Health vs. Wealth
In an effort to stop my roller coaster ride of back pain, I decided to try the four hour work days suggested by my doctor. I had previously dropped down to six hours a day hoping that the 10 hours less per week wouldn't devastate our budget. I was still in a lot of pain and ended up with another flare up that made me miss a day of work which hurt the budget even more. My boss agreed to let me try the 8:00 AM to noon shift on Monday through Saturday and I've done it for a week now. It has made a huge difference and while I don't like to admit that the doctors were right, well... they were. And now that the back pain is at a tolerable level, I have discovered that I don't hate my job, though I still strongly dislike certain aspects of it. This back issue has given me a whole new perspective on the impact that chronic pain has on a person's life. I don't know that I could ever find the words to adequately describe it, but it's not something I want to return to experiencing any time soon. But the memory of that impact of pain is something I need to keep in mind as the bills pile up because I've already been sorely tempted to go back to working longer shifts. Not because I want more "stuff" - I've never been a big fan of "stuff", but because we need to keep this roof over our head and the utilities paid. It was tough before and I don't know how we are going to do it with me earning half my usual income, but I guess we'll find a way. Plus, now that I'm not in constant pain every waking (and sleeping) moment of the day, I have little bit more mental capacity to figure out a workable budget. Wish me luck...