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Monday, June 30, 2025

Day 7 of my Retirement

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

Well, it is day seven of my retirement. I'm not sure what to make of it yet, I'm not sure I like it, but then again, I'm not sure that I don't. Let's go through my first week, shall we?

Monday, I woke up at 4:30 am, did my journaling, made my two eggs, I like dippy eggs; those are eggs with the yoke still runny, I call them dippy eggs. Now you know what I'm talking about when I say I made dippy eggs. And I drank my protein drink. I am supposed to have, oh, I almost forgot! Before I eat any meal, I have to drink 8oz of water with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in it. I'm not really sure why I have to drink this. I have a thought that it is only so that it makes everything taste nasty, and you don't eat much. Anyway, I am supposed to have 40 grams of protein for each meal. I am to eat three meals within 8 hours and no snacking in between. I ate my eggs and drank my drinks. I made a pot of coffee, which is new since I retired. I now have time to make coffee. I got dressed. 

One would have thought I would have put on clothes to make breakfast, but I didn't. I'm retired. 

I then went to the gym and worked out for two hours. After coming home from the gym, I thought, Why did I hurry? I don't have anything pressing. I could be like the other old guys who sit around and complain that the water is 2 degrees too cold and then chase after the young ladies with their walkers to get a hug. 

I will have to remember to work on that, and yes, I will need to get a walker just for the effect.

Tuesday, same thing, but added swimming. 

Wednesday, Same thing, but added cancer of the face later in the day. Evidently, it is in a bad location,n and I might lose my left eye. Welcome to day three of retirement.

Thursday, Same thing, but added two cords of wood that needed to be stacked.

Friday, what did I do Friday? I guess that is part of retirement, not remembering what you did two days ago. 

Saturday, I started to stack the wood and then remembered it was my anniversary. I took a shower and gave Laurie a piece of wood, man, I am romantic!

On Sunday, I went to stack wood, and Laurie said that my eye was swollen. I said, "Of course it is, you punched me in the eye when I gave you your anniversary present." Did I mention that Laurie is retired, too? She can't remember anything either.  She said no, it looks infected. I went to urgent care, but they were closed. I guess their idea of urgent is different than mine.

 I have an appointment for Monday morning. 

My dad, who has been retired for 30 years, tells me I need to learn to pace myself. His idea of pacing himself is to put on a sock and take a nap. Put on the other sock and take another nap. 

I'm not sure I'm there yet.

I am not sure what the doctor thinks of me. 

When he was looking over my body, He was a dermatologist. He was checking everywhere, having me lift my leg, and stuff like that. I should have been more uncomfortable sitting there in my underpants with him and a nurse in the room. I wasn't, I'm the guy who makes breakfast in his undies, and after eleven surgeries, you kind of lose your inhibitions when it comes to being undressed in front of medical staff. 

He was going along, saying everything was looking great. then he got to my face and said, "Crap." When a doctor says, "Crap." that never is a good thing. I said, "Thanks, doc, I know I'm ugly, but you should be more professional." He didn't even pay attention to me and told the nurse I had a Basal Melopnuematic blopia ma jig. I don't know he used some 65-cent word that evidently means "bad" cancer, and the location made it worse, just under my left eye. He said, "This kind of cancer has tendrils, which are slender threadlike appendages, often growing in a spiral form, that stretch out and twine around any suitable support. 

I asked, "What does this mean?" 

He said that they have to do surgery and cut until they get good margins. You might lose your left eye."

I asked, "Just how far will they have to cut?" 

He said, "I can't say. Other than your eye, do you have any concerns?"

I said, "Yes, you see, I'm a hand model. They won't have to take my hand, will they?"

As I said,  I am not sure what the doctor thinks of me. 

Here is where things get real for me. I could go all woe is me and stuff, but my dad always said, "Roger, you don't have to look very far to see somebody who has it worse than you."

And he is right. As a Chaplain, I have seen more than my share of bad stuff. 

Even if I lose my eye, I'm not going to cry about it. I think you need an eye to cry anyway.

As tough as the news was to hear, I'm just glad I have God to lean on.

Something to ponder.

Roger


1 comment:

  1. I hate that idea of everyone has, fill in blank of something worse, so buck up camper. It dismisses your feelings, as if they don't matter. We'll, if I had an eye I might lose, you would feel compassion for me, right? So you deserve someone saying, this is crap. I'm sorry. That sounds scary. You must feel worried. Your feelings make sense. I would be scared too.

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