Back to the Basics turning back the clock

I have finally realized that the approach I took with my Cancer is NOT the approach needed to grasp and get the Sjogren’s under-contol.  Being stubborn and strong minded that for me happened to run in both sides of the family, I ended up pushing my body far past its capacity.  It became apparent in the middle of the Fall 2012 (October) that my body hit the wall.  I tried different things to get back to what I thought was normally or what I was before 2008.  Living as close to normal as possible got me thru the Cancer dx and initial treatment, but the problem is I was in denial (a blissful denial) of the cancer and attempted to live like nothing was different.  Problem, it was different my body needed doesn’t respond like it used to, pulling all-nighters, working 100 days straight was normal, staying up late getting in work early.  I tried desperately to hang onto life pre-2008 but that chapter of my life has been closed.  

The after effects of the aggressive treatment I went thru with no time off except for the 3 weeks off with my bilateral mastectomy and the diagnosis of Sjogren’s Syndrome has played a role into where I stand today.  In the past Christmas break almost a month is when I re-energized just like the summer to prepare for the upcoming Season.  Spring 2012 I was nailed walking pneumia and basically had to call work then to take the next four days off, before my doctor’s would allow me to live.  They knew I pushed things to the limit.  This spring my body basically checked out after 3 to 6 hours, I never recovered from the Fall.  As each month passed it got worse, extreme fatigue had set in and doesn’t seem to want to part ways. 

I have been battling within on disability or thought it cause if you don’t it is like your giving in, thrown up the white flag, dug your grave, well you the point.  My body went a little over board in convincing me it was time to apply the brakes to the Nascar and get into the horse and carriage.  I had a skin reaction and the swelling got really bad, before I was just a little puffy but then my joints became inflamed decreasing my mobility.

Since 08 Carrie and I have often discussed how we would like to live our life, well it looks like we are very close to beginning his New Approach on life.  I guess it is really more of turning back the clock to how our grandparents lived when it comes to wear our food comes from.  There was no Wal-Mart just a general store, food was grown by the family, eggs came from the roster house, milk from a goat or cow if you happened to have one or delivered in a glass jug, vegetables came from your garden, fruit from the trees in your yard and berries from the woods or from a nearby farm, and meat came from hunting or fishing.  When one did go to the store it was to pick up flour, sugar, rice and other base items.  One would also trade other items for things they needed kinda like the show on Nation Geographic Life Below Zero.

Growing up my job was to feed the chickens and collect the eggs.  My dad wasn’t a hunter he often worked night shift and did odds and end jobs to make ends meet.  My mom raised the chickens and killed the chickens as well as maintained a huge garden, canned, maintained the yard while teaching her children.   In the summer time she took us fishing and crabbing, we didn’t have a boat so she would have to buy the shrimp.

Carrie and I have decided are goal is to go back to the old ways, deer meat, seafood and our own garden vegetable.  Trips to the farmer market or farm to pick are on fruits and vegetables.  Processed food and our bodies do not see eye to eye majority of the preservatives and pesticides used on mass produced food aggravates are digestive system.  I can hear the yeah right, yes I may occasional eat at my Favorite sub and a steak at least once a month, but no more since it really hurts when I do but damn if it doesn’t taste good.

Never really hunted as a child but I am a natural left and right hand with the bow and arrow, Carrie on the other hand did hunt squirrels and birds in her prime youth.  I do remember going hunting a few times for squirrels and rabbits with my dad when I was little.   It shouldn’t be too hard to shoot and aim but one must learn the art of hunting which shouldn’t be hard especially since I know several expert hunters. (um yeah Boo, might need some lessons).

I figure we want having any problems keeping the garden weeded and the eggs collected, I have 2 workers in mind under the age of 18.   It will be fun rounding everyone up to crab like the old days at the end or the beach.  Saving money to get a Carolina swift boat to fish, crab and maybe learn how to shrimp.   The hardest part is I will not be able to as much as I use to do, but I have a few candidates in mind a few houses down to help.  

Besides hunting we can also go in together with some other cuz purchase a pig at the market, bring it home and have a pig killing.  I can hear some laughter coming from people, but that among other get together is what I remember in my childhood

·       My mom and Grandma P wringing the neck or chopping off the chicken head, the one I miss the most was the Roster with the Talons from Hell, Boo should remember him the one we took to Farm Day at school, mean SOB had to take a frying pan when I went to get eggs, had to knock him hard twice going in and twice going out.  Boy did he put up a fight, wringing his neck failed, and the ax wasn’t much better, damn thing ran around like 10 minutes blood squirting everywhere and he looked like nearly Headless Nick from Harry Potter…lol before he finally dropped.

·       Sitting on the back porch plucking feathers off

·       Scaling fish

·       Deveining and taking the head off shrimp

·       Cleaning Crabs that we caught

·       Watching the uncles gut the pig

·       Sitting in at the kitchen table with Rosie making sausage

·       Learning to make biscuits with Grandma P

·       Watching Grandma H walk at her back door with a gun and take out a couple of squirrels and skinning them on the back porch

·       Being scared for life when I looked in the pot at Grandma H house and eye balls popped up..ugh

·       Shucking corn

·       Stomping grapes when dad decided he was going to make wine…..Instead of wine Carrie will be brewing some beer.

A slower and more simply way of life, sitting on the deck listening to the chirping and croaking, feeling the wind rustle past you off the water, seeing trees, smelling pollen and actually seeing starts, spending a lazy day fishing at the pond, riding in the boat at night, a midnight swim in the pool, hopefully will help to get the body back in line and make it easier in dealing with my Sjogren’s and my overall health.  I have to figure out how to get back on track before the cancer returns so I can have the strength to fight just as hard the first time around.  Looking back the doctor’s and I have determined I had the Sjogren’s in elementary school, around 3^rd grade was the beginning. There is one Summer that I had no issues, it was 2000 when I was a camp counselor at Camp Seafarer, best summer of my life.  Yeah it was work but it didn’t feel like work, my skin issues cleared up, had absolutely no digestive issues, and limited to no stress.  I also can’t even recognize myself when I look at some of the photos, damn I get dark spending every day outside.