New chemo, minimal side effects, and meditation

I took the new chemo on Tuesday and it was uneventful. It's a lot like the temazolomide that I took for a year in that I take the zofran and then the chemo pill 30 minutes later. I didn't feel nauseous, even though the zofran bottle says I may need it every 8 hours. I felt well enough to go to work all day on Wednesday. I did take off today, however, because I have a pretty full day tomorrow and I don't want to overdo it. As far as side effects, already everything tastes blah and no food sounds good. Smells are also an issue already. I accidentally skipped lunch today, thinking I wasn't hungry and could get by with a snack. Jason (again) treated me like a little kid, fussing at me for skipping a meal. He's using negative reinforcement to get me to change my behavior. For those who weren't psychology majors and those who haven't taken my course, that means that when I start engaging in the behavior he wants (i.e., eating more), he will stop nagging me and treating me like I'm a toddler. That's negative reinforcement- removing an aversive stimulus to increase a desired behavior. I guess that's what I get for marrying a psychologist. 

Another side effect I saw coming is the constipation. How did it start so quickly?! I had been taking the pills I was given before the surgery and all seemed like it was going well. I took the chemo, then I missed one morning pill, and BOOM!!!! And so now it's a blog topic again. Some things are so predictable, why didn't I just not skip that one pill? What was I thinking? It's just one little, harmless pill. If only Jason would nag me about that! 

I'm also trying to stop watching the news. On the one hand, I want to know what's going on in the world. On the other hand, everything is such a mess that I have trouble stomaching it. I think I just don't need to introduce negativity. As a countermeasure, I've been studying up on Buddhism and mindfulness meditation. Shout out to Sue W. and Bob M. for input in this effort. I also ordered some mediation supplies and have begun to practice. I pulled out a mala bracelet that someone gave to Aidan when he was born (it was purchased for him in Asia), it has a monkey engraved on it since he was born in the year of the monkey. I showed it to him, told him the story, told him what it is for, and then asked him if I could borrow it until I got my own so that I could count out my mantras. The boy said, "No! That's mine and I want it!" And then he physically took it from me. He's now thinking about his own mantra and wearing it around, so I figure that's a win. However, now I have to find and order a mala. I guess it was time to give it to him, even if I didn't realize it. These things have a way of revealing themselves.