Is the nickname I gave Andrew, one of our male cats. It's because he's a bit portly, like his father, yours truly. However, Andrew's nickname is not the impetus for this particular column. The impetus for this column is my tendency, as the primary (almost exclusive) buyer of miscellaneous household goods and to a lesser extent, services, to buy in bulk/quantity, not necessarily quality; although that's a subject of a long-ago column and perhaps a future one as well - dare I cross that Rubicon again, and one that has earned me this identical nickname to Andrew.
As a cancer patient originally diagnosed as "terminal" - at age 54 and a half, eight-plus years ago, time becomes an integral/essential part of your life; what there is of it presently, what you have been told you have left of it and what you - in your wildest dreams, every day and every night, hope you actually get to do: live a relatively "normal" life expectancy.
Even though life has gone on years past my original "13 month to two-year" prognosis, I still struggle with the emotional yin and yang of whether I'm closer to the end or further from the beginning (date of diagnosis). And is so struggling, everyday decisions that might have a time element/time-sensitivity to them are complicated. Is it necessary to do it/buy it/obligate myself to it now when the benefit might be later? A later I might never see? If I'm trying to enjoy life in the present as much as possible to fend off the inevitable and relentless stress that a "terminal" cancer diagnosis imposes, then how does a future benefit help me now?
As a few examples and finally to the point of this column: buying in bulk. 240 dryer sheets - for two adults, one of whom works at home and doesn't exactly get dressed for it, 90 tall kitchen trash bags; we use one bag a week, and that includes bagging the cat litter - for five indoor cats, paper towels - enough quantity that we could likely wrap them around our entire house if we had to; toilet paper - is sacrosanct, one can never have enough in stock; and tissues/Kleenex - given how frequently my eight-years-of-post-chemotherapy nose runs, constantly - is also sacrosanct (although I can always use toilet paper, paper napkins or paper towels in the pinch; not exactly the same pinch as if the toilet paper inventory runs out, however). Naturally, these items are all non-perishable so their life expectancy is not a consideration. But since mine is, sometimes I think I need to buy them or else, because when I do need them it will be too late.
As for perishables, obviously it makes little sense to overbuy (expiration dates notwithstanding, except mine). I can't eat all the food quickly enough anyway (another point of contention from a previous column), although I may try. But even I know, in my cancer-induced haze, that spending money now on an unpredictable future though penny-wise and beneficial in some emotional ways, might be pound-foolish. I need to feel good today - period, not feel good today about something I might benefit from tomorrow. I mean, how else am I even going to get to tomorrow? Don't I need to filter out potentially harmful/debilitating mental and physical images/impacts and try to live as unencumbered as possible (to invoke one of deceased father's favorite words)? Cancer is already an uphill battle. If I don't want to live the legendary life of Sisyphus, pushing a figurative rock up a hill, only to have it fall back down time and again, I need to find a way/strategy to both manage my budget and control my mind. Obviously, I want to live like I have a future, but not at the expense of my present.
You can call me "Bulky Boy" all you want, but "crazy-kookie" not so much.
"This column is my life as one of the fortunate few; a lung cancer anomaly: a stage IV lung cancer patient who has outlived his doctor’s original prognosis; and I’m glad to share it. It seems to help me cope writing about it. Perhaps it will help you relate reading about it."
Mr. Lourie’s columns can be found at www.kennywithcancer.com