This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases, at no cost to you, made through these links.
Years ago, when I was pregnant with our first child, my boss told me to “listen to your body.” Because of that advice, on certain days when my scheduled allowed, I’d zip home between clients and take 20 minute power naps on the living room floor. While that boss provided input into my professional development, her advice from one mother to a soon to be mother has stuck with me. My body had probably told me a lot over the years prior to pregnancy, but I never listened particularly well.
The initial cycle of Taxol, Herceptin and Perjeta was scheduled to be on Tuesdays, so I could attend an event. Clinic days for my medical oncologist are Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Thursdays worked better with my work schedule. The plan was to work Monday-Wednesdays and not see clients on Thursdays. Normally Fridays are my non-client days, but I continued to leave that open since I didn’t know how I’d feel.
My routine became weekly Taxol treatments, go home, shower, get into my pajamas, take a nap, have supper, then call it an early night. On Fridays, I’d see a client but otherwise would leave that day open for my usual non-client work. The weekends meant rest and recovery in order to gear up for work on Monday.
I decided to read the Harry Potter books back to back since I had to wait for each book to be published when they originally came out. While I wouldn’t necessarily nap, reading a book instead of listening to an audiobook, which has been my normal consumption method of late, forced me to sit. I rationalized that if I was sitting, then I was resting.
Week 1 passed, and I completed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Week 2 passed, and I finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. As the cumulative effects of Taxol started to build within me, I found myself resting more. Just like movies that they inspired, the books get longer as the series progressed, so I was surprised to have finished the Harry Potter series back to back in 6 weeks. As the chemotherapy started wreaking havoc on my memory, I found myself relying on the movies to recall what happened within the novels.
If not for cancer, then I know it would have taken me a long time to sit and read the books consecutively.
*I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
