Update: A "new" normal is my goal ...

I facilitated session #1 of our new "Questions People Ask About Death and Dying" class last evening. Today I was back in my office, and actually got several pastoral care items taken care of. It all felt good.

The number of get-well cards that Liz and I have received continues to grow (and we are so thankful to all who have sent then with Facebook "likes," texts, emails and calls). However, seeing, greeting and talking to people "live" and one-on-one today was a blessing. I relished every single personal contact today!

I worked until a little after 2:30 PM, including time for a healthy lunch at Old West Cafe. I knew I was starting to push it a bit, so I headed home. It's sort of interesting and yet annoying, that you "feel" the fatigue coming on, or it blindsides you.

Focusing mentally was a bit of an issue today, perhaps because of fatigue, or from being away a lot during September and part of October. My main focus remains on pastoral care and on our upcoming worship survey, and yet my guitars started calling out to me, as well as several future projects that require my attention. I'd forgotten the number of people, to-do's, and projects on my plate, plus personal/spiritual time and reading I use to handle before my surgeries.

Time now for a new more focused list of action items (remembering my doctor's advice, "plan for half-a-day, and be satisfied with accomplishing half of that" ... in other words, despite my love for my iPad, it's time for some old fashioned pencil/pen to paper right-hand-to-the-brain time.

Action Item #1 ... Start working toward what I call my "new normal." That will be a bit difficult to do, as it looks more and more like my radioactive iodine treatment won't be until late November. Normal may have to wait a while. I'm putting some thought to the reality that I may have a series of "new normals," which may be easier to deal with.

If nothing else, I appreciate and understand process.

So for right now, I think my new normal for the next few weeks will hopefully include: (thus the purpose for this blog entry ... make all this a matter of public record!)

1) Make every effort to work a full morning at the church, followed by a more quiet time in the afternoon in my office or at home

2) I know my energy level is down, but my reading needs to continue, and I need to start working on action items for a few projects that are now more "time-crunched" than others, which will include delegating certain things to staff and ministry area/team leaders. The other projects will have to wait, but they are pretty much 2013 stuff.

3) I need to take a book of the Bible, and get after some more focused study. That always involves pen and paper. Something about writing something down on paper (notebooks / journals in my case) that helps my mind ponder an idea more clearly.

4) Choosing to work on my music again, scratchy voice or not. If not guitar, then continuing lessons on the Native American flute. I'm to the point where I need to use the flute for the meditative benefit of the music. Again another pen / paper exercise, writing down words and flute tablature.

"New normal," here I come.

God's grace still amazes me ... ><>