Souvenirs from my Cancer ‘Adventure’ - On the Road Again!
I did it! I actually traveled for business. What an incredible and simultaneously anxiety producing feeling. There is nothing like the camaraderie among a talented, passionate, technical team striving for perfection. There is also nothing like managing my nerves as I emerge from this strange time of COVID.
And now that the world too is returning to whatever version of normal we are now left with, it’s time for me to be back in the world too. But where’s the line of what’s safe? Darned if I know. I don’t want to be foolish, but I also didn’t go through hell to spend the rest of my life in a box either.
I’m triple shot. I mask. I wash my hands. I try to be only around those who are vaccinated. I distance as best I can.
And then, I grit my teeth against my angst and push myself to do what I know I need to do if I want any kind of a life. Go to a restaurant, but politely ask the server to mask. Plan to attend my nephew’s wedding, while choosing the latest in wedding accessories, a pretty mask. Get on a plane. Stay in a hotel. Go to a store. Situations that should not take a second thought, now require consideration and preparation.
The mantra during ‘the Adventure’ was Onward! And as I push myself back to life, into situations where discomfort and anxiety are the rule of the day, I need to remind myself of “Onward!” more than ever. Onward through Cancer, Onward through Survivorship, Onward through COVID and beyond.
Onward!
For More Information:
Managing social anxiety: How to regain the ground you’ve lost due to COVID-19 - https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/managing-social-anxiety--how-to-regain-the-ground-you-have-lost-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.h00-159460845.html
Cancer and COVID-19: 7 Ways to Cope with the Anxiety - https://www.foxchase.org/blog/cancer-and-covid-19-7-ways-cope-anxiety
Loneliness, Anxiety Felt by Many People With Cancer During COVID-19 Pandemic - https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/loneliness-and-anxiety-felt-by-many-with-cancer-during-covid-19
