A Stack of Forgotten Papers / by Juhi Kunde

[NikoleV]

A Stack of Forgotten Papers

December 17th, 2012 - by Juhi Kunde

http://blog.lungevity.org/2012/12/17/a- ... en-papers/

Usually, my holidays are full of fun. My favorite part of the season is wrapping the presents my husband and I buy together. But this year, I have to do the shopping while my husband is away on business. That means I am faced with the daunting task of managing coupons – by myself.

During the rest of year, I am not that good at keeping track of coupons anyway, but during the holidays there are even more ways to save and it drives me crazy.

Yesterday, I was in line at Target and I managed to use two coupons I clipped from a mailer plus I got 5% off for using my Target Red Card. Of course, I was also hitting the store’s sale racks and I had even used a couple of digital coupons from my phone.

But I still left the store disappointed in myself and wishing my husband had been there to help.

You see, I had forgotten a stack of manufacturer coupons on my kitchen counter.

So there I was, digging through my purse looking for them when the cashier started looking pointedly at the line growing behind me. Eventually, I gave in to the pressure and signed for my purchases.

It is a lot of work to make sure that you have the right pieces of paper, the right technology and the right date, time and location to optimize a shopping expedition.

In fact, when you are trying to optimize anything, it is a lot work to have every single duck lined up. And just one wayward duck can leave you feeling ineffective and exhausted.

Of course, saving 50 cents on frosting is nothing compared to the stress of optimizing a visit to the oncologist. No one wants to be sitting in the doctor’s office when they realize they forgot important paperwork.

Being diagnosed with lung cancer can be overwhelming in itself but then adding the daunting tasks of tracking appointments, organizing medical records and timing medications could make anyone want to hide under the covers.

That is why I am grateful to the wonderful caregivers – our husbands and wives, our friends and children – who help us manage it all.

To all those strong people who keep us organized, focused and moving forward – I offer a heartfelt “thank you!!”

Do you have a special person who helps you keep it all straight? Leave a comment telling us about them or nominate them for LUNGevity’s Lung Cancer Caregiver Contest!