[2023-07-15] Saturday Synopsis #52 and recovery day 8
Recovery day 8
Today was the best day I've had since my surgery eight days ago.
- On my own, I emptied my drains (not difficult, but still a measure of returning independence) and washed and blow dried my hair (a little trickier, but more manageable than I thought it would be).
- My daughter and I made Brazilian cheese bread (pão de queijo), using this simple recipe.
- In the afternoon, Chris, Mel and I went to Bayshore, a shopping centre in Ottawa's west end. It was the most walking I've done since my operation on July 7.
Between July 7 and July 11, I did fewer than 1,000 steps per day. Between July 12 and 14, I did fewer than 2,000 steps per day. So to exceed 4,000 steps today while still feeling good seems huge.
I see all these activities—light though they may be—as the start of moving again. Movement is so important to my health and well-being. Not just walking, but being able to raise my arms above my head, reach for items in the cupboard, and hold a blow dryer. My aim is to have the same quality of life as I enjoyed before surgery, with the added peace of mind of a greatly diminished risk of breast cancer.
Speaking of getting back to normal, yesterday, I finished the one-week course of antibiotics that had been prescribed for me, no doubt as a preventive measure to ensure no infections while healing.
Saturday Synopsis
Today is my 52nd Saturday Synopsis—one year of reflecting on past weeks and years. Jenesis has proven to be a valuable archive of my life over the past three years.
3 Ideas From Me
It's up to prospective employees to put in the effort to make the manager's job easier. Mark Twain once said, "I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one." Those seeking a new opportunity need to take the time to write clearly and concisely in their CVs and to eliminate anything that's not essential. Otherwise, a busy manager might view their covering email and CV as little more than spam.
I used to think that "being present" meant doing something active with another person, with no distractions. Perhaps that's what it meant when parenting Shane and Mel as children or when courting Chris. But as I've aged, I've come to think that "being present" is often about being available, just in case I'm needed. "Being present" is neither exclusively about A (being engaged) or B (being available). It's both A and B, and it can change over time.
When an alleyway is filled with rubbish, it's easy for people to conclude that no one cares and that one more piece of garbage won't make a difference. But transform the refuse-strewn back alley into a charming and peaceful space, and people will be much less likely to leave their unwanted junk behind. This is the power of positive influence. It is not uncommon to come across certain neighbourhoods that are filled with holiday lights, or frontyard flower beds, or backyard vegetable gardens. A few people spruce up their space and their admirers follow suit. Granted, projects that rely on others to initiate or maintain a change such as the one in Gorse Hill don't always succeed or last, but they are always worth trying.
2 Quotes From Others
The usual consumer response to a problem or need is not to look at the problem, but to look at the solution, the normal expensive commercial solution. Consumers say, "we need a new car," when they ought to be saying, "we need a means of getting to work, getting out of town on weekends, to the in-laws at Christmas". The answer may well turn out to be a new car, but if you're going to start with the solution instead of the problem you'll never find out if there might be other, less expensive answers.
~ Charles Long
Some of you are unaware of just how amazing you really are. The way you make people laugh, lift others up, or spread some extra love. You do this even though you are struggling too, and I think it makes you such a beautiful human being.
~ My Positive Outlooks
1 Question For You
I also like asking questions, a skill I honed in Journalism School. I asked my friend my two favourite questions: "What do you love to do?" and "What are you good at?" When we can do work that matches what we love to do and what we're good at, we are much more likely to be happy and to succeed.
