Take Good Care of Yourselves

This is a time in our world where so many of us are feeling lost, helpless, and unsure about what we can or should do. We, as individuals, need to find a way to meet our own basic needs before we truly are able to give our best to help heal our society.
People need to take better care of themselves. The question is, how do we do that?

" I don't have time, I am not feeling great right now, I am too busy taking care of everyone else. I don't have the right supplies, I need to work, I need to just spend all my time on my computer or phone". 

The list of reasons used to put your own real needs last is enormous. Have you heard about the procedure of putting your oxygen mask on yourself first during an emergency so that you can help others? We need to do that in our daily life so that we can keep going ourselves and be there to help others be well. I'll be the first to admit that I have in the past and still continue to struggle with taking the time and focusing on what I need at the moment and then to follow through and meet those needs. 

Through my various health struggles, I have learned that you start with ONE step at a time and build on what you learn and accomplish. I want to try concentrating on one topic or idea a week and try and incorporate it into my life. I know that it can take a long time to truly master some goals. Still, I am sure that even small efforts with thinking, learning and implementing will lead to positive changes. Maybe something that I share will inspire you!

I'm hoping others will join me in this journey so watch for "Take Good Care of Yourself Sundays." See what changes I am making to hopefully increase my ability to cope in such a challenging time and to continue trying to lead a healthy life.

Recreation therapy and other disciples break up our activities and our therapeutic goals into several categories of health that are intended to create a holistic approach to health and wellness. I sometimes use these as labels for my blog posts, and I also want to use them as ways to organize the topics and ideas I plan to investigate and work on.

Physical 

Social

Emotional/ Mental Health

Cognitive/ Intellectual Health

Spiritual Health 

Sometimes also considered are  

Environmental Health 

Occupational Health

Financial Wellness

Do you have any particular challenges you are facing? Do you have favourite ideas for self-care? 

See you this Sunday for the first 

"Take Good Care of Yourself Sunday."

Here Comes the Sun

The warmth of the past couple of weeks has caused the snow to melt here in Winnipeg. The grass is getting greener and there are birds returning and bunnies hopping all over the place. Spring has finally reached Manitoba!

The sun is peeking out intermittently today and my daughter decided that she would take a break from her work and take the dog out to play in our backyard. She said getting dressed, putting on her shoes and leaving the house to get some sun made her feel happier and a lot more ready to get to focus on work again. I teased her when she came back in by playing  Here Comes the Sun by The Beetles.

I love that song. To me, it says to hang on, it has been a long difficult period but that this too shall pass.

The first online handle I had was the nickname  Rainy Gal because it seemed like every time I went camping it rained. I first got dial-up internet around 1998. Things were very innocent back then and I became part of an online "web design and shared learning group" where we linked webpages in our private websites to form a "mouse village".  Yes, really a bunch of adults. There were people there with varied knowledge and info and I learned about initial set up of pages, graphic design, animation, and HTML and even learned some javascript skills.

Together we designed graphics and animations and had our mice do little activities like telling stories and creating new digital furniture and clothes for them and had them do magic tricks. They even got to go camping. We had little digital prizes and certificates for our mice and our fellow creators. We really learned a lot from and about each other.

One of the big online things back then was to program webpages to automatically open with little music clips. This was all before YouTube existed. I had about 20 mousey pages all with different rain or cloud themed songs that I coordinated with the graphics and page content.  One of my favourite pages had the song Here Comes the Sun playing and I placed a sun animation and added my little mice family creations, all animated to jump up and down in the sunshine.

 It was a happy time.

Perhaps this fairly recent Abby Road release will get this hopeful song stuck in your head.

Here comes the Sun

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun

And I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…

I had prepared a post about goals and planning but when I saw this TED Talk by Matt Cutts.  I thought this seemed like an interesting idea that I wanted to explore further.
I had made an effort through December to post daily. It did not happen.  I did post more frequently and I posted a lot more than before about my love of holidays and  I shared a lot more about my everyday life during December. I feel like that was a positive change. It also reminded me how much I like taking pictures and blogging.

This Ted Talk did not strike me as being just about goal setting or doing what is needed or even particularly self improvement. What struck me is that this might be more of a challenge to try something new and push through our comfort levels. If you give a project/change a try for 30 days and find you don't enjoy it... then you just learned something more about yourself and can move on. Maybe you will discover that you can say with pride "I did it!" even if you never want to do it again. Maybe you will find a new passion you want to pursue.  I love the idea of taking something I have tried briefly in the past and devoting a month to take it to the next level.

I do want to add that even with a one month project I still recommend using SMART goals. Check out the link to my blog post on the topic.

What shall we choose to try in next month?

The Christmas Season

I love Christmas and all the excitement that goes with it. I also get very stressed and tend to overshoot with my expectations.  I am not sure that is really a bad thing, more just who I am.
This year I still want to do everything but I am not moving my best due to arthritis and I am quite slowed down so I need to take it a bit easier physically. I think the answer is in pacing myself!

I like to be creative, I like pretty things, I like to make others happy, I love to celebrate.
I have lots of traditions to keep and new ideas to try things out. We tend to add things slowly over the holiday season and so there is always something new to see at our house.

One of my Girl Guide Leader friends posted 100 days of Gratitude on Facebook over the summer and fall. I know that it is hard to post so frequently so even though I thought about joining her I did not jump at the opportunity but the idea of posting daily has stuck with me.

I decided to post a Holiday Season Daily Post here on Leading a Healthy Life. I hope to share a bit about our family traditions, and share a few nice pictures and maybe give a few ideas for family and friends and maybe programs ideas for groups. My energy isn't great and we are having lots of non Christmassy challenges in our lives right now but that seems like all the more reason to embrace happy activities!

Please join me is celebrating this Holiday Season!

Jasper Dreaming of Santa on Christmas Eve 2015

Sharing New Ideas Here

I would like to start  sharing more of the resources and different projects I do with my art groups and some other therapeutic recreation interests on this blog.

I have felt very uncertain about putting actual programs up on the blog. It is a little bit unnerving somehow. Leading a Healthy Life is and always will be about my personal journey and the things I feel passionate about.  I have shared a lot of personal information here over the past nine years since I started this blog on the advice of my occupational therapist.

I keep thinking that I should open some kind of professional themed website or blog for the purpose of sharing recreation therapy ideas and local resources and yes, I do get asked once in a while if my projects or programs are on line for others to get ideas. I really don't want to divide my blogging efforts between two spaces but I have been a bit hesitant to let professional colleagues have access to my umm... vulnerable side which I occasionally share here.

The other side of the issue is that I think the programs I can share would be useful for some of the people who already visit this blog. People who have experienced some major life changes, caregivers and some of my friends might be interested too.

I have worried about this for a long time now and have finally worked it through in my own head. I am comfortable in who I am and I can own the experiences I have had. I have gone through a lot of ups and downs but I still keep going and the times when I have not coped well just show I am human and need support. That is not something to hide but something to be proud of.

I am looking forward to sharing some new posts with art projects, theme ideas and resources as well as more of the healthy living and therapy ideas I learn about on this journey.

I'm Back!

Hello!

It has been months since I blogged.  My last post  included the cliff hanger that I had received a termination notice for my job.

Yippee! I get to stay in my same job!  I had a term job while a staff person was away on maternity leave. When she decided not to return to her former position the situation changed and eventually my little part-time job turned into a permanent job. I am at work about 26 hours every two weeks plus an extra shift every once in a while.

When I thought my job was over I applied for another job as a casual employee at a different Personal Care Home and I got that job too. It is like being a substitute teacher. I get called to see if I can come in to work when regular recreation staff are on vacation or off sick. It is not ultimately a lot of hours but I am really enjoying working there too.

The other things I do each week include facilitating a weekly Art Group at the Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba, participating in a local community choir and I am still involved with Girl Guides.  I enjoy time with family and friends and I keep trying to learn new things. 

Guitar lessons are on the back burner for now. It just felt like too much for this year but I am not giving up permanently.  I dug out a book of beginner Christmas carols and I am playing and singing away when no one is at home with me except the dog!

I still spend a lot of time really exhausted and I have a lot of joint trouble now but I keep going anyway. I am trying to be very careful how I move and trying to pace myself. It is hard though because my heart and mind wants to try everything and do everything but my body keeps saying "Enough is enough!".

I have worried a lot about what to do with this blog.

The fact is that I am not all that up front at work or in professional situations about my health, my recovery experiences or my level of disability. I am not ashamed of who I am or what I have experienced but most of the time I feel like it is just too much work to explain my life to people. I also don't want to be judged and I don't want people second guessing my professionalism or my ability to do a good job based on the fact that I have had a brain injury.

I strongly believe in advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities or special health needs and I have felt very ashamed about my unwillingness to  be open and speak up for myself.  I was worried that other Recreation Professionals would only see my weaknesses and that no one would hire me and give me a chance to show my strengths.

I have learned a lot about health, recreation and therapy in the past couple of years and I do want to share what I have learned. I have thought a lot about opening a separate blog with ideas about Therapeutic Recreation but I think being true to myself  means that I should just keep going forward with this beloved blog of mine.  I want to continue to share my personal story but I also plan to write about a broader variety of recreational and leisure activity topics, health conditions and community resources. I want to share some of the fun activities I am involved in. 

The title of my blog still works for me.
I still want to write about Leading a Healthy Life.

Daily Blogging during April

I decided to accept the challenge of blogging every day in April for the Annual Health Activist Writers Month Challenge. It is organized by WEGO Health which is an online hub for health activists.  WEGO sends out a list of daily topics to write about and I think most of them are very interesting. I did this challenge before and I learned a lot about myself and about blogging. I have had a lot of different experiences in the past couple of years and I think I will be writing from a very different view point this time.

Todays Topic:
Wednesday, April 1

Wordless Wednesday!
Since this is the start of HAWMC, post a picture that shows how excited you are for the next 30
days. We always love a good Health Activist selfie!  #HAWMC

So here you go!  This is what I looked like yesterday evening.  I was playing on my computer and our dog, Jasper, decided it was his turn to get some attention. Jasper and I are all settled in for a month of cuddling and blogging.

So Many Little Changes

I have not written for such a long time and it has been good for me to take a break from blogging. I am still working at my small part-time job and I am gradually getting used to working. It seems to have changed a lot of the little aspects of my life.

Clothing.. I need more of them. I had a jeans, sweater and t-shirt wardrobe. Now I need dress pants or active wear clothing. I need cooler dressier shirts that are good for moving in a warm building. I personally need shoes that give really good support.

Sleeping... I need to get up at 7 in the morning and I have to be well rested. I go to bed .. start thinking and then have trouble falling asleep. Lately I am back to using meditation at night to try and keep me level.

Remembering... I try so hard to remember names and other information. I think I am doing better but it is still not easy for me when the pressure is on.

Meals... I need to pack a lunch and eat in a lunch room and that still feels weird.

Co-workers... really new to me and it is fun to have co-workers to chat with who are doing similar jobs. In my last working life I had a boss and no one working with me or under me.

Swipe cards.. I have to swipe in and out at work to track my work time... that is new to me too. I live in fear of breaking or loosing the thing.

Housework.. Not one of my priorities at the moment, but we will catch up eventually.

Fitness... This has two sides to it. My endurance has shown a huge improvement. My legs and hips are building muscles. The flip side is my knee and shoulder joints are getting worse fast. Arthritis is winning and I am back to visiting my doctor.

Paychecks... Direct deposit is good. I set up an account for my earnings and the amount is going up slowly. I don't work a lot so progress is not spectacular.

 

I know that none of this stuff is too exciting or too important- just part of my days now.

 

 

 

HAWMC Day 13: Health Acrostic

I thought I would try to  do today's prompt from Wego Health and it was harder than I thought it would be.

Today’s Prompt:

• Write a health acrostic for your condition, hashtag, or username! (acrostic = a poem where every letter of a word serves as the first letter of a word or phrase i.e. DOG = Digs Others’ Gardens)

The first challenge is what word to pick?

a) I really have not gotten into twitter -- so no hashtag.

b) Username? Well  I think they mean my blog title and Leading a Healthy Life seems too long and therefore too much work.

c) My condition seems a bit complicated for a word choice. Nothing was straight forward in the diagnoses, therefore stroke is close but not exactly the accurate term for my condition so brain injury maybe?  Vestibular disorder? Perceptual issues? Cognitive impairment? Left side weakness?

It struck me that is not how I would choose to label myself on the good days. 

I would like to describe myself as a....

Strong

Unique

Resilient

Versatile

Identity

Voice

Organized

Resourceful

 

HAWMC -Day 18 Open a Book

Open a Book. 

 Choose a book and open it to a random page and point to a phrase. Use that phrase to get you writing today. Free write for 15-20 without stopping.

The first part of this challenge was choosing the book.

One of my very best friends, Susan Rocan, is an author of young adult books and I really wanted to share some of her work, but at first I worried that it might not be the easiest place to randomly find a phrase to work with.

 I opened Susan's book.. Spirit Quest,  poked the page, and  I immediately knew that this was the book I was meant to open and write about.


First I should tell you that Spirit Quest is a time travel story where the teenage heroine travels back in time to 1846 in an effort to change history by learning traditional ways and bringing them back to her people in the future. Susan did a great deal of research and used accurate information about her characters rich First Nation heritage. The book is filled with  informative details about this historic period in the settlement of our local area and is now being used in schools' curriculum.

I attempted to speak, but my voice wavered uncontrollably, so I gripped the pipe tightly as I spoke.

"I pray for continued strength so that I can accomplish all the tasks that Owl will ask me to do. ..... I pray for my family, so far in the future. I pray that I will return to them so I can share my experiences, that they can learn from them, too."

This quote is just what the HAWMC Challenge and health related communities and blogging are really all about for me.

• I started off blogging at a time when my voice was indeed physically shaky and uncertain in real life and I had to hunt for words.  My writing voice was uncertain too, but I knew without a doubt that I needed to share my story. 

• I pray for strength to accomplish all that is asked of me and I have had so many tasks to accomplish!  There are so many challenges and milestones. There had been learning to walk, to read and count,  There was driving and leading a group and yes there is even singing. Learning to work at a job and improving my writing skill and organization and communication abilities are current tasks I try to work on. 

• I pray for my family who have supported me so lovingly, and who face their own challenges.  I pray also for my friends and all the people in my community who daily face so many struggles. 

• I hope that I can share my experiences and all that I have learned on this journey.  Perhaps through sharing I can assist others in learning where to find support and to  help them find hope and strength within themselves.

HAWMC -Day 16 Pinboard

Pinboard 

Create a pinterest board for your health focus. Pin 3 things. What did you pin? Share the images in a post and explain why you chose them.

Oh my goodness!

Today's prompt exposes one of my obsessions and biggest time wasters. I LOVE Pinterest. I would love to have you visit my pinterest boards! http://pinterest.com/lindacooper/

One of my disability issues is difficulty with my short term memory. I forget things-- A LOT, but am left with a horrible nagging feeling and  I usually remember the basic category and have a sense of whether it was something I saw in the past few days, weeks or if it was years and years ago. I went through 2 years of Occupational Therapy to work on these cognative skills and one of the things we found is that I remember things I see much better than things I hear, and I remember images much better than words I read.

When I really need to remember anything I work really hard to paint a picture in my mind of the story or object or person. The more detailed the picture and the more crazy the ideas the better I will remember it. Pinterest is one of the tools in my arsenal for dealing with this part of my disability. Pinterest functions like an external computer hard drive for me. I use it to save information that catches my attention and store it somewhere other than my brain.  I can turn it on when I need to and then rapidly search topics by images.

The HAWMC April writing challenge is part of redefining myself and working on my word and writing skills. I do not think of myself as a writer. I think of myself as a crafts person, a cook, a photographer maybe even a bit of a designer but ....writer ? I am all about the visuals now.

Okay back to the original prompt.

I have bits and pieces of useful stroke related images through several of my boards. I have a fitness board, I have a quotes board, I even have a board of sewing projects useful for my stroke associations auxiliary fundraisers.
Today I started a new Pinterest board for this challenge called STROKE AND BRAIN INJURY.
Now that I have started it I realize that this is a very good idea because I can get some of my resources and book marks all in one nice clickable spot.

I can post quotes and images to inspire or entertain me.

 

 I can put links to my favorite supportive organizations

 

 I can post links to sites I use everyday to help in my rehab like these brain boosting puzzles and healthy recipes on  the Canadian Alzheimer site.

I can post links to helpful ideas like this rice bag that could support my weak left arm when typing.

 

 

 

Yes... I really do LOVE Pinterest.

HAWMC -Day 14 My Dream Day

 HAWMC Day 14: My Dream Day

Describe your ideal day. How would you spend your time? Who would you spend it with? Have you had this day? If not – how could you make it happen?

The weather is starting to improve around here at long last and lately my dreams are centered around getting out to our summer cottage on our tiny north-woods island.

 My outpatient hospital therapy sent me to sessions of Mindful Meditation Trainings. Occasionally we were asked to picture someplace where we felt at peace and happy and the same image always came to my mind-- the screened porch of our cottage..... so that is the home base for my perfect day.

I love basking in the sunlight and the lake is just outside the window.

My day would begin with waking up slowly to the song birds chirping. (My dream day would include some improved indoor plumbing because things are pretty darn primitive at my cottage)  Next, how about some coffee with husband Bob while we sit on adarondac chairs just outside the back door?

I would go climbing around in the bush and rocks to find sweet wild raspberries and Saskatoon berries, sampling as I go. Some of my kids or grandkids would wake up to the smell of my waffles cooking  and join us on my porch for a breakfast of the waffes, fresh berries and  some maple syrup. Yummmmmy!

Maybe we will do some crafts or perhaps work in the yard. I might read a book or I might go take some pictures. Mid-afternoon we could go for a power boat ride to get some ice-cream with the grandchildren or maybe I will hop into the canoe and paddle to the other side of the island to look for the baby ducks.

A BBQ dinner and then we would sit on the dock afterward. I would not even wish away the mosqitoes because I love the dragonflies and birds and bats that are feeding on them.

It gets darker and we can see the milky way across the sky and, if it is one of those magical nights, we might even lie on the dock wrapped in blankets and watch the northern lights dancing above us. My son might take his little preschoolers down to the water edge with a pail of water and a net and a flashlight to catch some crayfish for the kids to look at,  just like I used to take him not so long ago.

We would cuddle down in our bed and fall asleep to the sound  of waves lapping gently on the shore.

I really do have a lot of summer days that are very much like this, but the climbing is now limited, naps are needed and someone else needs to help me somehow get into that canoe and paddle it. I am fortunate that I have people who care about me enough to make this all still possible. I keep working on doing more on my own and I keep getting stronger. 

I am working on getting that  plumbing improved too.

I look so happy, but poor Bob is paddling his heart out to make up for me dragging my paddle. 

 

HAWMC- Day 6 Haiku

 Health Haiku.  
Let’s switch up the writing style a bit for today’s posts! As you probably know, a haiku is a “miniature Japanese poem consisting of 17 syllables – five syllables in first line, seven in second, and five in the last. No rhyme or meter scheme is employed when writing haiku. The aim of the haiku is to create something greater than the sum of the parts.”

 I never ever thought I would be trying to write a haiku! The only thing I have done with this topic was trying to force my kids to do this portion of their Language Arts homework when they were in Junior High School. I remember thinking that I was glad it wasn't me! Man! I really must want to improve my writing skills now! I thought about researching the topic and then decided to just get it done. I took three shots at getting this right.

How life will slow down

when the signals get so lost

and confusion starts.

His words would sputter

listeners look away since

He does not matter.


Helping hands reach out

She, glad not to be alone 
 Grasps at salvation.

~

HAWMC- Day 5 Ekphrasis Post

Ekphrasis Post. 
Go to flickr.com/explore and write a post inspired by the image. Can you link it to your health focus? Don’t forget to post the image!

 One of my biggest problems is difficulty with balance and vertigo. I have abnormal sensation in my left leg, and my brain does not get proper position information from my left inner ear so I frequently feel like I am tilting sideways. I spend my days being dizzy and somewhat nauseated and I tend to fall and hurt myself.

Stairs to the vault, a photo by polanri on Flickr.

The staircase is littered with decaying leaves and garbage, and your foot will not feel the solid surface of the step as you lower your foot.

The bricks beside you are crumbing and you can not be sure it will hold if you grab toward the wall in an attempt to steady yourself. 

The dank, moldy walls close in and swirl around you. The descent is out of the light and into the darkness.. it becomes murky and you cannot see around the corner to what awaits you below.

The future is uncertain,

but you have no real choice

except to

keep

going.

 ** Postscript-- My thoughts on a different day.

I opened an email today and I saw the quote below.  I am having a better day, and today this is what I  think about the photo.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t
see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King Jr.

HAWMC -Day 4 I write because...

 

I write about my health because…
Reflect on why you write about your health for 15-20 minutes without stopping.

First, I must comment that none of these challenges are possible for me to write in 15 or 20 minutes. I might have been able to do that in the olden days but now.. EVERYTHING takes much longer!

I did not start off writing a health blog. I did not even start off blogging. I made web pages!

I discovered the internet about 14 years ago and it was love at first "site".  I used some online forums and figured out how to open my first web page about 4 months later.  I wrote about family activities, and I even had a little pretend mouse village web page.

Soon after I opened a web page to showcase my elderly father's poetry. The pride he felt in that web site was incredible. He wrote poems about how things used to be in the olden days, but a pivotal poem of his was about the impact of landmines.  We put a link to an organization that would donate money to help remove old landmines if you clicked. My dad was dying of congestive heart failure and he was proud to make a difference about an issue that touched his life. The ability of an individual to make a difference using the internet became crystal clear to us with that page.

In the years that followed I enrolled in a community college program with the plan of becoming a web designer.  I  found the design part of making web pages to be very exciting and a highlight was working with a student team that designed an early web site for a major charity. It felt wonderful and I was so proud of our group.

When I got sick I started to keep a diary file on my computer. My short term memory and executive brain function was very compromised so I needed to make a lot of notes in order to remember anything.  I was also supposed to keep track of a lot of health related issues so I rolled it all into one daily log.  I remember more now, but I also do more so I still need to keep a record in order to be organized and to remember the details of my life. 

I opened this blog when I decided I wanted to think about wellness and recovery. I had a huge variety of issues going on with my health however I wanted to be positive and talk about getting well, even though I really did not expect to survive at the time. I also wanted to talk about how our community resources can help us cope.

I did not really expect anyone to read my blog back then and I was writing for myself.  I wanted to record some of my experiences and I was trying to use writing as a way to sort out my feelings.  I have since discovered a community of other bloggers that share similar experiences. What a wonderful support team they have become and I am grateful to have those wonderful people in my life.

HAWMC -Day 3 Superpower Day

 HAWMC Day 3: Superpower Day.
If you had a superpower – what would it be? How would you use it?

Superpower? Me? What?

I was wondering what kind of super power would be most like me. Would it involve spider webs? How about running faster than a locomotive?  I next thought what super power I could have that would do the most good for some of the people  I spend time with who have had strokes or brain injuries. It hit me. I think what I really would want is that bag of Peter Pan's pixie dust. Now I realize that I have crossed away from super-heroes and super-villains and into the realm of magic and fantasy but I feel more at home there.



One of the biggest issues for many stroke survivors is transportation and mobility. You might need a vehicle that can fit your wheelchair and you might not be able to drive it even if you had access to such a vehicle. You might need someone to help you physically move into that car. How about walking? Uneven ground, people bumping and moving all around you and a sense of confusion about where you are all in addition to the fact that you can't feel where half of your body is let alone make your leg or arm move when you want them too.

How fun would it be to fly over to my friends' homes and throw a little pixie dust on them so they could just join me and  fly over the city, unencumbered by canes and wheelchairs and walkers.  They could soar over all the barriers of the world and not spend their days sitting and waiting outside a doctor's office for someone to eventually give them a ride home. Instead of feeling perspiration in their face from the exertion of trying to slowly drag themselves, and their walkers, across a street they could be flying above the streets and feeling the breeze in their face as they swiftly go where they want to be.

The pixie dust alone was not even enough for Peter and Wendy. "You just think lovely wonderful thoughts," Peter explained, "and they lift you up in the air."
A person who has undergone such difficult and scary issues can loose hope so easily. It is hard to keep on being positive and without wonderful thoughts it is very discouraging and frustrating to work on recovery and the endless challenges one must face. Survivors needs the people in their lives to believe in them and show their support.

Yes!! I would need to leave them with their own little bottomless bag of pixie dust so they could have the independence to fly wherever they wanted.  I am going to clap my hands to prove that I believe in fairies!

Yup .. I would really like Tinker Bell to share her pixie dust with us, but I would settle for a bunch of magic flying carpets.

Here is a quote from Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

But she did not answer. Already she was reeling in the air.
"What is the matter with you?" cried Peter, suddenly afraid.

"It was poisoned, Peter," she told him softly; "and now I am going to be dead."
"O Tink, did you drink it to save me?"
"Yes."
"But why, Tink?"

Her wings would scarcely carry her now, but in reply she alighted on his shoulder and gave his nose a loving bite. She whispered in his ear "You silly ass," and then, tottering to her chamber, lay down on the bed.

His head almost filled the fourth wall of her little room as he knelt near her in distress. Every moment her light was growing fainter; and he knew that if it went out she would be no more. She liked his tears so much that she put out her beautiful finger and let them run over it.

Her voice was so low that at first he could not make out what she said. Then he made it out. She was saying that she thought she could get well again if children believed in fairies.
Peter flung out his arms. There were no children there, and it was night time; but he addressed all who might be dreaming of the Neverland, and who were therefore nearer to him than you think: boys and girls in their nighties, and naked papooses in their baskets hung from trees.

"Do you believe?" he cried.
Tink sat up in bed almost briskly to listen to her fate.
She fancied she heard answers in the affirmative, and then again she wasn't sure.
"What do you think?" she asked Peter.
"If you believe," he shouted to them, "clap your hands; don't let Tink die."

Many clapped.
Some didn't.
A few beasts hissed.

The clapping stopped suddenly; as if countless mothers had rushed to their nurseries to see what on earth was happening; but already Tink was saved.

First her voice grew strong, then she popped out of bed, then she was flashing through the room more merry and impudent than ever. She never thought of thanking those who believed, but she would have like to get at the ones who had hissed."

HAWMC -Day 2 Quotes

HAWMC Day #2: Quotation Inspiration. Find a quote that inspires you (either positively or negatively) and free write about it for 15 minutes.


I am very fond of quotes so you would think this would come very naturally to me. I use quotes quite regularly but the reality of choosing just one is hard. I tend to start with a picture and that guides me in my choices for quotes. I wrote a bit on the topic of my meaningful quote almost exactly a year ago when I was reaching the end of Occupational therapy and I was changing the picture and quote on the front of my therapy resource binder. It had been a year with a lot of growth and improvement for me and maybe it is time to reflect on the whole experience.

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, 

but in rising up every time we fail.  

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am always stretching for the next challenge.  I am frequently asking myself "What the heck were you thinking trying to do that?" but I get over it and try again. Sometimes I succeed but it usually requires an awful lot of "rising again".

 A few years back I would not have described myself as a determined person. Many things came very easily for me. I now realize what it means to work hard and persevere. I have been gifted to meet so many strong and determined people with a variety challenges, many far greater than mine, and I watch in awe as they meet each new day with such courage.

My 23 year old says I should quote myself. She says I spend a lot of time saying "NO! I want to do it myself!"  My family and friends worry about my independent attitude and are afraid that because of my balance issues I will fall and hurt myself, and they are afraid that I will be crushed by disappointment for things I am not successful with. I keep coming back to the idea that if you don't try,  if you don't push yourself, how can you ever know what you are truly capable of or what joy your efforts might bring to your life or that of others.  Perhaps you can relearn skills, perhaps  adaptive technology will let you reach your goals. Maybe a friend assisting you will bring joy to their lives as well as yours.

My family makes me want to try harder.  I want to be active with them and I want to be a vital part of  the lives of my my children and grandchildren.  There is so much to see and do, and I want to be doing all that I possibly can, even if it means a few falls and a few failures.

Sunshine Award

Sunshine

I have a wonderful life long friend named Susan. Susan is an author of young adult historical fiction and she started a blog this year about her writing experiences.  Please visit Susan at My Withershins. The authors blogging community she now finds herself in has had several challenges and awards that they have been sharing. This lets the group members know they are appreciated and at the same time promotes viewing others blogs and finding new sites of interest.  Susan nominated me for the Sunshine Award and I thought It was an honor and also a great opportunity to have some fun with other bloggers.

The Sunshine Award has some rules:

• Include the award’s logo in a post or on your blog
• Answer 10 questions about yourself )
• Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers
• Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have been nominated
• Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

  
TEN QUESTIONS

Favorite color:  Blue
Favorite animal:  At the moment my daughters cat Storm.
Favorite number: 10
Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Eggnog!
Prefer Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook
My passion: My family
Prefer getting or giving presents:  giving
Favorite pattern:  Nautical stripes for this year
Favorite day of the week:  Sunday
Favorite flower:  Apple blossoms and all they promise for the fall.


There are so many bloggers out there that I admire and respect.   I never thought I would find so many wonderful people that I would have so much in common with especially after I became ill, but our blogging community has become so  special to me!  I do understand that not everyone will find the time to participate in this award, but I do hope you are happy to be appreciated.

I would like to give this award to the following 10 Bloggers.

• My Happy Stroke because I love the little snippets of life that she shares and how she can find the humor in so many situations.
• Barb's Recovery  is an inspiration with all her hard work and perseverance. I love reading her blog.
• Dean's Stroke Musing  because Dean keeps us up to date with all the latest research.
• Up Stroke is a wonderful writer with terrific insights. She makes me look at things in a different way.
• My New Look at Life after Surviving Strokes for her great sense of humor and no holds barred approach to life and blogging.
• The Pink House on the Corner for being such an amazing wife and caregiver who faces daily struggles with love and optimism and writes with such honesty.
• Geoff Hathaway His family keeps up such a great blog. I love hearing how his family and friends are cheering him along.
• Home After a Stroke  for her wisdom and her practical advice and ideas.
• Andrea from Blue Shoe Farm & Living in my Head  for her interesting blogs and her determination to keep on going with her life.
• Cousin Murray  He really is our cousin and he writes about his vacations with a dry wit  that makes me laugh out loud.

Meeting Up WIth Dean

Dean from Deans' Stroke Musings and I met in person last week. He was up  in Manitoba for the Winnipeg Folk Festival and we arranged to actually get together. On Thursday, Dean came to The Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba to meet up with me and our local  group. I think he had quite the tour of Winnipeg before finding our office. I was really happy to introduce Dean to a few of my friends. He walked into the office and our staff person called out "Linda .. there is someone here to see you!" and I got so excited! We immediately had lots to talk about. It is funny to feel like you know someone when you have never met or even heard their voice before!

We decided to have breakfast on Friday and to continue our conversation. I was going to be back at Stroke Recovery early Friday morning for adapted Tai ji so we just met down the street from there at a nice breakfast place. We had a VERY long brunch but time really seemed to fly. A little longer and I think that between us we would have solved all the problems of stroke research and rehab today. We talked about blogging, camping, music and how to fit me for a kayak.

Dean, it was such a treat to meet you and have the chance to get to know each other!  Only 12 more months until the next Folk Festival!