A Day in the Life

(Update, April 2023)

Wakey, Wakey
A typical day for me usually starts between 0500 and 0530. I’ve always been a bit of an early riser, even when I was a kid. The first thing I normally do is head to my office and start checking my e-mail. After a good chuckle to start the day off right (gotta check out my daily comics), it’s time to get something for breakfast.

What I have for breakfast depends on whether or not I am going out for my walk that day. If I’m not, then it’s usually just a bowl of cereal (with or without milk, depending on my mood). If I’ll be walking that morning, I usually try to have something a bit on the lighter side (maybe a CLIF bar) just so I have something to give me a bit of energy. After eating, I try to wait at least 45-60 minutes before going out for my walk. If I go out too soon, I tend to cramp a bit and can get nauseous.

Regardless of what I have for breakfast, part of my daily routine is taking my vitamin D and vitamin B12 supplements. As part of my initial round of blood tests with my neurologist, my vitamin D levels (41 on a scale of 30-200) and my B12 levels (214 on a scale of 200-1200) were on the very low side. Vitamin B12 is a key contributor to the health and function of the central nervous system (kind of a big thing with MS). Vitamin D helps with the immune system. In fact, there have been many studies that show low levels of vitamin D can lead to a higher risk of developing MS. Since I’ve been on my vitamin regimen my D and B12 levels have been well within the acceptable ranges, with the B12 frequently being over 1200, which is acceptable as B12 is a water soluble vitamin and any extra in the system is processed through the kidneys and passed through urination.

What’s Happenin’??? It’s Game Time, Yo!!!
After I eat breakfast, I head back to my office and start checking other things. I’ll see what the final sports lines were from the night before and check out some of the posts on those I follow on Instagram. I’ll check out the latest news headlines* a couple of videos on YouTube and finish up with checking my e-mail.

*UPDATE, April 2023: I have all but removed reading/watching news information from my daily routine. Frankly, it’s far too much stress and a lot of what makes headlines does not directly impact either my wife’s life or mine.*

Now that I’ve gotten caught up on the news, it’s time for the favorite part of my mornings, and that’s games. I play the daily challenges for three games every morning like clockwork: Microsoft Mahjong, Microsoft Solitaire and Microsoft Word Games. I think one of the main reasons I like to play these games is that they keep my mind active. Mahjong doesn’t usually give me any problems, even the expert puzzles. Solitaire, which now includes Klondike, Spider, Freecell, Pyramid and Tripeaks is a lot of fun. Honestly, Klondike is the most boring of the five, but it can still provide a challenge once in a while. By far the hardest ones are the expert Spider challenges. Once in a while I’ll get stumped and have to find a video on how to start solving it. After a couple of hints I can usually get it, though.

Of the three games, I think I like Word Games the best. I always loved playing Scrabble as a kid. When my family was still living in Connecticut, prior to moving to Florida, during Thanksgiving and Christmas it would always be me, my mom, my sister, and my grandmother playing Scrabble. I played Scrabble a few times with Lisa and her family. We haven’t played Scrabble for a while, not since the ONE time I was able to defeat Lisa’s dad. He’s ultra competitive, especially when it comes to games (PARTICULARLY Scrabble), and I don’t think he could stand the fact that he lost to a guy who only had a high school education. After he left the table in defeat, everyone secretly cheered behind his back :)

Word Games has three different games, Wordament (Boggle), Word Twister and Crosswords. I like Wordament the best, but Word Twister gives me the hardest time, especially the expert puzzles. On many occasions I’ve had to find the answers online to those puzzles. Even some of the crossword puzzles can be a stretch for me sometimes. Google is your friend on those days.

Time to Walk the Walk
Fun and games time is over. Now I need to get off my ass and get moving, in one way or another. I go out for my exercise every other day. I don’t like going every day because I want to give my body time to recover, especially on days where I go a little harder. I only go walking, as I have a balky right knee that dates back to before I was in the Air Force (running has never been a friend of mine). I managed well for most of my time in the military, but since then my knee has had issues, especially when I forget to where my Copper Fit knee sleeve. It really is amazing how much of a difference that can make.

My routine entails walking around my neighborhood. Over time I’ve found routes to take that give me a good round number when it comes to distance (I’m a bit OCD that way). I will typically go for at least two miles, which takes me 30 to 35 minutes, depending on how I’m feeling at the time. The farthest I’ll venture is 3-1/2 miles**, which puts me at just over 50 minutes. If it’s really humid in the mornings, which it typically is in Florida, I’ll stick to about 2-1/2 miles.

**UPDATE, April 2023: During 2022, I starting prepping myself for a 12-mile walk in September 2022, in support of my fellow MS friend Eliza. She was raising money by walking that distance around London, however the event was postponed due to the untimely passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I still partook in the walk on the originally scheduled day and was able to finish it in a little over three hours. I was very sore for the rest of the day and weekend, but I’m so happy I was able to complete the 12 miles, especially to show support for my friend. Eliza was able to complete her 12-mile walk when the event was reschedule a few weeks later. I was beyond proud of her, given her condition.**

Get to Work!!!
Once I’ve finished my exercise (or just my games), it’s usually time to head out to the workshop. Depending on what I’ve got planned, I may only be out in the shop for a couple of hours. I can spend a whole day out there sometimes, if I get in a groove and lose track of time. I always stop for lunch, though, because I don’t want to overwork myself and I like to get caught up on the local news. Not to mention, by that time I’m getting hungry and often frustrated with my current project.

After lunch, I’ll head back into the shop and try to finish up what I was working on before my break. Speaking of breaks, I have a really bad habit of not stopping often enough to take a quick five to ten minute break and grab some water. At one point, I was setting an alarm to make sure I stopped to have a water break. I’ve since stopped that, as I’ve gotten better at taking breaks.

I’m trying to get in the habit of slowing myself down in the shop, too. There have been times when I’m walking around the shop to grab something and I’ll trip on a cord on the floor, or something else that may be in my way. When that happens, I take off my safety glasses and mask and just stop for a minute to gather and remind myself to slow down. Rushing and not paying attention in the workshop leads to accidents (ask me how I know).

It’s Miller Time!!!
I usually only work out in the shop until no later than 1600 or so. Lisa usually gets off work around that time, plus I’m usually getting tired by then anyway. I can only take so much time in the shop on that hard floor. Even with the floor tiles under foot, too much standing around takes its toll on my feet and back***.

***UPDATE, April 2023: I rarely, if ever, will work until 1600 in the shop anymore. I’ve learned that my body just can’t take that much time out there on the hard floor. The floor tiles are no longer in use and I employ just anti-fatigue mats now. Even with that, my knees and back can only endure so much.***

After shop time is over, it’s usually time for dinner and the rest of the evening is down time. Not much more work around the house will usually get done after I’ve had a full day in the shop. If there are chores that need to be done around the house, like cleaning, laundry or mowing the grass, these will take precedence over workshop time. I make sure to pull my weight around the house with chores since Lisa is the one working all day.

When it comes to the lawn, I can’t simply put it off until the weekend. It rains too frequently in the afternoon in Florida during the summertime, so I can’t put it off until the evening. I usually try to get the grass cut right after lunch. It’s usually not raining at this point in the day, and it hasn’t quite gotten too hot yet. I don’t cut the grass in the mornings because it is simply too wet, and I don’t want my lawn equipment bogging down on the wet grass. I make sure to be covered from head to toe to avoid the hot sun, plus I wear an Enduracool neck gaiter around my head and neck to keep me cool.

With my relapsing MS, I try to keep extra cool if I have to work in the sun. When I was recovering from my first MS attack in early 2013, the first couple of times I went outside to do yard work, without a cooling wrap or towel over my head/neck, I could feel it in my hands and neck. Ever since then I’ve ALWAYS kept cool when working in the sun for long stretches. Since my “full” recovery, I’ve gone a couple of times without a cooling towel and I’ve been fine, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.****

****UPDATE, April 2023: It has been a little over a year now, but I am no longer mowing the lawn at our house. We have hired out a service to do the job. The time in the hot Florida sun just wears me down way too much, not to mention ALL of my lawn equipment is/was battery-powered, and the sporadic rain showers are not a good thing. I’ve since sold the riding mower, however I still have the small push mower and trimmer/blower. We have plans for something in the back yard in the future, and those might still come in handy.

Along the lines of yard work, we have just gotten LeafFilter installed on the gutters of our house as well. Having MS and needing to climb a 10-foot ladder multiple times a year is not a good combination. Not to mention all of the constant climbing up and down would wear me out something terrible.****

In the End...
Well, that’s pretty much a day in the life for me. There are many days where I do not sleep well and those days make the workshop off limits. I simply will not go out and try to use power tools when I’m not well-rested. The chance for injury is much too great. If there is something simple in the shop, like cleaning and organization, then I’ll venture out there without a good night’s sleep. Otherwise, it’s a total no-go.

The same goes for my walks. If I’ve not gotten enough sleep, or I’m just not feeling up to it, I won’t bother with that either. I don’t like to get myself overly tired. On days like that, I will try to get some easier chores inside the house done, or I’ll be in my office most of the day. I can always find something to do in my office or online. Lately, I’ve been working on blog entries in my spare time.*****

*****UPDATE, April 2023: As of this update, I’ve started to step away from the shop for a little bit to focus more on my writing. There was a good year-plus, after writing Malaika’s story, that I didn’t do ANY writing at all. Lately, however, I’ve gotten the itch again, and I want to focus more on getting my big story off the ground.*****

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has not been much of a change to my daily life. I wasn’t going out all that much before this happened, and if I do go out for something now, I simply remember to bring a mask with me. As far as I know, I’ve not contracted the virus, and I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t know what types of things could happen with my condition should I get the virus, and I’d rather not find out.******

******UPDATE, April 2023: In December of 2022, both Lisa and I likely contracted COVID-19 while visiting her parents for Christmas. We very likely caught it from her dad, who is usually just a petri dish of constant sickness. It’s also quite possible we caught it from Lisa’s cousin and his family while we visited them for a holiday gift exchange. We already knew someone in the household was exposed to COVID-19, so we did everything outside in the driveway, but that might not have been enough.

Regardless, we both were able to seemingly fully recover. Honestly, neither of us took a test to confirm a diagnosis of COVID-19, but based on all of the other factors, it was likely what occurred, even though we were recently boosted with the vaccine.

Since the pandemic has, more or less, winded down, we’ve pretty much gone back to our “normal” lives as they were before all of the craziness. Truthfully, there wasn’t much of a change for us during lockdown than the way we were already living, with Lisa having worked from home for almost 10 years to that point, and me staying home and working around the house and my shop.

The isolation, more than anything, is what ultimately broke me and led me down a darker path which culminated with writing Malaika’s story. I was forced to relive some not-so-pleasant memories, but I was able to finally be at peace with Malaika after so many years. During that process of salvation, I was reunited with an old elementary school classmate who helped guide me along the way. I’ll never forget her for that, and I now consider her a close friend and confidant.

Things almost always happen for a reason.******