The first week of 2018 has been an interesting one in several ways but positive. On a general health level I have made good steps forward. I started walking in the evening less than two weeks ago, at first fairly slow by my standards and not very far, perhaps one kilometre to start with but the difference it has made is enormous. I have always known that my mental health improves when I walk as I t helps me to sleep and gives me a feeling of general wellness. I am now up to doing the full five kilometre walk I was doing back in November, not as quickly as before round one in May but at a reasonable pace which I am proud of. This should also help me to shed those few kilos which I have put back on over Christmas and the new year period.
A new chapter has also begun in terms of my health management. On Thursday I had my first appointment with my new GP. She will never be like the previous one and I know I will never have the same sort of relationship as I have enjoyed with her but feel I am still in good hands. I must say her very direct approach came as a little surprise, she wasted absolutely no time in getting me on the bed to have a look at Kathy’s handy work but offered a fair assessment of progress and some good advice about keeping it going so on the whole I think it will not be as bad as I thought. I would like to think I can get away from the regular visits I have had to the doctors over the last twelve months or so and move to a more normal situation.
Later this week we are heading down to Esperance for a few days. Esperance is probably my equal favourite place in the world (along with Busselton of course) – the town, the friendliness of the people and most of all the amazing beaches and scenery are just spectacular. We are staying in the same apartments we always do which are close enough to town to walk but far enough out to be quiet and we always get well looked after by the owner. It will also be good to catch up with my cousin and her family and introduce them to Stephanie. Esperance also holds a special memory as it was the first place I went out in public as Stephanie just over a year ago so it will be good to revisit the same places again one year further on, much more confident and at ease with myself.
Hopefully when we get back we will be able to make some progress with the Nannup build. I will be pretty restricted with what I can do but hopefully I can do some coordinating with the various tradespeople we use to get things moving. The windows should be ready at the end of the month so the next job will be getting them fitted and the cladding on the walls. We are so looking forward to getting it completed and spending some time in our dream place. We have so many ideas and plans to put in place to make a very special place indeed – one to enjoy ourselves, and also to share with friends.