Daisy List is the Greatest Bucket List Ever!

It’s a funny thing about Mr. Fatique.  I think a good part of our energy is intertwined with our spirit, so needless to say, as my energy went out the window so went my spirit.  The fatique was like having a GHOST with you all the time.  You couldn’t see it, touch it, smell it, but boy could you feel it.  The problem is, when you’re dealing with TAZ your spirit is the very thing you need the most to fight back, so it got tricky.

It was time to call in some new GHOST BUSTERS.

There is so much downtime because of this GHOST called Fatique.  But it can be much less frustrating if you have a hobby that doesn’t require too much energy.  Actually, it should be hobbies that require “NO” energy.

I’m not much of a TV person, especially daytime TV.  So I had to come up with a few things I could work on while I was recuperating.  These were all the things I could do sitting down and with very “little” energy, even though some days this Ghost left me with ZERO energy.

These are some of my GHOST BUSTERS that helped me get through it:

1. A Dream Board.
2. A Reward System
3. A BLOG
4. Puzzles
5. A Daisy List
6. Reading

Ghost Buster #1.  DREAM BOARD

Ahh, the Dream Board.  I’ve been working on a Dream Board for as long as I can remember.  But as it turns out the earlier ones were just practice and included things on it that I wanted to acquire vs things I wanted to do.  As I said in an earlier Post, since dealing with TAZ, I’ve become more aware of the things I want “TO DO” before I start pushing up Daisy’s as opposed to the things I want “TO HAVE”.

So I ripped off all the things on my old board and I cut out new things that resembled what I had on my new DAISY LIST.  I had so much fun with it.  Sitting on the couch with my new constant companion, the Ghost of fatique, I got a ton of magazines, scissors and a Laptop.  I cut out everything I planned on doing “post” TAZ.  Places I wanted to go, things I wanted to see, and things I wanted to experience.

Ghost Buster #2.  REWARD CHART

I got the idea to start a reward chart associated with my treatments.  For every treatment I would indulge myself with something special.  And as the treatments progressed, I would increase the value of the reward.  So I made up my little chart and put it on my desk.

At first, on my original list, I had some expensive items and it got complicated.  Then I revised it with things I thought would bring me small joys.  I came up with some silly things that I loved.

This reward system just helped me take my mind off the negative parts of each treatment day.

I love fresh flowers.  Nothing fancy, just a small fresh bunch from the supermarket on my desk each week, so I started buying a small bunch for myself every week.  I got plenty of flowers from friends and family but this was just a small bunch I would pick up after each treatment.

I love new sheets.  I just love new sheets.  I love that crisp new feel.  Most of us keep our sheets for so long, each set feels exactly like the other.  And because they last so long, we tend to keep them way past the shelf life.  So I added that to my reward chart.

I love music, I needed a small stereo system, and I had been looking at a BOSE system FOREVER, so I added that too.

I needed a new desk chair, especially since I was spending so much time at my computer.

Then of course I needed a new Laptop for all those days I would be spending at my daughter’s house.  I’ve managed to reward myself with everything so far except the Bose, still working on that one.

Ghost Buster #3.  BLOG

The other thing I got into was the BLOG.  If you want to fill your days (and nights) with something stimulating, start a Blog.  Just learning all the new technology will stimulate your brain to exhaustion.  Oh my GOD, I had no idea how, what, when, or who!  I knew nothing but I had a ball learning.  I now have a BLOG and I still have no clue.  I’m learning more and more every day, and I’m Loving it.

The Blog has changed my life.  Originally it was for personal reasons, but through the Grace of God, I have realized I need to expand it to be one of my life’s purposes.  It’ll be my way of giving back.  My goal is to turn it into a vehicle for helping others.  I have a million plans, however like everything else in life it’s taking much longer than I had hoped.  But every time I get a little discouraged the Good Lord gives me a nudge and along comes another motivational sign.  I’m a Big one for signs, you know those soft gentle quiet whispers you get when you pray for help.  More about that later.!

Ghost Buster #4.  PUZZLES

 My BFF, Betty and I talk everyday on the phone and somewhere in the conversation she mentioned that she had taken up a new hobby, making puzzles.

 I can’t even think how far back I would have to go to remember the last time I made a puzzle. However they quickly became my new medication of choice.

Not sure who suggested I try it, me or her, but it all started out so casual.   Every time she finished one, she would mail it to me.   After the first one I was hooked.  I cannot begin to tell you how much those puzzles helped me get rid of my restlessness and contributed to my healing.  Every time I got one in the mail, it felt like Christmas.  The puzzles lifted my spirits and helped my well being.  Some days I would sit for hours working on the puzzle, and the days would pass so easily without all the anxiety and restlessness.

 Ghost Buster #5.  DAISY LIST

 Then of course I started my Daisy List.  What a joy that was.  At first I had a hard time, couldn’t think of the things I seriously wanted to do before the Daisies came.  But once I got started, WOW, I had a 3 page list.  I had to cut it back unless I was planning on living 3 life times.  It’s amazing when you really begin to list the things you want to experience before you start “pushing up daisies”.

But that’s the point, make a huge list and then narrow it down to what really matters.  Then start working on them.

Oddly enough, the Blog and the Daisy List have demanded so much of my time and energy, I haven’t had a minute to focus on getting anything on my list checked off, but I’m having the time of my life.

After all that work, the thing that made the top of my Daisy List, was doing a Cannonball!  Really Fonseca?

(Go Figure)

Ghost Buster #6. READING

 Reading was another good Ghost Buster for me, I Love non-fiction, so biographies and memoirs were great, especially people that were dealing with similar situations.  I read so many books about people that had been dealing with Mr. TAZ.  For example; Joan Lunden, Hota , Steve Jobs, Robin Roberts, and my favorite, Tom Brokaw.

It makes you realize you are far from alone in this “exclusive club” and that there was no special criteria for getting into it.

And then of course, along with all of the memoirs and biographies, my favorite reads are;

• The Bible
• Battlefields of the Mind, by Joyce Myers
• Anti Cancer, A new way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD

I read these 3 over and over almost everyday, and everyday I get a new boost as well as inspiration and insight.

The point of this post is to let you know that sometimes the small things are the major things that get you through the roughest times and can have a tremendous impact on your healing and recuperating.

“Little things make big things happen”

John Wooden