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"Quality of life"......a gift that just keeps on giving.
The 2020 Holidays are over. What was your favorite gift? Was one of your gifts what I call a “quality of life” gift? Was it a new special pillow that made you sleep better? Perhaps you were given something that made your life a little easier like new shoes with a softer sole. Or maybe your family gave you a Mayo gift like the Pain course or a Habit workshop?
It’s never too late to think of and thank yourself for your endurance, generosity, and kindness to yourself. And these may be things that you have never mentioned because you didn’t want to be a burden or a nuisance or appear to be selfish.
I went crazy this year and got three of my quality of life gifts. I’ll share them with you and hope you realize how very important they were and are to me.
1. My MFR therapist began to feel that one session a week was not sufficient. So, we set up a six week trial of 2 sessions per week. The difference in tolerance was amazing. I didn’t have to endure increasing discomfort for 7 days….just 3. And so….gift #1. When I let my family know they found a way to help with the additional cost called a “stocking stuffer”.
2. For over a year I have been noticing more and more pain in my hip. Several years ago, I had an injection which was done poorly and so I wasn’t too excited about trying again. This time I had a chat with myself. “Why, Chris, are you going through increasing pain when there is a solution?” So I gathered my strong determination, had the injection, and am just jumping for joy. And my insurance covered it. Great…..another quality of life gift received and appreciated.
3. My 2021 quality of life gift brigade begins tomorrow when I have my preliminary appointment to fix my arthritic thumb. I can no longer open a jar or turn a key in the door lock. Seven years ago I had anchovy surgery on the left thumb. It is perfect. Now, why have I let the other one reach such a painful stage? I really don’t like surgery but this one is relatively doable and I won’t need too much help at home.
So Happy Holidays to me.
And thank you friends and family who shouted encouragement and helped support my wishes for a few things that just needed to get done.
What items would qualify for your quality of life? Let’s all share and help each other develop our 2021 list of can dos and must-dos.
Be happy and content in 2021.
Chris
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@ess77, What a supportive post from you, Elizabeth! Most of my life I was very athletic and much like you, began piano lessons at age 7. In high school, I wanted to spend more time on tennis and "shooting hoops" than practicing. My piano teacher gave me an ultimatum and shared it also with my mom that I needed to either practice more piano or give it up. Thankfully, she and my mom prevailed because I was offered a partial music college scholarship.
Your post also touched me because of the nostalgia and regret I experienced in reading the posts of others in various groups who can still, gasp, jog and take long mtn hikes. Life and health conditions can certainly point our lives in new directions while vastly restricting activities that we once so took for granted. I appreciate your sharing honestly and do empathize because lost abilities are real and painful. However, I also salute you for the optimism and courage share in dealing with and finding "work around solutions" to continue to write and share with the rest of us. We can all learn from one another as well as celebrate and commensurate. Thank you for your contributions.
When it comes to electronics, if it doesn't turn on and work as expected, I just go into an anxious dither until a pro comes to my aid. If I can find the helps for staying Mayo connected from John and Colleen, I'll mail them to you in a private chat.
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5 Reactions@artscaping- You make me laugh! My mother was the antiseptic queen. And to get back at her, (gone now for over 20+yrs), I'm not. After my first lung cancer surgery, I began watching cooking shows. In one show, Caprial's I cooked everything that she made and gained the weight that it carried too. After a while, still watching the show I did start dieting, but remember being this prepared too. lol, I believe that it's called "mise en place." (the preparation of dishes and ingredients before the beginning of service.)
By the way, the show was out of Portland, OR where my son lives. During one of my visits, we went there (not cheap! lol). I got to meet Caprial and told her my story.
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4 Reactions@artscaping What your husband does is basically, "mise en place", or "everything in its place" which is what professional chefs do. It really does make things easier. Chefs take it a step further and have each ingredient measured in little bowls.
I would say the bottom painting is the more recent one. Are you going to have a big reveal?
When my cleaning woman is coming (I sure hope I can get her back once we have both been vaccinated) I always clear the clutter before she comes. I expect her to clean, she wouldn't know how to disposition things though.
Regarding needlework, I used to do crewel and needlepoint, I have been a sewer, but I had to do it when I was watching TV. Now with my close up vision failing, I can't do that anymore. I have a whole bunch of Elsa Williams kits that I never got to.
JK
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6 Reactions@jocelynk Now may be a good time to get into a habit of taking care of yourself when you need to calm down, or distract yourself. There are many tutorials on beginning crochet, as my neighbor told me, on Youtube. I am left-handed but crochet right-handed, and after almost 15 years still consider myself a beginner, content with easy/simple patterns that use very basic stitches! The repetition is calming to me.
I am glad you shared about your upcoming surgery. One thing you might consider, is journaling about it all, to move thoughts and concerns out of your mind, as they do the little hamster wheel thing of occupying your time. Here is a discussion thread about that, that you may find interesting. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/journaling-the-write-stuff-for-you/ Being able to write things down has helped me in my health challenges.
Please come back for more support!
Ginger
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6 Reactions@fiesty76 Im receiving it this morning not sure what brand it is . I,ve never done crewel embroidery have to look into that . Right now I,m still painting have done a couple for gifts .But want to change hobbies like you when it is safe to go out I will take a trip to JoAnn,s Glad you doing o.k
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3 ReactionsI cannot sew, embroider, knit or paint. One thing which drives me crazy is: "I can't carry a tune in a bucket"! I got kicked out of the church choir when I was around six. I really wanted to wear that robe and join the singing. I did. Then, I was asked to hang up my robe. In school, when we were supposed to sing the notes, the teacher cringed. He didn't want to even hear it! I scared my nephew when I sang happy birthday--he ran and hid. That ended my trying. My parents could not sing either. People tell me to make a joyful noise to the Lord--they don't understand we are not all gifted the same way.
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9 Reactions@woogie You are right we all are not gifted the same way gut you are before the Lord and He matters in your life . Maybe you can do something else good that you enjoy ,danceing or humming a beautiful song that makes you happy thats all that is needed . Don't put yourself down because you cant do things others can just enjoy them be happy to see them .
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5 Reactionsplease how can I quit this site
I second Kathy2020 request. This blog / site is about hearing related issues. It has gotten off track.
@golden418 and @kathy2020, Discussions do sometimes get off track and it does hurt members who are looking for information relevant to the discussion. I look forward to things getting back to normal where I can go out and meet a friend for lunch or a cup of coffee. Until then one of the things that helps my quality of life is try and get some time outside to enjoy nature. On my bucket list for 2021 is to visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN - https://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/. It raises my spirits when I see one sitting on the side of the road, soaring in the sky or sitting in a tall tree.
Hate to see you leave the discussion but this should help if you still want to stop notifications:
- How to Stop or Restart all Notifications: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/
- How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe from a Discussion: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/
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