‘My ALS Calendar” Chapter 112

As we close the chapter on another year and a new year begins, we often set our focus on new goals. Maybe you plan to eat better, save more, or pray more. Whatever you decide, most people will unfortunately fail to meet their goals. However, every day you wake up is a new day to start over.

An "annual calendar" refers to a calendar that represents a single year and needs to be updated or replaced at the end of that year. We circle birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and other significant dates.

A "fiscal calendar" is a customized date range used by a company or organization to define their annual financial reporting cycle, essentially allowing them to choose a start and end date for their fiscal year to better align with their business operations and revenue cycle. You will find the stock market uses quarterly reporting. I personally worked with this while working for the Army on the budget.

The shortest of these calendars is the Advent calendar that counts down the days leading up to Christmas. It usually starts on December 1 and ends on December 24 or 25. The purpose of an Advent calendar is to visually show how close it is to the birth of Christ, which over time has been commercialized by Santa and gifts. I personally like both purposes, and especially the Advent Christmas calendar where you open a small gift every day. These are sold in many stores, and most are filled with chocolate. However, in recent years I have found some with little toys, alcohol, and other items. This year I received my calendar from my daughter, and it was seeds. Each day I open a new envelope filled with different vegetables, herbs, and flower seeds.

Although I still use the annual calendar and enjoy the little gift each day during Advent, there is only one calendar that truly matters.

The day the doctor told me I had 2 - 5 years left to live, I stopped looking very far ahead and started using what I call my "ALS Goals Calendar." I Use this calendar to set daily, short range (up to 1 month), mid range (up to 3 months), and long range (beyond 3 months) goals. Every night I pray with faith that I will wake up the next day. Then I look to see what appointments or events are coming up, and I wonder if I will have any issues that will prevent me from being where I need and want to be. My mid range goals start with how I am feeling the day I am scheduled to attend whatever is on my calendar. How strong am I feeling and my faith that I will be there. The long range events in my mind are “To be determined.” 

Before my ALS diagnosis, it was nothing to plan one year out, and sometimes I even set five year goals. I never worried about waking up the next day, and I was excited to go to work and meet my goals. Five year plans helped me focus on my future. My goals now are much more seasonal.  For insurance, in the Spring I focus on starting my garden with all the new seeds. The Summer will harvest and the Fall will be setting the garden for the winter. 

However, there is one last calendar that all PALS focus on the most, although it’s not a true calendar and instead features a countdown without dates. The ALSFRS-R is a simple, validated, and reliable tool for evaluating decline in function. Scores decline with disease progression. This is the only calendar you don’t want to use make your appointment or achieve your goals. As I watch my score count down, I wonder what will happen when I get to zero. Will my time run out, or will I have more time? I know I can’t hit restart with this one or go buy the next calendar as I did before. Failure is not an option. It is inevitable, though, and what can I do? 

Regardless of whether its the last day on the calendar or I reach 0, every day I wake up is one more day to achieve a goal. What is on your calendar? Do you have dates circled or have your goals set? Whatever they are, wake up every day and accomplish something.

Love and Blessings 

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