The Day Before Chemo

The day before chemo.

Impending feeling of dread.

Anticipation. Of Unpleasantness.

Hope. A flickering flame.

The flame is not extinguished.

Hope. For better days.

For Answered Prayers.

The day before chemo. The agenda.

A to do list and a Prayer for healing.

It is the day before chemo. I have woken up too early. It’s a common occurrence for me and rather annoying because it means I will likely be tired throughout the day and not functioning at optimum capacity. Which is irritating because I always have a long list of things I want to get done before chemo starts. I always pray that the side effects won’t appear or that they will be minimal. I am definitely handling the chemo quite well, but so far there are still side effects. Tomorrow will be my sixth treatment and I have found a rhythm to the cycle of chemo. As much as I don’t like having side effects, it is somewhat comforting to know that there is a pattern and know what to expect. But at the same time I have a feeling of dread because I know how I’m going to feel like tomorrow. Worse still, I know what I’m going to feel like on the weekend, which always when I feel worst. Of course unless there’s a miracle that is different to previous weeks. I always hang out that this might happen, even though I’m grateful for small miracles that my symptoms are less than they could be.

The weekend was very pleasant full of family celebrations and church family. But it’s over now and it’s the day before chemo and there is a long to do list to conquer.

Todays To Do list:

Getting ready for school.
Lunchboxes made. Instruments and music books packed for music lessons at school. Making sure kids are dressed and beds made and bedrooms tidy before they leave. (We don’t always achieve those last two chores. Perhaps because I’m not naturally tidy I find it really hard to teach my children to be tidy.)

Laundry.
Washing and folding. Because it never ends. Also as the week progresses I will feel far less enthused about keeping up with this never ending task. And given that my appointments are all in the morning, it can be quite challenging to get the washing done before I leave. If the baskets are as empty as possible at the beginning of the week it will mean there will be less to catch up on next week.

Menu Plan.
At the beginning of the week I’ll have enough energy to cook meals from scratch but as the end of the week progresses I will be relying on as many cheats as I can. Thankfully I have a stockpile of freezer meals at the moment due to the kindness of my brother cooking up some meals for me. (In sous vide bags. He’s loaned me his sous vide this week, so this will be my first venture into this French way of cooking!) I’ve also got some meals from a local restaurant that does home cooked meals thanks to the generosity of a beautiful group of people who pitched in to buy some vouchers for us. The menu plan will help me know when to get the meals out to defrost and what I need to get from the shops to accompany the meals. I also need to take stock on what supplies I need for the kids lunchboxes during the week. I have a few frozen biscuits that someone has kindly baked for me, but I do need to stock up on some savoury supplies to balance out the sweet for the kids.

Declutter.
It’s no secret that tidiness is not my strong suit. I’m always on a mission to rectify the problem. It normally feels like a losing battle. Since the children have gone back to school this year, I’ve been a bit more systematic and I feel like I’m making some progress. So on the agenda is to get one more area decluttered.

Appointments for children.
I need to pull two children out of school for a couple of hours to take them to a paediatrician’s appointment that was booked six months ago. They aren’t happy because it’s during their morning tea break so I will have to swing by Maccas on the way there and see whether a McFlurry will appease them for missing out on playtime!

Grocery shop.
To stock up on fruit and snacks for lunchboxes and all the missing items that we’ll need for dinners during the week.

Update chore chart.
My kids have a weekly chore chart, but it needs updating because some of the jobs aren’t working on it and some jobs that I’ve had on the chart previously need to make a return.

Pick up kids.
Pick the kids up from school and do our afternoon routine. Washing lunchboxes (their job!), music practices, jobs and most importantly playing! I’d like to do some baking with someone to have a bit more for lunchboxes during the week. Baking is one of my joys in life and I find it’s a great way to bond with the kids when we bake together.

Dinner and Night Routine.
I’m anticipating that by the time the day has ended I’m going to be feeling pretty tired since I woke up so early so I’m hoping that I might get a little bit of relaxing after dinner in front of the TV. I’d like to watch The Amazing Race Australia with the kids, it’s been Alex and my favourite show ever since season one aired in the US. I love it that they could still do it in Australia last year and even though they aren’t racing around the world it’s been great seeing so many iconic Australian locations. After that, hopefully I’ll be able to get to bed and then fall asleep! Just because I’m tired doesn’t always mean that this little night owl sleeps when I go to bed!

So that’s my day! What are your plans today?