need help with a recuperative mindset

I am days to go and have the lists and everything ready, except for my mind.... I am not concerned with being scared, or pain... I am concerned with my ability to give in and recurperate...
I have been "recuperating" for 7 years. The list of diagnosis is a mile long (broken neck, pancreatitis, adrenal insuffiency, multiple surgeries... ad nauseum). I have given away so much of my life to "recuperate", only to start it all over again. The image I have in my mind is an onion, that we have peeled away layer after layer after layer. I should know how to recuperate.....
But I am having such an emotional time gathering my mind around another session of weeks of doing nothing. I have got to be able to do something. I have spent too much of my life not.
So, the question is:
What are "good" activities for the first weeks.
Thank you in advance,
Cynthia

I did a lot of sleeping those first couple of weeks, though I made sure to take a walk every day. Whenever I felt like a nap, I took one! I did a lot of reading just for fun, nothing to do with work. I watched some TV, not too much, but I did watch some DVDs and listened to a lot of music on my Ipod. I drank some water every single time I thought about it. I visited with the sisters here online. When I was feeling a little stronger, I start cleaning out a bunch of old files in my home office, just stuff I could get to without lifting. I made very simple meals, only very light housecleaning chores. Then I took very short trips to the grocery store to buy just a few items, then would come back home and take another nap. I decided to give myself as long it took to feel my strength coming back, and when I felt it, I erred on the side of caution and continued to take it VERY EASY. Each of us is different, and the healing process takes as long as it takes, so I didn't worry about comparing myself to others. For the first 3 months, sometimes I would feel incredibly tired, and I would arrange to rest just as quickly as I could. Now I'm 6 months out, and I don't have that bone-tired feeling anymore, am looking forward to getting more exercise this summer and shedding a few pounds.

Most of all, this process requires patience. Some things are going to have go undone for a time, and it will be all right; those chores will be waiting for you when you feel like getting to them. Best of luck to you, don't try to rush this, your body will let you know what's up.

Dearest Cynthia,

You sure have been through the ringer. That just makes you one very tough woman!! My prayer for you is that you keep drawing on that strength and make it through yet another recupe session. You are an inspiration for me to always be grateful and sympathize when I hear of someone, such as yourself, that has had a rougher time than me. Sounds like you need a gigantic hug!!

Sending you hugs via computer
Keep your chin up you are a survivor!!

Before I went into the castle, I made a list of things I wanted to complete while I was off work (you know, those things you never seem to have time for?). It helped me to focus on something I could look forward to, and has also given me a sense of achievement (some of the things on my list have been on my To Do list for years, I've just never had the time to do them).

It has also meant that I don't have to rely on anyone else to bring me what I need to complete the task - I made sure I had everything before I went into the castle.

AND, now that my brain is fuzzy, the list helps me remember what it is I was trying to do ...lol

After the first week (which was spent sleeping, walking and drinking water) I started
* sorting out the family photos and doing some scrapbooking.
* writing letters to people I haven't seen in a long time but who I wanted to update on what was happening
* putting together a "family favourites" recipe book for my niece, with lots of info on the person who put the recipe together (for instance Aunt Angela's prawn cakes recipe is accompanied by info on her - when she was born, where she lived, married, funny incidents, bits about her personality etc etc)
* getting household filing up to date (seated at a desk), no heavy lifting
* Mending (ugh, but it is now all up to date and everyone has buttons on their clothes)
* Embroidery (small projects with quick rewards. I find my attention span is very short, and I get impatient with projects that take too long)
* Gentle baking (Easy recipes. Nothing that requires more than 10 minutes of standing, or cannot be done by pressing the buttons on a food processor.)
* Bird watching in my garden (we have lots of birds in South Africa even in autumn).
* Planning (on paper) a new rose garden, and phoning around for prices to compile a budget for it.
* Organising all my craft, sewing and scrapbooking stuff (gently, no heavy lifting, just moving one piece of paper/fabric/paint brush at a time)
* Painting with DD at the dining room table(water paints - teaching her how to use the brush and working through a correspondence painting course.)
* Supervised my summer wardrobe being packed away, and winter stuff pulled out of storage. Sat on bed while DD did the work, with me telling her what to put where.
* Made extensive list of things that cleaning service should attend to (spring cleaning type stuff like washing walls etc, not daily cleaning).
* Planned family holidays until June 2007 and made telephonic bookings for them.
* Making small thank-you gifts and cards for friends and family who have helped out. (Microwave fudge for everyone who provided a meal, pretty decorated boxes of pads and tampons for a friend who can use them, handmade cards for everyone else)

Hope that helps a bit.
God bless

Eek Cynthia! Sounds like you've had it rough for a while! No wonder you're tired of recuperating! I am planning to do the stuff you never get to do while you are working and then I read Ansie's list and I think I'm just going to print that out as it gave me even more ideas! I think Ansie's idea is great: make the list, get the stuff out and in a handy place, and then look forward to doing it.

I agree that Ansie's list is great! I'm gonna make my list with her's as a guide! I do scrapbooking, but how do you do that while lying down or reclining? I'm usually sitting in my office chair bent over a counter!

Here's hoping we get many things accomplished while resting!! lol....hehehe Good luck!

All those are good suggestions. You might also think about something you've always wanted to learn more about, preferably something you can learn from library books, videos, DVDs, and the web. I find that having a specific topic to focus on gives me a sense of accomplishment. The world is full of amazing things to learn about, and most of the time, we're so busy in our ordinary lives that we don't have any time to learn new topics. The public library is an amazing resource.

Hi drawing on, they say things run in seven year cycles so it just came to me that this may be the culmination of all that you have been through and that is reason to celebrate!!!!!!!!

That should give you solice and if it were me I would be keeping a journal--entitled ,"what I have learned during my past trials". We all have challenges in life. I am sure that someone out in cyberspace could be helped by what you have had to endure and if you can cyrstalize you thoughts on paper or type.....you will have come a long way towards a new beginning!!!! What doesn't kill us makes us stronger!!

Blessings and be well!!!

Hello. Those are great things to do when you are up to doing something. Thinking that the family photo's will be my project for weeks 2 and 3. Anxious about the tiredness as I have three kids, 5,10 &13. Told hubby he will be in charge of laundry,cleaning and shopping for 4 weeks. Yikes. But I know that this is my time to heal and I won't ever get it back.
LAVH for 4/27

Challicakena, re how to do scrapbooking while reclining...While reclining, I planned and sorted pics, embellishments, paper etc into "pages" (I used a page protector to hold everything for each page together). This meant everything was ready for when I could sit for long enough to do the actual scrapping.

But I also used a bedtray (the type with legs that can stand on the bed) to do some scrapping when I really needed to do something creative or burst!