Exercising - My Way

Every RA article you read includes a reminder to exercise. In the days prior to my life changing diagnosis, lengthly walks were one of my favorite pasttimes. There was always so much to see and hear as you walked along enjoying the view and fresh air. If someone asked me what I miss most prior to RA, it would be my solitary walks. It was therapuetic thinking and praying time for me. It was restorative, energizing, and the list goes on...Ahhh!!!!

So now I'm encouraged to continue exercising but I am learning how to modify traditional exercise to an RA friendly version that can be effective for me now. For example:

Exercise #1: Morning stretches- Several years ago, my chiropractor taught me some preventative stretching exercises to help my lower back. I still do these stretches every single morning before getting up. Although the location has changed from the floor to the bed (I'd like to get on the floor but that would mean I'd have to get UP from the floor! Now, THAT would be heart pumping exercise!).

Exercise #2: Standing up straight - who'd of thunk it but that is exercise for me. Getting and keeping my shoulders properly positioned and my back erect takes more effort now and "muscle memory" throughout the day. Anyone who has dealt with chronic pain knows it makes you curl forward - sort of in a self protecting stance. To straighten up with correct posture takes effort and even more effort to maintain. So to me this is exercise to work at throughout the day. "Sit up straight", yup, Mom was right!

Exercise #3: Walking - I still go for walks but sometimes I might need a cane. Now I walk with a slow, deliberate pace instead of fast and energetic like the old days, but believe me I'm still expending a lot of  energy. When time allows I will walk a bit on my lunch hour. There is an area near my office building that is fairly flat and easy for me to handle. The hills of Idyllwild are presently too difficult for me. Strangely I can handle the "up" pretty well but the "down" side is painful on my knees and legs.  AND what goes up must come down!

Exercise #4: Yoga for Arthritis - My younger daughter gave me this great DVD and I can do a few segments of it pretty well. I love the reminder to breathe through every movement. Just breathe! Such a restorative thing to do as I fill my lungs with good air and in the exhale, release tension and pain. Wonderfully restful yet energizing!

It is a treat when we plan a shopping day and I can manage the walking that entails but I have learned now more than ever that we live just one day at a time. I try and enjoy the day out, and though there might be a few rest stops needed, it is wonderful to be with a family member or a friend for the day.

I'll try to keep focusing on God's amazing wonderfulness and see the gift of each day as it is precious and not to be squandered. OOPS! I should add Exercise #5 which is the most important! Keep the Faith!

Our day in Court

Living in the mountains we burn our wood burning stove all winter long. Mike likes to get his permit every year and get out in the woods with his chainsaw bringing in the wood to keep us warm. Men and power tools (i.e.chainsaws) is adrenaline pumping good clean fun! Until...Mike recently got in trouble with the forest service for chopping down a dead tree - a federal offense. He had thought the law stated "dead or down" trees but it was dead AND down trees. So off to court we go. Thankfully the court was lenient and Mike received a $75 fine and court fees of $35. A total of $110. Ahhh! We both breathed a sigh of relief on that one!

After we left the courthouse we happily headed to our car where I noticed something sticking under the windshield...and you guessed it, a ticket! We were parked in a handicap space and my handicap placard had expired 3 days before! The ticket was for $360! Good grief! We headed over to the office that had issued the ticket and pleaded our case. I thought it was good through the end of October! An honest mistake on my part so we wanted to try and see if we could get a lesser sentence. We will find out in 2 to 3 weeks what the verdict is.

I told my sisters, Mike and I try our best to stay on the right side of the law but here we were in one day dealing with two offenses. Who were we Bonnie and Clyde? My sister, Marcia said, and I quote: So let me get this straight....you are envisioning that Bonnie and Clyde would have gotten OLD enough to even want to cut down a DEAD tree and then get CAUGHT chopping down said dead tree and that Bonnie would have WANTED to go to the courthouse with senior Clyde where she gets CAUGHT with an expired HANDICAPPED sticker in the getaway car...

Well put it that way I guess we are still good law abiding citizens who are enjoying the warmth of a nice wood fire while our 'getaway car' is safely parked in the driveway in full view (minus the handicap placard of course!).

An Attitude of Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. -Melody Beattie    (Copied from Joscelyn's facebook post)

How true is this reminder! No matter what your physical life is like - good health or challenging health - counting your blessings, living in thankfulness or practicing an attitude of gratitude makes all the difference in the world to how we will respond to situations.

We ourselves, or those we love, may be suffering challenging family issues, personal hurts, deep financial stress or health challenges. Situations that cause one to feel frustrated and lose heart. That's where counting blessings can help the hurting heart re-discover what they can be thankful for. It is an age old Biblical practice that has made the difference in countless lives. Besides the fact that when we wallow in the hurts, regardless of how justified, it will do us very little good. We will find that the pit keeps getting deeper and you won't feel any better. It never changes the situation for good.

But, it sometimes takes practicing an attitude of gratitude to turn our hearts around. It doesn't always come easily. I like to use the word practicing because it may take some effort to acheive. It may take spiritual and emotional exercise to find we can get the victory over a grumbling and hurtful attitude. What does seem true is that practicing an attitude of gratitude helps it to become a more natural response. Our relationship with our loving Savior makes it easier to acheive because of what He has done and does for us everyday. HE is our strength! Through Him we experience the peace that passes understanding; through Him we are constantly learning the WALK of FAITH and not reliance on our tunnel vision human sight and abilities.

So I've got some practicing to do! "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul and ALL that is within me bless His holy name!" Psalm 103:1 

Sister Weekend Anticipation

My three lovely sisters

As many of you know, I have three sisters and the four of us girls have made it a point to get together once a year for "sister weekend". This year we are having our weekend up at my home in Idyllwild because the sisters decided it would be best for me to do the least amount of traveling. Thanks girls, I really do appreciate that AND the scenery in this mountain community is awesome making Idyllwild a great getaway destination.

This has been a big year for all four sisters. Lots of challenges and opportunities to hopefully mature in The Lord. We plan to all bring meaningful verses that have encouraged us throughout this past year to share with one another. So one of the things I anticipate is some tearful but joyful expressions of thanksgiving as we share how God's hand has sustained and guided us.

Another thing I anticipate is...plenty of chocolate! All four of us girls take after our mother in appreciating the sheer pleasure of great chocolate. Sees candy for example! Mom had a code for us girls when she would be laid up in the hospital on strict diets, etc. She would say  to us "ACQ". This meant "Administer Chocolate Quickly"! She might say this right while a doctor was standing at her bedside talking to her! We were glad to take our top secret instructions and comply to her simple request as this was one pleasure she should never have to do without! So, carrying on the tradition we will ACQ aplenty during the weekend!

I anticipate plenty of great discussions, a few tears and plenty of laughter. I also anticipate some "arm dancing toe tapping and head bopping" as we listen to the Zydecats and other favorite tunes while we play dominoes or Euchre (a great card game midwesterners are familiar with). If someone were to videotape these game sessions it could seriously be used against us. So no cameras allowed! At least for that part of the weekend!

Lastly I anticipate we won't get a lot of sleep but we can make up for that later because "sister time" is precious and we plan on making the most of it! Mom would be so proud!