Chiropractor Visit, Goodbye Substitute Teaching, and Loving Retirement

 

Joe makes friends with the Chirporactor's dog. Immediately!

At some point on our recent trip, I developed a sharp shooting pain in my right thigh. As a result, I have not been able to walk my steps goal everyday which makes me feel grumpy. Today, I saw a chiropractor and am so happy that he identified a hip flexor issue. I had a 20-minute electrical treatment with a hot pad and an adjustment. Armed with an exercise that I am doing every thirty minutes during waking hours, I am feeling tons better.

I am a bit achy, but I have not had the sharp pain I was feeling before the visit. The chiropractor said the car trip was partially responsible and that my walking so much prior to the recent trip may also have contributed. We are getting me healed and then I can return to my daily walking with the understanding that I will slow down by adding 100 steps a week instead of per day to my goal. The chiropractor I saw today explained that the reason one should do the stretches recommended is because the treatment by a chiropractor usually lasts about 1 ½ hours before the body wants to return to the state it was in.

It appears that I was also walking with a slight forward bent. That was my body and brain’s way of compensating for the pain. So, I am standing tall now and I love the feeling – I think I regained my ½” of my 5’ 2 ½” height.

The other good thing I did for myself today was to call Teachers on Call and let them know I wanted to be removed from their substitution list. When they asked me if I just didn’t want to work with them, I explained that it wasn’t them. It was me. I went over my concerns and anxiety around all the rules for student engagement and how fearful I was that I would accidentally do or say something that would cause problems for Teachers on Call and for me. The woman I talked to said she understood and would have my name removed from their records by Monday.

For now, I am going to work on healing, physically, and improving my overall stamina. From there I can decide if I want to find a volunteer position in our community. I have not been bored in retirement. Then again, I am not sure I’ve had time to be bored. Between getting ready for the move to Minnesota, our three road trips this year, and getting settled into our temporary living quarters, I haven’t had long stretches of time to fill. I sure do like reading a book or watching a show whenever I want. I also like the freedom I have when booking appointments for self-care. No more trying to balance a work life with my personal life. It is very freeing!

Getting out of bed in the morning when I want, taking a nap whenever, and going to bed later than 8:30pm are all great as well. If I wake up in the middle of the night and want to read until I fall back asleep I do it without worrying that I won’t be rested enough in the morning.

Going into retirement, I wasn’t sure how it would work out for me. I have worked for so long and being a creature of habit, I thought I’d miss working. Nope. Not one bit. Retirement 1, Employment 0.