I started 2006 quite enthusiaticly, I took out a gym membership and organised my calendar for the year including scheduling holidays for the whole of October. I planned to give myself a good holiday away.
I was turning 50 in March and thought I would enter my 50’s with a celerbration and make sure I enjoy this next phase of my life. Before the New Year I had visited my friends in Melbourne and we had planned (as we would all be having 50th birthdays) to get together and make it a big one.
However, after starting my gym program I found I really wasn’t doing very well and decided it was probably time to go and have a general health check up…I mean how could other people older than me be handling the circuit so much easier than I was! And thats where it all started……….The afternoon of my check up I got a call from the Dr’s surgery saying please come in straight away! When i got there the Dr said “You are extremely aneamic, here’s a letter go straight to the hospital i am asking them to assess you, you may need a blood transfusion!” So, off I went, 5 hrs later and a lot of toing and froing and test taking and more blood samples, an ecg etc, I was sent home with an appointment to come back in a couple of days to get to the bottom of why I had become so aneamic. Anyway, there followed more appointments, Iron tablets, blood tests, hormone treatment, and ultra sounds. The aneama did improve but I was still having trouble maintaining good iron levels and by the end of the year it was off to hospital for surgery and six weeks recovery time.
So that put an end to my October holiday plan
Work during the year was difficult and I didn’t really have the energy or enthusiasm to put a lot of effort in and just did what was necessary most of the time. Indeed I have begun to wonder whether I really want to stay at this job. I am becoming tired of putting a lot of effort into things that are poorly resourced and being required to work at levels beyond what I am paid to do. Increasingly I am being expected to undertake extra things that are not renumerated. Unfortunately this is very common in community organisations and a lot of us end up burnt out. I have worked at the same place for the past 10 years and I’m thinking maybe this year it is time to change…we shall see.
I have met some wonderful people through the work that i do but for some reason the Health and Disability sector seems to attract a high percent of difficult to work with people as well.
On the social side I have not done a lot this year…I postponed my birthday as when it arrived I was laid out on the couch not feeling at all well. I did drive to melbourne and attend my friends 50th and that was fun.
I continue to live in my own house and have a lovely view everyday….my kids are great and I see them at least once a week. My son finished his degree and did well and my youngest, Penny, although not the best or most helpful housemate usually makes me laugh everyday. I have made some new friends and I have re established contact with old friends.
When I look back over the past 6 years I have actually done a lot, so one slow year isn’t so bad. If I google my name, I actually have a small trail of things to leave behind.
So, I will head into 2007 with renewed plans and take up again where i started at the beginning of 2006. I have friends and family who care and opportunities to take up if I want to.
So really , Life is good!