Reflecting On My Week Long Staycation
My last vacation was December 2019 when I went to Montreal. It has been too long since I have taken a mini break from work to decompress. Besides Covid-19, a lot has happened, my mom’s cognitive health is gradually declining.
I had a lot planned in my mind that I wanted to accomplish during my stay cation. I was off to a strong start, and the first day focused on ME. I was so motivated with my #Whoop stats below, and wanted to achieve the same momentum the remainder of the week, but sadly that was not meant to be.
My mom was starting to become agitated and more aggressive. I kept telling myself that she would snap out of it but the few minutes became few hours then few days. She started to develop a lot of anxiety that was leading to hallucinations. I briefly met up with friends, but I was becoming apprehensive to leave her alone because she was trying to get out of her hospital bed below. Her actions (see photo below) was starting to give me a lot of anxiety. I was unable to communicate with her and she was getting to be physically aggressive too. Thankfully, my best friend came to my rescue at 10 pm that Sunday evening to give me some piece of mind and to try to pacify my mom.
The next day was not any easier. My mom continued to be cognitively challenged, and even convinced she had to go to the hospital. I called 911 and the paramedics arrived to examine her. Fortunately, everything was normal including her EKG. A few hours later, she woke me up at 4 am thinking she was “dying” and that freaked me out a great deal. Her physician and I decided it was time to change the dosage of some of her medications, and hopefully with time that will help.
As a caregiver, I am trying something different to motivate myself- adding time to my calendar for the following:
Working out
Meal prep
Dinner time
Yoga/Stretch time
After recording my podcast episode with Ty- “You are the CEO of your Life” I was inspired to make small changes to my daily schedule. I think by adding these calendar items to my daily schedule, it will help me to develop and maintain healthier self-care habits. Fitness is important to me because I see my mom struggle with balance and mobility issues. I realize that by investing in my fitness journey now, it will save me money in the future with prescriptions and copious co-pays for medical visits. I do get frustrated when I do not workout as much as I used to, but Ty convinced me with the following quote-
“Fitness is a journey, it is not a race. It is a journey because you will learn more, so take your time, and enjoy the moment.”
– Ty Gilbert, Fitness and Lifestyle Guru
This staycation taught me that every moment is precious with my mom. There are circumstances beyond our control, but it is important to stay positive and invest whatever little time you have in yourself.