MrsBrown's philosophy of life and stuff

I've been planning to write this for a few days, but it seems to be making me cry and I have better things to do with my energy, so this is now a list of the things I can do, rather than mourning the things I can't.

I got Covid on Oct 12, took antivirals and was not very unwell at all.  I spent some time over the next few weeks noticing my excessive heartrate and my need for an afternoon nap but had plenty of days when I felt fine and tried to do all thie things that were most important to me - picking up grandchildren on my bike (the 3km bike ride version, not the 30km version I had been doing each week), making dinner for the family once a week, moving into my new kitchen, going shopping occasionally. 

I'm now having my second crash in energy since then.  The first came after a 8km bike ride, when I spent 3 days extremely fatigued and this time after christmas when I thought I'd been careful but felt pretty good so probably kept going when I shouldn't have.  Anyway, I spent the past few days thinking about all the things that I'm not sure I"ll be able to do and it's terrifying.

Anyway, here's my new, couch based lifestyle plan.

Working - I can do almost all of my work while lying on the couch.  I'm not sure that it's a great use of my energy, but my TPD insurance will only cover half of my expenses. Which would be useful if I was really ill, but I can still work from the couch and I have my life set up so that I don't have to work full time.  I'm even more annoyed that when I applied to double it last year it was rejected - full rest might have been a really good option.

Cmmunity activism - Can also be modified to be a mostly couch based activity.  I seem to feel better in the evenings, so I've been able to attend meetings without obvious ill effects the day or two after. I was hoping to be stage manager for the community festival MrBassman and I have been part of organising, but February might be too soon to expect to be better. 

Grandmothering - This is hard. I can't stop myself from over exerting myself when it comes to meeting the needs of my grandchildren.  I had to cancel a caring session on Saturday because I knew I was too exhausted.  I guess I can arrange to hang out with them in their own home, or with another caregiver.  I can probably also do sleepovers and an hour or two some evenings. This feels like an important time in their lives to enjoy hanging out with them, and one that is worth prioritising. I particularly hated my 8 weeks on the couch with a broken foot for the grandmothering I missed.  I'm also aware that a solid commitment is harder for me to make right now, even if it's more useful for my kids.

Bike riding - I can do pootly rides up to about 2km round trip where I just gently move my feet enough to enable the electric motor. It's easier than walking.  I can take a child on the bike for short distances.  I can sit on the back of the bike and be ridden places, but none of my family members are as keen as I was, so they won't ride as far.

Gardening - Everything is mostly in place for summer, but there's a bit of weeding and pruning that needs doing and I'm not really up for.  Is this something I can make part of Rose's gap year personal development? OTOH, when I have Rose working on something she needs to have a body double or she'll just stop.  Maybe I'm just asking for over exertion if she does that.  Hmm, maybe that's how to get my Dad involved in the Rose Gap Year Plan? Or I need a gardener.

Rose Gap Year Plan - Planning this can be done from the couch.  There is a support worker I can make use of for some of the outing based stuff and MrBassman is always good for transportation.  The plan is to set up a bunch of activities, courses and life skill development so that Rose is able to find her own things to do, interests to follow and ways to earn money.

House Renovation - After a quick discussion, it appears that if I threaten to hire a tradesperson to do a task I would normally do, MrBassman loudly proclaims that he can do it.  I'm just going to have to ask for help with the furniture moving, and keep the tradie threat in my back pocket.