Self-Care

One of the hot topics for social workers and other mental health professionals is the concept of self-care:  "You have to take care of yourself in order to help others."  I feel "self-care" is in general healthy living and we all do better if we pay attention to our physical, emotional, and spiritual sides.  While in graduate school, we had to write up a plan and implement it for one semester.  As part of that plan, I bought this ivy plant for my office.  It was to serve as a visual reminder to take care of myself each time I watered it or looked at it.  I am happy to report that my plant is doing very well.  It has added several new shoots and leaves.  It likes it in the window sill of my south facing office and I like having it there.

In the fall, I added a orchid plant which was given to me by the administration of The Children's Center.  It was filled with white blooms when I first got it and I enjoyed it until the blooms fell off.  I have heard how hard orchid are to take care so I assumed that I would need to get rid of it eventually, but the leaves remained green and healthy so I kept watering it along with my ivy.  I seriously didn't even notice that it was budding again until one of the buds was close to opening a couple of weeks ago.  Now I have this beautiful bloom with several other buds forming.

I am quite proud of myself even though it was mostly accidental. 

Seeing these buds and my ivy made me think about if I was taking care of my "self-care."  Work and life are tiring on some days and I have watched more TV at nights since working full-time that I have in most of my life.  Sometimes I just can't think or talk or do anything else.  However, I feel good about both my life and work.  I don't feel overwhelmed by the stories I hear from my clients.  I feel lucky to be a tiny part of their lives where they feel heard and supported.  I enjoy clouds and sunsets, winter storms and rain.  Life is good...and of course, I have nine grandchildren who are amazing.

I Am Not A Craft Person

I learned that fairly early in my life.  Working with my hands in dirt or sand, I enjoy (although I am not really a gardener either, just like the dirt and sand part.) but using scissors, hot glue guns, drawing things--those are not my skills.  Spending my adult life in the Church has given me lots of opportunities to "prove" that this is not my thing.  When I was younger, I kept trying and would have half done projects from "Homemaking Meetings" around for years before I re-purposed them or gave them away to my more talented friends.  Then I went through a phase where I would attend, but simply visited and not even try to do whatever craft was happening at that moment.

Now I am in the phase of life that "I can try if I want, but I am not good at it."  I think that is even a more grownup phase--to be able to try things I am not good at (because I usually try to do only things I am good at) and to be able to laugh at the attempts.  I have to admit when they announced that they were doing cake decorating as part of the Relief Society Extra Meeting Night, I rolled my eyes (to myself)--not something I am good at or even want to be good at.  However, I decided to try it any way.....and I am not good at it, but we had fun anyway--and our table laughed a lot as frosting squirted and minions were being formed--and fell apart.

My rose frosted cupcake  (with a certain type of tip)

My "minion" fondant statue

Yes, crafting is not my thing, but I see how it brings many women together in a sharing experience and I appreciate that.  And despite my lack of skills, Jessica and Tosha are both talented in craft like things.  Maybe all of those half made projects encouraged them to develop their own talents, despite my lack of skills.

I would rather read a book!

The Cradle

Jessica and Elessia returned the cradle to me.  The twins are too big and too mobile to sleep it in any more.  We had it in the truck for several days until we finally got it into the house. Later that night, I walked into the kitchen after returning home from somewhere and there it was sitting (of course, because I had put it there myself earlier.), but I couldn't believe the memories that flooded afterwards.  It is funny about memories--randomly they seem either hidden and we can't recall something that we need or want to recall and other times they come "falling out, one on top of the other."

I stained this cradle when I was pregnant with Jessica (notice it is similar in color to our kitchen table and cabinet.  I have liked cherry stain for a long time.)  We were living in Oquirrh Shadows in West Jordan.  Jessica and Jena were the only two of our children who slept in it.  I think that Carmen, one of my nieces, also slept in it and maybe one or two other nephews or nieces.  Now all four of Jessica's children have slept in it as infants.  Now what do we do with it?  Is it worth storing for another 20 years for my great grandchildren.  It really isn't a high quality piece of furniture...but definitely some high-quality memories!

Thoughts?  What do you do with such things?

Saturday Night View from Primary's

Last Saturday evening, this was my view as I left Primary's Children's Hospital.  The lights of the city and on the hillside where the "U" was lit were beautiful in the cold winter's evening.  The photos don't do it justice other than remind me of the moments and my thoughts and feelings at the time.

Being at Primary's is a mixed bag--you don't ever want to have someone you love here, but if they need it, you are so grateful that they can be here!  This time, sweet little Carter was sick and needed an overnight stay to give her lungs some support.  She is doing well now and came home on Sunday on O2 (which isn't fun when you have three other little ones running or rolling around, but they are making it work.)

So standing on the top floor of the parking garage and appreciating the lights, I thought about our stays at this hospital--Tosha had two surgeries here. Jena has had dental work, her tonsils removed, and two different jaw surgeries, plus a 10 day stay over Christmas one year with two types of pneumonia and then the flu. And that doesn't include the specialists that Tosha and Jena have seen over the years here. And the countless of our friends and their children and their children's children have benefited from the skills of the staff!  We are so lucky for all who built Primary's and made it into the amazing place that it is.

Carter with her O2

Again, unlucky to need to use them, but so lucky they are there when you need them!!!

National Puzzle Day

January 29 is National Puzzle Day  (who thinks of these things?) and someone from work made these cute treats for all of us.  Inside was a yummy chocolate chip cookie which are my favorite.  (Notice the cute little clothespin with a puzzle piece on it.) She also brought a 500 piece puzzle into our lunch room and people could work on it when they needed a break.  We got it done in about 3 days, although I didn't do one piece of it.

The point of sharing is this:  Kristine thought about us as a staff and wanted to do something to break up the work day.  She spent her off work time gathering supplies, using her talents, and created a sweet (in more than one way) break for each of us.  She is not a member of the Church, but this is an example of ministering!  Maybe one that I could do myself next January 29.

Side notes:  This reminded me of the "Puzzle Party" we held one year in Hong Kong.  I think we had five other couples and the whole night revolved around puzzles.  We had pizza for dinner and then played a collection of games with puzzles, such as:
1.  Putting together wooden puzzles blindfold with directions from your spouse.
2.  Race to assemble 60 piece puzzles without the picture and changing puzzles reach time the alarm went off.
We had a third game but I can't remember what it was at the moment.  I shared it when Kristine and she is ready to set up her own puzzle party.