You summed it up here pretty well. I no longer have a garden, a garage, a shop, no dog kennels, pigeon and quail cages, bonsai trees, no more fishing and hunting, I downsized about 10 years too soon. My mind still thinks I have a busy life when in reality, I do just a little bit more than nothing. Having no routine is turning into a routine. I found something this morning that was interesting and is also very basic to health. I looked up “ can lack of sleep cause facial twitches?” The answer was yes, and how it can also be aggravated by too much caffeine. My average sleep is under 5 hours, and I drink a pot of coffee every day. This is something I could fix immediately!. I don’t have any problem sleeping, I have a problem staying in bed.
It would not be that difficult for me to actually design a new life style that included adequate sleep, proper diet, exercise, a specified time for a creativity, some intellectual stimulation, and some social interaction.
You might want to look into volunteer opportunities. Volunteering will allow you to use your creative energy in a way that benefits others and strengthens your sense of purpose. Something physical like trail maintenance will add in the benefit of exercise.
I don’t have quite the same list you do, but I recognize myself in your post.
As to this bit:
Designing it is the easy part. Actually generating the gumption to do it and stick to it is my downfall. I’m enjoying the sensation of zero obligation to anyone or anything too much to pile obligations on myself. That’s almost certainly unwise. But here I sit.
Being Calvin on summer vacation sounds fun … when you’re five. It will come back to bite us when we’re retirement+ aged.
Washington Post gift link, requires registering unfortunately https://wapo.st/435pqTs
Relevant portions of long article:
Medical Mysteries: After two years and eight doctors, the reason for her face twitching was surprisingly simple
In July 2024, McInerny got an appointment with a different type of doctor at Mayo, a neurosurgeon. At her visit, Fredric Meyer called up a fresh MRI image he had ordered on a screen and pointed to what he said was causing her spasms: an artery compressing her facial nerve. It could be surgically repaired, he said.
McInerny couldn’t believe it. “I had been told, over and over, that I didn’t have any reason for this that could be fixed surgically,” she said.
Meyer recommended microvascular decompression, an operation in which surgeons open the skull behind the ear and lift the compressing blood vessel off the nerve, putting a material between the two structures to prevent contact. He explained that there were risks, including small chances of hearing loss and facial weakness.
Hemifacial spasm typically strikes in middle age, and women are twice as likely to develop it as men, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
When McInerny woke up, her spasms were gone. More than a year later, they haven’t returned, and she is back to socializing like she did before. “The surgery gave me back my life and future,” she said.
That was very interesting and a very strong possibility. My Dr. did suggest the problem was something pressing on a nerve behind my ear. But his solution was botox. I need to see a specialist . I will pursue this.