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I've mostly been on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico since Friday night, first in the panhandle of Florida to celebrate a friend's birthday, and then along the coast to Mississippi to attend my uncle's funeral on Monday. I'm grateful to be safely back inland, even though I already miss the shore and the company of my friends and family.
I've missed a few days of the Everyday Happy project, since I last posted, so let me quickly recap:
Day 15 -- Watch How You Walk.
Tread, don't trudge. How you walk around can hugely uplift your mood and having a spring in your step can really improve your frame of mind.
Good gosh, being at the beach put a natural spring in my step, so I was all over that suggestion, right up until I took a twisted fall down a set of stairs in my friend's beach house. Here's what happens when your socked foot slips off carpeted stairs: Your instinct screams at every muscle you didn't even know you had to save you, while you are busy making your own noise. Make noise, is about all you have time to do, as your arms automatically try to take over where your feet left off. After I checked to be sure I was still alive, I collected myself, shrugged it off, and tried to keep on keeping on with a spring in my step, but some of my body parts were indignate that I wasn't taking their discomfort seriously. So, I lessened the spring and took an Advil. I may have hobbled for the rest of the day, but I was happy to at least be hobbling, hobbling across white sands under blue skies no less. I was back to good by the next day.
Day 16 -- Plan new projects.
I have a lingering unfinished home project, which bothers some of the people in my life more than it bothers me, so I didn't think it best to start planning a new project, lest those well meaning people start a mutiny. (After waking up at 3:00 a.m. this morning and watching "Heavy" on A & E, I thought I should get a plan, and fast, before I find myself weighing 300 to 600 pounds. After remembering that I am in no real or near danger of that weighty fate, I decided to put my preemptive plan in temporary mental storage so that I could go back to sleep.)
Day 17 -- Deal with fears logically.
Don't worry about things that probably won't ever happen to you. Pay attention to the thing you are particularly fearful of and take constructive steps to avoid any real dangers. Then concentrate on enjoying the day, confident that you'll deal capably with whatever happens, when it happens.
Although, I think weighing 600 pounds is scary beyond belief, I don't have what I think are irrational fears, and I try to face those fears which I find rational. To be truthful, I don't relish flying or long distance driving, and I wasn't looking forward to all the driving I had to do this past weekend. But, I refuse to be paralyzed by the very real potential dangers of flying and driving. I'm motivated to take the risk, because I personally like a change of scenery from time to time, and recognize that even the most seemingly innocuous task such as climbing a ladder or descending a flight of stairs could make for a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." Just ask Alexander ....
http://www.kennedy-center.org/multimedia/storytimeonline/alexander.html
Do you have any nagging fears?
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The beach was calling my name all week, and I am supposed to be on the road with a couple of my friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. Instead, I'm here, trying to catch some rays off the small space heater tucked neatly by my feet, waiting for my mother to call me.
Today is day 13 of the happy quest, but I'm not digging today's suggestion. Not that it's lame or anything to "think about one's health." I'm grateful for every healthy day I have and realize that it is in my best interest to do my part in warding off any wayward infirmity. However, I usually take the opposite approach to wellness than is often prescribed in the media. Instead of going with the masses (whom I think are often wrong), I side with the rogues who subscribe to natural vaccinating by exposing myself to public restrooms, dirt, dust, and whatever other cootie that I can wallow in, so as to build up my natural immunity. As for that germ killing soap, gimme a break. While you may question the rogue in me, I have to say, that I appear much healthier than does my most vigilant "anti cootie" co-worker. That chick won't touch the ice scoop in our community ice maker, because someone else may have cootified it before she got there. She won't pour soda out of a can until she has wiped the top off with a wet paper towel (even if it looks free of debris). And, she is always using hand sanitizer and trying to put another hole in the Ozone with her daily sprays of Lysol. None of these vigilant actions seem to have done her much good, because she has been sick for about two weeks. I'm not saying that I never get a sinus problem or a cold, but I can tell you that I don't run to the doctor for a Z-pack or whatever many of the people around me call that mix of potions which they demand from their doctors. From what I can tell, those antibiotics don't serve them as well as my home remedies serve me. My super hot showers, mint toothpaste, hot chocolate and hot bowls of soup work wonders for me in about half the time others seem to take getting over most of their ailments. A friend of mine has been coughing for nearly 3 months, and none of the meds the doctors have prescribed for her, have cured whatever her problem is. I may have to take over her treatment. Our first stop will be Romper Room. There should be enough cooties in there to kill off whatever cootie she presently has.
All silliness aside, I was not able to join my friends on their journey to the beach today, because my uncle, who learned back in October that he was suffering from stage four cancer, passed away yesterday. He, being my mother's oldest brother (she is the youngest of five) chose not to pursue any radical attempts to save him. He was in his early 80s, and said he was ready to go. So, although we are very sad to have lost another elder in our family, we appreciate the fact that he did not suffer immense pain during the last months of his life. We are sad over his loss, but we also celebrate his life as we make plans to make our way to say our final goodbye.
This brings me to what most grieves me ... elders who go under appreciated or unappreciated. I love our elders and want them to be celebrated and appreciated for all the contributions they have made and continue to make in our lives. The elders in my life, are rich in experience and young at heart. They have been there to rejoice with me during the good times, and to help me see hope through my woes. They've been there, and they know. They know so much that they don't even know that they know. And, even if they don't know, they will be with you in the unknowing, and that's all that really matters.
I love that you elders have loved me, and I want you to know that I never took you for granted. I always appreciated you.
House Rules: Any and all passersby, stalkers and the like, can post comments under "lurker comments." They will be screened for hexes, spells, foils, curses, foul smells and cooties before posting.
