Here’s one of those posts as my husband would say where you can see how I think and make random connections. And this one is random. Between storms this week and upcoming surgery here’s the connections I made.
We don’t like being told things. We like to do what we want to do and it can be frustrating when we can’t do what we want.
As a manager of two facilities (a fitness center and pool) I saw this firsthand. Our members had routines and didn’t like change. When we reopened after the Covid shutdown, we had new rules that had to be followed. Most members followed these new rules with no problems, but we had a few challenge or question these rules.
Swimmers had to sign up for lanes ahead of time. You couldn’t just show up to swim like in the past. But one fitness center and pool member had a problem with this rule and would enter the pool to complain about this policy almost every day she came to work out. Rules are rules and no exceptions but these lead to multiple arguments between this member and myself and our athletic director.
Then there was a member who would sign up for one lane and go to whatever lane she felt like. In the fitness center when masks were required we would frequently have the chin wearers while they worked out and myself or staff would have to walk up and remind them masks go over the mouth and nose. The mask one really drove me crazy!
And the last challenge with members was thunderstorms, a pool manager’s least favorite part of the summer. The rule was 30 minutes lightning and thunder free before re-entering or entering the pool. Members would tell you “there’s not thunder or lightning out anymore.” You still have to wait the time out. And sometimes I would literally stand outside sometimes watching for thunder and lightning (there was an awning outside my building) just to make sure a storm was out of the area.
Some members would not like the fact they had to get out of the pool and I get it, it’s disappointing you can’t finish your swim. Others understood even if they showed up only to find out they can’t swim. Others were more difficult. One member berated my staff and we had to call security. He later contacted the college president because he had to stay out of the pool during a storm. Yup these are some of the crazy things I’d have to deal with.
So where is this going you ask? We all know The Rolling Stones song “You can’t always get what you want.” Sometimes we can’t. Sometimes we have to follow rules we don’t like and can’t do things the way we want. I’ve seen some pool members respond with no issues and others create issues. We all respond differently but we have to follow rules and what we are being told by an authority figure.
I don’t want to have surgery. I don’t want to be limited and in need of help. But it’s necessary to remove the cancer and also reduce my future risk. I didn’t want to go through 16 rounds of chemo especially the first half while pregnant but I had to and thankfully I have a healthy baby boy and the tumors have shrunk. I needed to trust and listen to my medical team even if the things they were telling me were difficult to hear.
I don’t want to have to ask for help but will need it as I recover from my mastectomy. I don’t want to not be able to pick things up or have limitations. I could risk hurting myself or setting back my recovery by not following the rules or just take it easy so I can recover quicker even though it will drive me crazy to not be able to do much initially.
Our pool and fitness center members must follow the rules we have for our facilities. They may not like all them but the policies almost all revolve around their safety. Myself and the college would also be liable if we did not have such safety policies in place but some members never think about that, they just want to use the facility at the time they come they way they want.
I’ve learned there’s a reason for all I have been asked to do throughout this treatment and it has worked. I may not understand some of it at the time, but I still have been doing what has been asked of me.
I had my pre-op appointment this week which eased some concerns but also raised others. I know it won’t be easy to follow all the restrictions but I must. Just like all our members must follow the rules even if they don’t agree with them.
You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need. I need this surgery, I don’t want it. I want remission and an end to this cancer and that is what I will hopefully reach after this surgery. And there’s my random connection between pool rules and my surgery.
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