Carol,

I can agree with several of the comments made above. One of the things the cancer experience did for me was to serve as a brutal reminder of the importance of savoring every day. As I looked back at my "old normal", I realized there were parts of it that weren't all that great (like being a slave to my job for far too many hours a week). The new normal for me has developed into a combination of a more realistic workload, travel to great places, volunteer work for several organizations, singing regularly in a choir, learning to play the pipe organ, gardening and growing orchids as a hobby -- and, like Eileen, noticing the birds in the back yard. If someone offered me a chance to have the "old normal" back, I wouldn't take it.

Cathy