Back to work!

I am ready to head back to an environment that suddenly seems as foreign as it will be familiar. Whether from anticipation or apprehension, the thought of going back to work kept sleep at bay much of the night and then pulled me out of bed earlier this morning than I have rallied in weeks. Today's challenge will be in the pacing.

My focus during recuperation has been necessarily internal; listening carefully to my body to mark each signal of progress, allowing rest when needed while working to reach the next level of endurance and well-being. My main accomplishments on many days were to eat enough to regain strength even when I had no appetite, walk a little more than the day before and rest without napping so much that I couldn't sleep at night. I welcome the opportunity to focus on external issues and put myself in the background.

This time at home has also reinforced an appreciation of myself as a social being. I draw energy from engaging with others and working together on common goals. My need for outside stimulus has manifested itself in the curtailment of my blog posts. Some of my falloff in posts was due to just not feeling well enough to write, but my sheltered existence also reduced the stimulus for my reflections.

I promised myself, and Tom, to ease back into my work routine this week and not overexert. My hope is that any slowness of my pace will be of my own volition and not because I am not yet up to it.