up to me to make sure I squeeze every bit of living out of today that I can!  I need to make sure that this day - that I only get to live ONE TIME - moves along in a way I can be proud of... instead of sliding away in a haze of pain.  I find it is all too easy to move through the day trying to avoid pain.. instead of facing it head on - and living my life!

So I need to look at the day - MY DAY - and make some choices:

First, what do I absolutely HAVE to do?
       I absolutely HAVE to go to my chiropractor appointment.  (but I guess I COULD skip that too - but it would not be a smart move)
      I absolutely HAVE to do some financial work for our business today.

Second, if - tonight - I look back on this day, what will I wish I had done?
       I have some business & personal paperwork that needs to be taken care of.
       I have several projects in process that I would like to make a little headway on: specifically: Christmas chores (decorating, gifts, cards) & decluttering & washing one of the dogs.
       I have daily work that I will feel bad if I don't tackle: laundry, pets, food prep, floors.
       I need to move my body - so a couple of extra walks with the dog & actively trying to find something special to notice while I am out there will help my spirits.... (eg, noticing the migrating swarms of birds instead of focusing about how cold I am!)

(Important to note - that the world will not end if I do NONE of these things!  So.. no guilt :-)  But (with some healthy selfishness) I will feel a lot better about myself if I do them)

Third,  what can I do to make tomorrow better?
      Hmmmm.... tomorrow is all about SATs for one of my sons and a family event with a potluck dinner.
        So the biggest thing I can do today to make tomorrow simpler is choose what I want to bring to the potluck.   I look at this in two ways (because I am not the cook, remember :-) - it will be either something I make today or buy tomorrow on the way there.   Potlucks are notoriously short on fresh vegetables so I will probably make a layered salad - and my son has asked for bread... so during the day I will have him choose a bread for me to make and see how things go!

Note to self: pick up salad stuff (romaine specifically) while I am out today.

Fourth, what can I do to help somebody else?
    Ahhhh.... baking the bread my son asked for will fall into this category too! And, in a sense, planning for fresh veggies for the potluck does too :-)

    But aside from that.... SMILING is always a good choice....  sending a card to someone who is struggling.... crocheting a hat for a homeless person...  reaching out in some way, doing someone else a favor.. sometimes the smallest things are well within our grasp and make a HUGE impact on someone else... 


Starting my day with these questions... and moving through the day accordingly.. means that I am choosing the mark I make in the world when this day is finished.
Even if I spend the day resting my back and 'being lazy', if I take care of anything on this list.... my spirits will be higher and I will consider this a good day.... And it is my choice.. starting NOW!