2014 The Highs and Lows

That's me December 31, 2014 12:00 p.m.  I was saying good bye to this year at the Multicultural Association office where I do mentoring.


OK, even though I don't normally go for these year in review summaries,  I decided to write one for my blog, because 2014 really was an interesting time. So here they are, the highs and lows  of 2014.

Highs

 I lost 30 lbs.  thanks to a low cab diet and plenty of swimming at the Golden Hawk recreation centre.  This regime has also greatly improved my walking and my strength. My neighbours have commented on how much better I'm walking compared to  when I first arrived  in July 2013.  I think about what bad shape I was in that summer and how much better I feel now. I  look forward to my evening swim and also to seeing my swim buddies .

New interests have resulted in new friends. I have met so many great people through my mentoring at the  New Brunswick community college. I'm going to write a separate entry about that and have some photos, just as soon as everyone is back from their holidays.

 I have also  joined the Miramichi Search and Rescue . I don't think I'm strong enough to go out on searches, but they really need help with their administration, so I'm happy to do that for them. They seem like a great bunch of folks too.

All that volunteering has boosted my social life .  I get invited to lunches, dinners, networking events and concerts. I can't do it all thanks to my buddy MS, yet I do enough to keep me feeling social. For a very long time, before I retired, I never had the energy to do much  and I often felt isolated. When you turn things down all the time, people just stop asking you.

The luxury of time. I feel really spoiled that I can do pretty much whatever I want these days. Sometimes that means doing  not much of anything, once again, thanks to MS. The difference is now if I need to rest ( which is every day) I don't have to worry  and I don't have to feel guilty.  That makes a big  difference in my quality of life. How many times the doctor said" you need to rest"  and I always kept going until I collapsed, because I couldn't accept it. resting made me feel lazy; now it makes me feel great.

Spare time has me looking inward as well. I'm studying Philosophy and Buddhism. I can't do much reading due to fatigue ; MS is to blame of course, so I'm using audio books and online courses. Now when I'm resting, I can listen to a book and I find I get much more out of it.  The online courses allow me to work when I feel up to it which also results in retaining more of the information..

When I first moved to my new home I wasn't sure if I would be able to adjust to life in a small city.

When I was younger I thought life in a big city with all the crowds and intensity was exciting. Now I see that it was just another thing that  gradually ruined my health. What a fool I was to believe that stress was good for me. That it was what I needed to keep going!  Wrong!

 I can say that I really am happy to be living in  a place that is slower paced and quieter; although sometimes I find it a little too quiet, and I have to have music  playing softly, all night.

Medical marijuana! I can never say enough about how much it has improved my quality of life.

Lows

I still have MS and it still  frustrates the hell out of me!!

I miss  my son, who is still in China, teaching English. I hope he will be back this Spring.

I find myself attracted to a married man which has never happened to me before. Not that I will pursue it. I  have seen what damage  affairs can do, so no way. I also find that I don't like men my age and am only interested in younger men. Another thing I won't pursue. I just don't have the energy and it would be too strange.

I broke off a long term, long distance, relationship with  a man  because I could no longer cope with the  travelling and more importantly; his  denial of my MS. He is one of those  people who thinks that positive thinking will cure it and I'm too tired to live up to that. I still care for him, but I can't live in a dream world.

I'm having difficulties dealing with the fact that I'm 60 years old. Sure, I feel good and I look pretty good. and menopause isn't that bad, yet I'm still 60 years old.  It feels strange and a bit scary. I worry about losing my independence. I worry about MS and ageing.

Adjusting to retirement isn't easy. I use to have such a busy life  and I know it wasn't good for me, however, I still feel funny not having a job and not having all those responsibilities. Being a renter instead of a home owner is hard  too, although it sure makes life easier to not have to worry about the roof or the plumbing.  Still though, I sometimes miss that money pit of a house I use to own.

So that's most of it. At least what I can think of  at the moment. I guess I should have listed the lows first and then the highs  in order to finish on a positive note. I'll finish by saying that these days, there are more highs that lows.

2015 I'm ready for you!