Hello again!
We are almost to hump day, and I sit here concerned (but not concerned). There is snow and ice on the ground, and I fear driving on black ice. (I never met my mother’s oldest brother or grandfather due to black ice, so I’ve never been comfortable with it). My husband has not gone to dialysis in four days. His day was yesterday, but dialysis is 20 miles away with lots of hills, curves, some bridges, etcetera. I hoped things would melt and get better today. However, yesterday they advised we would still be below freezing through tomorrow. And temperatures will just be AT freezing tomorrow. It’s not likely the ice will melt. To top it off, two days from now there will be a wintry mix and temps below freezing. The end of the week will be even worse! We probably won’t be thawed out until Sunday. I guess we can always find a way to get him to the ER if it comes down to it. It’s not anywhere near as far as the dialysis center.
He’s been watching his fluid intake all weekend. We’ve watched what he eats, as well. Nothing tastes funny, so we believe he’s okay – for now. I’m just struggling with the balance to make sure he is hydrated, but not too hydrated. The good thing is he hasn’t been retaining fluids like he did with past kidney failures. That still doesn’t make me comfortable with the situation. I sleep with the television on at night so I can look over from time-to-time to see if his chest is rising and falling normally with the television light.
I’m sincerely wishing we had elected for home hemo dialysis at this point. I know we were waiting until his blood pressure post-dialysis was stabilized. I just wish we were comfortable enough switching to that because weather issues wouldn’t be a concern. It makes me think to the future. How will things go if there is a threat of tornadoes? Could we potentially be caught out on the highway in the middle of one? I’m getting ahead of myself, I know. But the first tornado season for us is around the corner. These are just the random thoughts going through my mind lately.
That said, I’m trying to figure out how to think about all these things, still keep moving along on the things I want to do, and still keep my sanity. Like any other woman, I often neglect myself when caring for those I care about. So, I don’t know, maybe the snow and ice are good things. I can’t leave the house, so that leaves more time to focus and concentrate on what I want/need to do on a business level and a personal level. These things tend to get thrown by the wayside because I am a caregiver, but they’re still important.
I’m still finishing my business goals for my vision board, so I won’t list them here just yet. I know one goal is to launch my new candle line. I just need to finalize my starting lineup. I also need to identify other products to offer. I want to have everything narrowed down and have samples for a photo shoot by the end of the first quarter. It’s the middle of January, so I don’t have much time.
I’ve already worked on my personal goal to decrease the number of colas/sodas I drink. When I was single, the only liquids in my refrigerator were water, orange juice (that I only drank with breakfast), and what I called white water – 1% milk. I have other personal goals, but that was the first one on the list.
Below are my initial 2024 personal goals. I think successful completion of these initial ones will take me a long way towards other personal and business goals. I have to be healthy and right mentally and physically to be successful at anything.
Personal Goals:
| Goal | Status |
| Increase water/decrease colas/sodas | Complete, but has to be consistently maintained |
| Eat home-cooked meals more often. This should help improve my health (cholesterol levels are too high), help me lose weight, and help us control what my patient intakes. | 30% Complete Due to work schedules with my day job and our business, we still eat out more than we should. What can I say? I’m a work in progress. Meal planning/meal prep may be necessary. |
| Create a Self-Care plan/cards that are easy to follow. | 5% Complete I have work to do. I DID take a good 30-to-45-minute bath the other day. It was nice to sit and soak in warm water for a little while. |
| Wardrobe Decluttering – Go through the closet, be honest about what I do/do not wear. Get rid of what I don’t that I know I won’t. | 0% Complete. I have no good excuse for this AT ALL. |
As you can see, self-care is one of my personal goals. This is where my business and personal goals meet. The candle line I will launch are specifically for one’s self-care. I don’t want something that simply introduces scent to a room. I want my scents to ease and aid in relaxation and self-care.
Anyway, I have a lot to do and a lot to think about. And I have to do it all while working a full-time job, managing our part-time hustles, and caring for my patient. I hope you already have a self-care plan established and are working on it. I don’t want anyone else to burn the candle from both ends like I’ve done for years. We’re no good to our patient if we’re exhausted and all over the place.
Now that I think about it, hiring extra employees and this unexpected snow WEEK is probably just what I needed to start taking care of myself. All I know is I’m focusing on working self-care into my everyday life. We’re snowed in right now, and it’s a good thing. I have SNOW much to think about.
What are you doing for self-care? Are you remembering to take time for yourself, to care for yourself, to monitor your own health? I wanna know. Drop me a note. We can bounce ideas off each other.
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