Filling Our Days

By Debz Borge

2 min read

Now that I'm not working, I thought it was going to be long, boring days of nothing to do and feeling depressed. To my amazement, it is nothing like that at all. Due to the severity of my COPD, there was no way I could continue doing the type of work I had been. I also volunteered which I loved but that also proved too difficult to carry on with.

What I enjoy

The one thing I thoroughly enjoy is not having to get up early and rushing about to get out of the door. When I was working, that would always happen. I've always been an early riser which is good. I have noticed that the mornings are the times I have the most energy so I take my meds and then have a shower. Hubby is always around when I have a shower as a precaution. It's not a nice feeling if I need him to help me but there have been a few times when it was really necessary.

The routine continues

After all of this, about an hour and a half has already passed from my morning routine. Breakfast consists of cereal or toast and a well-earned mug of tea. My exercise routine consists of 10-minute warm-up stretching and getting as nimble as possible. Then it's onto the upper body, using 2-kilo dumbells and marching on the spot which takes a massive 40 minutes. Wind down is a 5-minute slow stretch.

By then I'm starving so I usually have a banana and grapes. Yes, rest is so important, but the buzz is so amazing physically and mentally. I sit down and record my achievements. If I can do 20 minutes in the afternoon, I use my exercise pedals to add to the daily exercise program.

Filling my days

The days are mine to fill which I enjoy. If the weather is nice I will go out for an hour on my mobility scooter which has been a lifesaver. I now have so much freedom to get out and about either with my hubby or on my own. When the weather is wet, I stay in doing what I want to do which can vary from knitting to reading, to my newfound hobbies of drawing and painting.

I was so lucky to find some free online art courses last year through our local college which I eagerly signed up for. Why I chose art I've no idea. My dad was a well-known artist here in the UK also my sister is a very talented artist so I'm not sure that I belonged in that category.

Either way, I've absolutely loved doing the courses. They definitely fill my days and offer a variety of things to do. I prep and cook the food and if I'm using the oven my hubby bends to put things in there and gets them out. We do work well as a team.

Pamper-session

My days are fun-packed. Yes, I do have days where none of this applies and those days are spent curled up on the bed with a book and a TV remote at my side. I call it a pamper session which we all need from time to time.

Editor's Note: We are heartbroken to share that Debz passed away in October of 2021. She is deeply missed but her positivity and resilience live on through her articles. Thank you for everything, Debz.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The COPD.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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kloker Member
I wasn't aware this was happening now, so I was very confused until I read the above replies. I miss her too and very much still appreciate the wonderful body of work she shared with us. It's kind of her family to continue to publish her work, and give us the opportunity to continue to benefit from her amazing insight. This is timely, as I am struggling at the moment due to having to adjust to this new med I'm taking - the beta blocker. It's working nicely to lower my BP a little and regulate my heart rate much better. But my hard-won sleep pattern progress is again disrupted, and I am frustrated. For the week or so since I started it, I am feeling groggy all day, dull and dim-witted, half asleep/half awake, having to interrupt and stop for naps repeatedly and then the naps are not helping. Aargh! I've struggled with sleep for years, as I spent most all of my working life working nights. Turning that around and retraining my body to sleep at night and be awake in the daytime has been a huge challenge and added to that is my now obvious apnea. I was just approved, after my sleep study, for a NIV home ventilator, but it has not arrived yet, so I am already in sleep limbo, and now this new med is further exacerbating the issue. So, all that is sort of piling on and making things somewhat difficult at the moment. With all that explained, I had my days in retirement all planned years ago, and had collected equipment and worked hard on building myself a serious hobby woodshop to enjoy. I now have an amazing (though unfinished) shop that I cannot and will not be able to use. So, to regroup and try to move forward, I have begun to liquidate all that, which is a task I'm not sure I will be able to complete. I'm also still waiting for an already approved POC to be able to get more of that done. Meanwhile I fell back on my old standby of leatherwork as a hobby. In my hoped-for future plan of moving to Waco and being near my kids and grandkids, and living in a one-bedroom apt., it will fit right in. I already have all I need to pursue and enjoy working with leather. A few of my machines will go to my son's garage so when I need to make something wood, I can. Assuming, of course, that all works out. Meanwhile, my daily life is not quite what I am shooting for yet, but I am trying to get there - I just have to wait for events that are dependent on outside influences to catch up. Geez, this is much more complicated that I had planned on. But I am trying to proceed apace. So, I'm trying to build and maintain/regulate a daily regimen where I sleep at night and have long full luxurious days of actually being able to do what I want, whether it is spending quality time with my offspring or working on projects, all the while having my days run on an even keel, while my health cooperates enough to let me have that. What I see now is that it's easier said than done. But I'm trying. In my best Joe Pesci movie voice - "Swear to God!" 
1. kloker Member
 <inline-mention username="Leon Lebowitz, BA, RRT" user-id="2445532"/> Thanks, Leon! So many clubs I have joined! This is why one of my favorite songs, by Lyle Lovett, is "If I Had a Boat." He is so awesome. Even plays a great Texas Ranger on Blue Bloods! I have all his albums too.
2. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Member
 <inline-mention username="kloker" user-id="4235094"/> Hey kloker - thanks for the response. Yes - I have seen him in ( I think he appeared in two different episodes, so far, playing that Texas Ranger), those episodes too. He really plays a good role - I agree!! I've always enjoyed his music too!! Regards, Leon (site moderator <a href='http://COPD.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)

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