A Sore Throat

I have a sore throat right now. My husband has been ill all week and I am afraid I have caught a bit of what he had. It is very inconvenient to get ill, but I am especially inconvenienced this time because I am out of town. I don’t like feeling this way when I am away from home. However, since I am, I will make the best of it and get some additional sleep.  I usually stay up until 11:00pm, but I’ll be going to bed about 9:30pm tonight. I’ve been drinking tea all day, trying to shake this off, but it is still hanging on.  Certainly, it is a virus and I’ll have to let it run its course.  

Isn’t that hard to do sometimes, letting something run its course?

It has interrupted my plans and expectations for today. Oh well, sleep is time when your body is healing and right now I am able to go get some extra sleep. It will give me time to dream and who knows, there might just be a good story in those dreams.

Sjogren’s Syndrome Awareness Month

April is Sjogren's (SHOW-grins) Syndrome Awareness Month. Sjogren’s is an autoimmune disease that attacks the moisture glands in your body. It is systemic, and I know quite a bit about it because I have it. It is not something I post about very often; I don’t want people to think I am a disease. Nor do I want others to worry about me or think I cannot do my job because of it.

You may have heard of Venus Williams, Shannon Boxx, and Carrie Ann Inaba; they all have Sjogren’s and live with it every day of their lives, just like I do. There are adjustments that they each made in order to live a great life, just like I have had to do. My body rejects and attacks my moisture glands; I take medication, some supplements, and drink a whole lot of water!! I carry a water bottle with me where ever I go. I do not produce tears very much, so I wear some special glasses to help me with the dry eye. I need them especially when I am outside, close to a fan, or near air currents. I use a lot of oils and lotions on my skin because it is dry. I have changed my diet, make sure I wear sunscreen, keep eye drops on hand, and get the rest I need. I have never canceled a gig because of Sjogren’s; I have, however, left the dishes in my sink in favor of a nap.

On average, it takes 6-8 years to get diagnosed when you have this disease. In my own experience, I had to keep going to doctors and telling them that something was wrong. I repeated the story until I finally found one physician that would listen to me. Having Sjogren’s has taught me to make myself a priority, to persevere, and be my own best advocate. It has also shown me that if you need tools to help you, you need to make those tools beautiful so that you will want to use them. I have some amazing water bottles, great glasses, and lovely hats!! I work very hard to manage this disease, just as many others manage their own health situations like RA, diabetes, or food allergies. I have also discovered that my attitude affects my management of this disorder.

Sjogren’s is part of my life story. I know you have had your own challenges, too, and those challenges are part of your story. You may even be in the middle of knowing something is wrong — don’t ignore that. I believe we actually know ourselves well and that feeling of pain or discomfort is a call to action. Believe in yourself enough to keep pushing until you get the help you need.

We all have to live with something; let us focus on the LIVE part.

Laugh about what you don't like!

I have been doing a residency every Thursday for three weeks at a local school. It is one that I love to do. The students are making origami books, and in it they write a bit of an autobiography. I give the students prompts to spark their ideas and help make good use of their time. One of the things I asked them to include in their narrative is something that they don’t like. Many of those pages just made me laugh: “ I don’t like how my father’s feet smell.” “I don’t like elevators.” “I really don’t like wearing socks.”

I got to thinking — what if we all just laughed about the things we don’t like? It might not make those things more appealing, but a good belly laugh is really good for your health. It relaxes you, reduces stress hormones, helps you to connect with other people, burns calories, and makes you feel good. So, next time you are faced with something you don’t like, laugh instead… you might live longer, which means you can spend more time on the things you do like!

This song from Mary Poppins always makes me laugh: 

If you would like to learn even more about laughter, follow the links below!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Stress Relief from Laughter? It’s no joke

Some Sparks are Good

I opened my dishwasher this morning to put the clean dishes away, but I soon realized that the machine did not drain. The same thing happened a couple of months ago and I had to snake out my kitchen sink because it was plugged. The problem was solved. I thought this might be the situation again so I checked out the sink and that was not it. I tried starting the dishwasher again and realized that it was not working at all.

So I check the fuse box and sure enough the lever was tripped, I flipped it back and started the dishwasher again. It was working so I started the rest of my day, but suddenly I saw sparks and heard pops happening from under my dishwasher. I immediately ran downstairs to flip the fuse box switch off to cut the power but it was already tripped. I flipped it all the way over to make sure it was off. I am now looking for someone who can come and make the necessary repairs, so my dishwasher will safely work again.

Sparks are good, but not all sparks should be allowed to turn into a fire. Those sparks that came from my dishwasher assured me that I needed to cut the path of electricity so a fire did not begin. They were a warning that something was wrong. Then there are sparks that I want to burn in a controlled fire; lighting a candle, wood in my fireplace, a bonfire in the autumn.

Stories begin as sparks. Some ‘story sparks’ need to be shut down immediately, it is not a story that should be told or shared. Others need to be allowed to burn but controlled. When you stand before an audience you need to consider the fire your story will spark. Are you trying to light a small candle or start a bonfire? Is the story appropriate for those who are trusting you by sitting in your audience?

That’s my thought for this week, now I am going to make some phone calls to try to find someone to fix my dishwasher.

Look Up, And See Where You Are Going

My husband, Steven, and I walked around Freedom Park this past weekend. It was a beautiful day, and not too hot, perfect to get outside and enjoy a walk. When we arrived at the park, we noticed a fairly large amount of people, many were in small groups and were all staring at their phones. We soon discovered that they were not the only ones staring at their phones. Screen watchers were all over the park. It seemed they might be playing some kind of game. As Steven and I walked along the walkway, we found ourselves having to dodge some of the screen watchers. We became quite agile at weaving around them, but finally, we left the walkway and strolled along in the grass. 

We took a couple of pictures and started a short conversation with a gentleman named King, who was sitting on a blanket reading a book. He was a very interesting man; he emigrated from China when he was very young and spoke with a New York City accent. I so enjoyed learning his story. We also shared some of our story with him. We said our goodbyes and began to dodge the screen watchers again as we made our way back to the car. 

Steven and I were quiet as we climbed into our van and started the air conditioning. As we sat waiting for the cool air to come, we began to comment to each other on our park adventure. Together we decided that it was a commentary on today’s society. A beautiful day in the park, but it seemed that 85% of the people there hardly looked up to see where they were going. Although Steven and I made a very conscious effort to keep our smartphones in our pockets, I admit I checked mine once for the time and once to see how many steps my Fitbit was registering (I have a daily step goal, and I wanted to meet it before we left the park).  I took this experience to heart. Technology is amazing and in today’s world necessary, but for myself, I am going to make even more of a conscious effort to look up and see where I am going. I don’t want to miss seeing something beautiful, meeting a new friend, or hearing a really great story.