The schedule juggle

Let me preface this all by saying I work part time with complete flexibility in my schedule and I can come and go as I please.

All I was trying to do yesterday was to schedule three fifteen minute appointments for a medical massage for my sore hamstring. The goal was one yesterday, one on Thursday, and one next Monday. The result was one yesterday, one tomorrow (Wednesday) and one October 12. To be fair, I will be out of town for a few days which complicates the matter. And the tech who does the massages only works Monday through Thursday.

I couldn't go Thursday because I already have to work and have two appointments in the afternoon. Tomorrow worked but I had to reschedule a different appointment and move it to today so I could fit it in. Next week the only times he had were ones when I wasn't available.

That is just this week. My schedule is not what we call empty and relaxing with a part time work schedule. I am always running around some place. Today is work, farmer's market, Dr appointment, and hair cut. I will leave at 730 am and return around 530.

Then sometimes when I am having a 'bad spell' (doesn't that sound antiquated or something), I just ditch everything and hibernate. That is what I did on Sunday. After our party Saturday, I woke up with bags under my eyes....

My body doesn't tolerate the schedule juggle and ensuing long, full days, any better than my calendar does. And every little change is complicated for both.

So what do you want to do with the rest of your life?

Cancer diagnoses interfere with long term planning on many levels. For a while I wasn't sure I would be around for retiring. My husband and I have relatively vague plans to pay off the house and then retire sooner as opposed to later but probably not for a while yet.

Last night I went out with an old friend from junior high. She got out of college and got a job where her father worked for a year or two. She has been there for more than years and plans on retiring in a few more. Her husband has stage IV colon cancer and she doesn't want to have worked through the last years of his life. They have even met with a financial planner to discuss this.

Her big plans are to take a year off - something she hasn't ever done, even when her child was born - and do nothing. She hopes to eventually maybe volunteer at a food pantry, go back to work part time, or come up with a hobby to keep her busy. They want to downsize their main house and keep their vacation house and split their time between the two. She has plans for the rest of her life.

What do I want to do with the rest of my life? Stop going to the (damn) doctors. Stop being in pain. Feeling better. Retiring quietly to garden and knit with my husband (he won't be knitting) someplace where we can sit on the porch and admire the view. Too bad I don't have any details on this yet. Maybe its time to start planning.

Cancer and long term planning

With a cancer diagnosis, one starts having many little conversations with oneself and reevaluates many things that had previously been taken for granted in life. Some of those are very profound,  'its time to take charge of my life', for example, and others are less so 'its time to go to Europe that I've always talked about'.

But one of those items in life that seems to get reevaluated is 'if I have cancer, how important is retirement saving and planning?'. 'How am I supposed to save for retirement and pay medical bills?' And you cut back on your working hours so you can get to appointments. Money is tight.

But the real question is 'with cancer, will I even be here for retirement?'. Clearly retirement planning takes a hit. The younger you are, the less real it can seem.

Yesterday my husband came home from work (where its all top secret so he can't tell me much) in a cranky mood because he felt it was another long and boring day. (My point to him is they pay you to be there. But I digress) Anyway, one of  us mentioned how many more years of this would there be to put up with as we are getting up there in age.

The thought then occurred to me, we never figured out what the hell we are doing when we retire. To be fair, we got married nine years ago and two years later I was diagnosed with breast cancer and all thoughts of retiring were put aside. So now we have no plan. This isn't to say we aren't saving for retirement, we are. But we never figured out our plan.

What are our goals before we retire? Pay off the house first. Then what? Where do we want to retire? Close to good medical care for me of course. But do we want to keep the house, buy a second retirement place someplace? What do we want to do when we retire? We need hobbies and plans. Sitting around together will quickly lead to a body or a divorce.

We realize we need to start planning and thinking and agreeing on some things. It shouldn't be hard but we need to start.

Maybe now I am in a mental place where retirement seems realer again. I am getting closer to the age. My health certainly isn't going to let me keep working for another 20 years. Another cancer blip might change everything all over again but while we can, I think we need to do some long term planning for ourselves and look forward to some happy, healthy years together.

The schedule juggle

Let me preface this all by saying I work part time with complete flexibility in my schedule and I can come and go as I please.

All I was trying to do yesterday was to schedule three fifteen minute appointments for a medical massage for my sore hamstring. The goal was one yesterday, one on Thursday, and one next Monday. The result was one yesterday, one tomorrow (Wednesday) and one October 12. To be fair, I will be out of town for a few days which complicates the matter. And the tech who does the massages only works Monday through Thursday.

I couldn't go Thursday because I already have to work and have two appointments in the afternoon. Tomorrow worked but I had to reschedule a different appointment and move it to today so I could fit it in. Next week the only times he had were ones when I wasn't available.

That is just this week. My schedule is not what we call empty and relaxing with a part time work schedule. I am always running around some place. Today is work, farmer's market, Dr appointment, and hair cut. I will leave at 730 am and return around 530.

Then sometimes when I am having a 'bad spell' (doesn't that sound antiquated or something), I just ditch everything and hibernate. That is what I did on Sunday. After our party Saturday, I woke up with bags under my eyes....

My body doesn't tolerate the schedule juggle and ensuing long, full days, any better than my calendar does. And every little change is complicated for both.

So what do you want to do with the rest of your life?

Cancer diagnoses interfere with long term planning on many levels. For a while I wasn't sure I would be around for retiring. My husband and I have relatively vague plans to pay off the house and then retire sooner as opposed to later but probably not for a while yet.

Last night I went out with an old friend from junior high. She got out of college and got a job where her father worked for a year or two. She has been there for more than years and plans on retiring in a few more. Her husband has stage IV colon cancer and she doesn't want to have worked through the last years of his life. They have even met with a financial planner to discuss this.

Her big plans are to take a year off - something she hasn't ever done, even when her child was born - and do nothing. She hopes to eventually maybe volunteer at a food pantry, go back to work part time, or come up with a hobby to keep her busy. They want to downsize their main house and keep their vacation house and split their time between the two. She has plans for the rest of her life.

What do I want to do with the rest of my life? Stop going to the (damn) doctors. Stop being in pain. Feeling better. Retiring quietly to garden and knit with my husband (he won't be knitting) someplace where we can sit on the porch and admire the view. Too bad I don't have any details on this yet. Maybe its time to start planning.

Cancer and long term planning

With a cancer diagnosis, one starts having many little conversations with oneself and reevaluates many things that had previously been taken for granted in life. Some of those are very profound,  'its time to take charge of my life', for example, and others are less so 'its time to go to Europe that I've always talked about'.

But one of those items in life that seems to get reevaluated is 'if I have cancer, how important is retirement saving and planning?'. 'How am I supposed to save for retirement and pay medical bills?' And you cut back on your working hours so you can get to appointments. Money is tight.

But the real question is 'with cancer, will I even be here for retirement?'. Clearly retirement planning takes a hit. The younger you are, the less real it can seem.

Yesterday my husband came home from work (where its all top secret so he can't tell me much) in a cranky mood because he felt it was another long and boring day. (My point to him is they pay you to be there. But I digress) Anyway, one of  us mentioned how many more years of this would there be to put up with as we are getting up there in age.

The thought then occurred to me, we never figured out what the hell we are doing when we retire. To be fair, we got married nine years ago and two years later I was diagnosed with breast cancer and all thoughts of retiring were put aside. So now we have no plan. This isn't to say we aren't saving for retirement, we are. But we never figured out our plan.

What are our goals before we retire? Pay off the house first. Then what? Where do we want to retire? Close to good medical care for me of course. But do we want to keep the house, buy a second retirement place someplace? What do we want to do when we retire? We need hobbies and plans. Sitting around together will quickly lead to a body or a divorce.

We realize we need to start planning and thinking and agreeing on some things. It shouldn't be hard but we need to start.

Maybe now I am in a mental place where retirement seems realer again. I am getting closer to the age. My health certainly isn't going to let me keep working for another 20 years. Another cancer blip might change everything all over again but while we can, I think we need to do some long term planning for ourselves and look forward to some happy, healthy years together.