Slogging

Slog: To plod (one's way) perseveringly especially against difficulty.  

That sounds about right these days.  When I compare how I'm feeling at the end of week 2 of the treatment cycle now relative to earlier cycles, I definitely feel a deeper head-to-toe fatigue than before. Everyone predicted there would be a cumulative effect and I guess that's what it must be.  Sure hit me hard on the tennis court this morning, as I struggled to move my feet to where they needed to be to hit the ball.  

It reminds me of the effect of higher and higher altitude pressing down on the head, the lungs and the body, and just making it harder to function with precision and the normal 'bounce'.  I've been thinking back to the Jones Boys' trek up Kilimanjaro (December 2000-January 2001) lately and how much of a grind the latter days of it were.  Our motto was 'Pole, Pole', Swahili for 'Slowly, Slowly', which served us really well when the going got tough.  

As much as it all feels more and more like slogging, I'm reminded that I have so much to be thankful for - the fact that we have such an incredible network of friends and family around us and lifting us up in so many ways, and that my new job and workplace have given me such a rewarding cause to invest in and amazing team of colleagues to come alongside.  Life is so good!  It's just that I have to embrace a slower pace than usual these days.  Pole, pole.  One step at a time.