Labor Day--A Holiday Read

It is the last holiday of the summer in the U. S., the last time to squeeze in a trip, a party, before settling down to autumn and winter. In a troubling economy many of us are opting to stay home. Whether you are staying home this Memorial Day or are laying on the beach, I would like to suggest a book for those who like to dream.

There has been a faithful following of the works of Madeleine L'engle since the 1960s. Her most popular trio was A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind at the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Yet in 1986 she added to this trio with a 4th book, Many Waters.

I bought a copy of all 4 books to read to my son back in 1992. We had a bedtime ritual that involved reading together before sleep. We moved about 4 times during that year so I thought the reading ritual was quite important. He enjoyed the first three books which I had also read as a pre-teen. The 4th book, however, was new to me and we never got around to reading it.

--And so the book lay in my bookshelf all these years.

I buy books for my classroom faster than I can read them, but this summer I did put a dent into that reading list . Many Waters was a magnificent discovery, a book that can cause and adult to wonder what if as well as a teen.

Though it was the 4th book in a series, the time frame is between A Wind at the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. If you are not familiar with these books, Many Waters is a strong stand alone book.

The twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys Murry, are the children of 2 scientists and are accustomed to their parents bringing experiments home. Unlike their brother and sister, the twins, aren't interested in these experiments and, up until this point, have avoided the adventures of their siblings. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, they miss seeing a warning sign on the lab door and are accidentally transported to a desert where small mammoths and virtual unicorns are as natural as lizards and puppy dogs in our world. Angels converse with people and stars sing at night time. --But times are changing and a massive flood is coming.

The Murry twins must find out where they are and find a way home--if there is a way home.

This book kept me trapped in its magic, long after I had turned the final page. "What if", I kept thinking, "What if Madeleine L'engle was onto something."

This was, without a doubt, the finest of the four books.

Listening to the Positive

People are funny. Well, you have to look at them with your sense of humor intact or you'll simply become frustrated.

I completed my first real week at the Wellness Center. I stayed faithful to my goals. When I walked on the scale--one of those giant things they use in a vets office--I noticed that my weight fluctuated from one day to the next. By the end of the week, however, I was 3 pounds lighter than the week before. It wasn't a lot, but I hadn't really changed my eating habits all that much, so I was satisfied. After all, the exercise program is about a lot more than losing weight. I have felt miserable for so long, I just want to feel good again.

I did exercise and show some restraint so I felt good about the results.

I mentioned the 3 pound loss to someone close to me. This person's response was, "That was probably fluid loss. Take a drink of water and you will get that all back."

Isn't it funny how some people respond with only negativity? To keep those people in your life, you have to learn to take their comments with a grain of salt--or maybe sugar.

I used to be that way, but I was in a dark place back then--very unhappily married. When I became happier, my attitude improved.

Anyway, I can't let this person's negativity get me down. I should also avoid drinking 3 pounds worth of water.

Setting Goals

May through August I felt like that guy on Office Space. Fan of the movie, know who I mean. A guy who hates his job goes to a psychiatrist and explains that each day at his job is worse than the day before. That means, on any given day he is living the worst day of his life.

When my doctor said I had to wait till I was worse before doing anything to get better, I battled a wave of depression. My future was to live each day feeling worse than the day before.

Then another doctor told me what I didn't want to hear. I had to do the best I could with the cards I was dealt. He gave me two specific things to do. 1) Take healthy body classes at The Wellness Center--formerly The Hope and Healing Center and 2) Start an exercise program several days a week at the center.

I assumed this would be like attending any other health spa or gym. I've been to gyms that give you a set of machines to work on and you are miserable afterward. Instead, I had trained professionals who worked out a program tailored to my needs.

Today I attended a class on setting goals. This is what I learned:

One should have short term goals that lead to a long term goal. That way you can periodically evaluate your success or failure.

Goals should also specific so they can be measured. Otherwise how can you monitor your behavior and see if you are on target?

The instructor didn't ask to see my goals but I will post them here.

Exercise:
I intend to work the water program at the Wellness Center 2 days a week & take a class, walk, and use the hand bicycle on Saturday. As an alternative I will walk at home.

Food:
I will have healthy, low calorie snacks in the evening (at least 4 evenings a week) instead of high calorie, unhealthy snacks.

I think these 2 goals can be easily measured. I hope they will be 2 steps toward the long term goal of regaining a healthier body.

I hope it will work. Wish me luck.

Hope & Wellness

My 6 month physical was Friday. When you are my age, the last thing you look forward to is a physical. I feel like an old car with a mechanic who is bound to find something wrong.

Still, I made a New Years resolution and this blog is supposed to keep me honest. I wanted to do 2 things this year, improve my physical health and my financial health, too. I'm halfway through 2010 and it appears that I keep banging my head into a brick wall on both accounts.

--But I haven't given up on either goal. I found a venue for advertising the business I want to start, but the space I thought for the past 6 months that I might be able to rent, just pulled out of the deal. I am still looking and perhaps soon a new space will be found.

On the health issue: I haven't felt well for about 5 years, though now I realize that I had symptoms for much longer. Doctors gave me a clean bill of health time and again. Then there was a breakthrough. I had a diagnosis. I was sure that would mean that I would soon have a treatment or a pill and would begin to feel better.

Unfortunately, that was not going to be the case. At this point, there is no medical intervention that can be done. I was crushed, feeling that each day would be worse than the last until I was so ill that I could receive necessary treatment.

Fortunately, my doctor threw me a life saver--but not before giving out some tough love. He said that, for whatever reason, my body was flawed and my only choices were to work with the cards I had been dealt or to do nothing and continue feeling miserable and helpless. He suggested I join the center's wellness program. This would be a time consuming program involving health classes and an exercise program.

Take the cards God gives you. That was the advice I told my son about 15 years ago when he struggled to read and found he had dyslexia. I told him that I didn't know why he was made this way and had to struggle so hard to do what others found so easy.

Now my own words had come back to haunt me. These are the cards I am dealt. To fight the depression maybe I can build up some endorphins with exercise--perhaps stimulate my metabolism at the same time.

Can I do it? Can I find the time and the energy to do what I need to do? School starts next week. The first few months of school are the hardest.

Maybe posting this blog will help.

Book Travels

I had a rather uneventful summer--had to work--no vacation. --Not too different from a lot of Americans. Fortunately my job has allowed me about 2 hours a day tending to napping children.

I wanted to rest. That's really what summer is about--escape and rest from the normal working world. Some escape in a movie theater. Action and adventure movies are most popular during the summer.

Others like fantasy video games and can play them for long periods of time. --And they have every right to do so.

I wanted to rest and renew in a peaceful place. While my students slept, I spent the summer visiting Mitford, NC. I escaped the hot Tennessee summer in the cool, rolling hills of a sleepy little town. I worshiped with Father Tim in The Lord's Church and was a tourist in his community. When I finished reading the Mitford series I was sad. So nice was the respite from my real world.

Then I took a brief break to a lake cottage in Wilson's Cove, OK. This was a tourist town in A Time To Heal, by Linda Goodnight. I enjoyed this book because of the setting. Adam, my son, and I have taken several trips to Natchez Trace State Park in TN. We enjoyed the lakeside cabins or the scenic lodge. We have enjoyed those brief respites and felt our spirits renew.

Ah, I hope I can take such a trip again soon. Maybe I will rent the cabin for grand kids someday!

Okay, maybe these weren't real vacations, but it was a poor girl's escape. With a little bit of luck and a prayer, the family reunion in October will be the rest I need to get me through until next summer.

In Stitches

In keeping with this year's theme of health I will share my latest medical adventure.

Well, one of my medical problems has been corrected. The dermatologists removed 2 cysts from my scalp. It was an in-office procedure--not a big deal. It was kind of interesting non-the-less.

The doctor put local anesthesia in my scalp--like the dentist puts in the gums. My heart instantly started to pound and I prayed that I wasn't going to stroke out, right there. Amazingly, they took my blood pressure before I left the office and it was normal.

Next, was the incision. Of course, I felt nothing. It was the sound, however, that I found intriguing. I could hear the grating of the scalpel moving against my scalp. It reminded me of that faint sound made when cutting apart chicken before cooking it.

One of the cysts came out with ease. The other was more troublesome. --But the good news is that the dermatologist feels that the cysts are not cancerous. The cysts will be sent out for tests, but all indications, so far, is that everything is okay.

The doctor cut away only a little bit of my hair, so when the stitches are removed and I get a trim next week, there will me only a little indication that anything has been done at all. Yah!

For now, I am donning scarves. I don't want to scare my students with the stitches in my scalp or the messy medicine in my hair. The children seem to find the scarves festive.

The children are curious, though. One of the cysts was in a noticeable spot. Perhaps I will make my unveiling a sort of teachable moment to help with their own fears of visiting the doctor.

July 4, 2010

What can I write that hasn't all ready been written? Entire books have been written about our forefathers, our freedom, our wars, and our history. What can I say differently?

As a little girl I was taught patriotism right along with reading, writing, and math. We sang rousing patriotic tunes about our country, Texas, and our forefathers. That's just the way things were in Texas in the early '60s.

The innocence of the '50s was fading and people understood the flaws and corruption that exists among our country's leadership. Now-a-days such a thing is accepted, but in the'60s that was a grand disappointment. Patriotism suddenly seemed naive. People began to feel that this country didn't deserve respect.

I have traveled throughout this country and abroad. Something interesting that I have discovered is this: all countries have corruption. Despite the corruption, people love their counties, their land, their homes.

Today I was a part of a very patriotic church fellowship. I enjoyed singing patriotic songs, both old and new. I loved seeing children waving American flags and wearing red, white, and blue. I watched the big screen and saw pictures of men and women in their uniforms.

I am glad patriotism has returned to our country. I hope it remains.