We're playing those mind games

Mind Games - John Lennon

We're playing those mind games together
Pushing the barriers planting seeds

Through my treatment I have been focusing on maintaining my physical well being and recovery; making my body stronger to get back to where I was when cancer came into my life.    Getting back to where I was for me is a way to take control and recover the year.     It's easy to test out how that it progressing.   I can easily see physical signs of recovery in my body but also test out my stamina and energy levels.    But it's not all that I am.

Any illness or traumatic experience also requires healing the mind.   How do I recover a year of brain disruption, stress and chemical assaults to my brain?   I've tested out the chemo brain recovery before through a couple courses while I was still in early stage of recovery post intense chemotherapy.     The ability to work through those exercises was a barometer to help me measure where I was in my recovery.   I could see some improvement but little has stuck with me.  I learned more or less what I needed to work on and that I shouldn't push it - recovery would come with time.   Recall and sustained concentration is the big test.  

Filling out forms and navigating government websites is a great way to stretch the brain in those areas.  Try registering for your personal accounts for CPP and CRA (for Canadians).    Looks easy but I guarantee is a good test for everyone and the bonus is that you can find out what the government has planned for you in your retirement years.    I've also started playing chess again with my son,  pushing myself to complete impossible jigsaw puzzles within a given time-frame (don't laugh, these aren't simple puzzles), doing some pre-tax financial planning.   I've been stretching my skills when it comes to word processing and languages.   I'm learning sudoku and started to volunteer with community services centres.   When I need assistance, my helpful crutch is my Blackberry.  It is the extension of my brain and I can rely on it to function with consistency- thank you RIM.  

The kitchen presents a multitude of opportunities to test out multi-tasking,  creativity, memory and planning.   Going back to a recipe 4 times to reconfirm measurements one by one is getting to be a bit onerous.   Every now and then I get a reminder to slow down and ease up on the reigns.  Fortunately no major burns or poisoning issues but the other day I popped my dogs allergy pill in my mouth instead of the piece of cheese that we were going to share.    Don't worry I caught myself and made the swap.   A sign to step back and adjust.

I'm happy to be finding my way out of the fog; but then a foggy day has some benefits.   The need to focus on the present, remain open to the unknown that comes ahead, and keep the ones you love close.   There's a bit of magic listening to those fog horns.