Not My Week

It's a cliché to say that I don't like Mondays. I mean, who likes the start of the week?

I had a great weekend, getting chores done around the house, hosting my parents for an evening of relaxation, and spending time with friends, kayaking on a new waterway and enjoying a great lunch afterwards.

Along the Clyde River, in Lanark.

Sure, I was exhausted after we finished lunch. DW had to drive us home because I seemed to lose all energy. I slept all the way home, for about 40 minutes.

The nap recharged my batteries enough that I could help DW unload the kayaks from the roof of the car and put everything away, but as soon as that work was done, I had enough energy to get to our family-room sofa and pass out.

I slept for about five hours.

Though I was drained for the rest of the evening, I felt that the energy that I spent, doing something I love with friends I love, it was worth it. And I told myself that come Monday morning, I'd be recharged and ready to tackle the work week.

I was awakened with a startle just after 5 in the morning. Our sibling cats, Cece and Finn, were fighting and tearing around in our room, and back and forth in the hallway. Shaking, I got up, shut them out of our room, and tried to get a bit more rest before DW's 6:45 alarm sounded, followed by my own, at 7.

My morning ritual started per usual: shower, dress, teeth, hair, shave. Once ready to go downstairs, I go all the way to the basement to take care of the cats' litter boxes. I then go to the kitchen, wash my hands, and return to the basement to retrieve the frozen fruit that I use to make my breakfast smoothie.

I loaded up the blender cup with the fruit and protein powder, and just as I was zipping a bag closed, my hand slipped and I knocked the cup over, spilling blueberries, raspberries, pineapple chunks, and protein powder all over the kitchen floor.

That was not part of my routine.

It made a horrible mess. The blueberries scattered everywhere and I had to sweep out from under our oven (it could use a cleaning, anyway). The protein powder was the worst, clinging to the hardwood floor and getting in every nook and cranny that it could find. I had to sweep everything into the compost and then mop the floor.

As soon as everything was cleaned up (and time was past when I usually start work), I started the process of making my smoothie all over again. Carefully, this time.

By the time I got back to my desk, I was already tired but I powered through my morning tasks. I was grumpy from my mishap and tired, and I had a lot of work on my plate.

Not what I wanted for a Monday.

By the time that my first meeting came up, I was noticing that my Internet was coming and going. Every few minutes, I was being kicked off my work VPN. And just as my meeting started, I was kicked off and nothing worked.

By the time the Internet was restored, I missed my meeting, so I let my team know what was going on. And an hour later, just before my next meeting, I lost connectivity again.

DW, who also works from home, decided to pack up and head to a local coffee shop, where she could continue to work, but I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I took a 30-minute nap.

When I awoke, the Internet was back and I had a message from my doctor. The results of my CT scan were in, and I finally learned what was going on with my lungs.

The scan showed that both lungs were partially collapsed. No wonder I'm always out of breath and tired. I didn't doubt that it was also affecting my mental capabilities.

I spent the rest of the day, online, with my manager, who was showing me how to do his job while he'll be on vacation for a couple of weeks. I told him about my health situation, to keep him in the loop.

By the end of the day, I was tired and did very little in the evening. My Monday sucked.

On Tuesday, I had a lot of work tasks to keep me busy and I thought that if I kept focused on my tasks, it would be a good day. But the Internet was still intermittent and to top things off, the hydraulics on my office chair failed and my seat dropped by about six inches.

My new phone, which was promised for Tuesday, didn't come. It was the only thing that I was really looking forward to.

So much for Tuesday.

Yesterday, our new Internet service provider showed up. We weren't particularly happy with our current provider, as the service wasn't always reliable, as Monday and Tuesday showed. By lunchtime, we were on the new service but my work computer had some glitches that I needed to sort out. For one thing, certain connections didn't work while I was connected to the office VPN. But I also learned that our office was also having problems with the Internet, which probably was the cause of my woes.

All the while, my tasks were piling up and it was the last day to lock things down with my manager before he was heading on vacation.

Also yesterday, I was having a particularly rough time with my lungs. I was always out of breath and was coughing a lot. I called my lung specialist's office to see if he had my CT scan results, and I learned that he had received them last week.

And he didn't call?

We've booked an appointment but it's not until early July. I asked that if there were any cancellations before then, to contact me.

So much for Wednesday. Although, my new phone did arrive. As of writing this post, I'm still making sure that I can sign in to all of my social-media apps and that I have the phone set up like my old one.

Today, I'm hopeful that things turn around. The Internet, so far, seems to be working. I've repaired my chair—though, I don't know if the fix will hold—and I'm trying to not let my lungs bring me down. I'm going to tackle one task at a time and hope that nothing else comes to my desk until I've made good headway.

Sometimes, it can be hard to stay positive. This week has been a test, but I move forward, one step at a time.

And with any luck, I'll get through this week intact.

Update:
This morning, the lung specialist's receptionist called. Apparently, when the doctor learned of my follow-up date, he told his receptionist that the July date wasn't acceptable and that he wanted to see me ASAP. The appointment was moved up to tomorrow (May 31), at which time he'll also conduct a capacity test. Wish me luck!