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Moving forward and looking back...

I have to laugh, smile, and give a little thanks. Okay, a lot of thanks.

After I published my last post, a dear friend in the Pacific Northwest e-mailed me with a laundry list of information on how sleep debt can wreak havoc on the body. She's a naturopathic doctor, and believe me, I listened. I started doing some reading on my own, and she's spot on. A lot of medical information out there and research on sleep debt, sleep deprivation and how it impacts everything in your system. Add a billion pounds from the stress of the weight of the world on one's shoulder and ...... well, you'll see me.

So I have taken definite action. I have an appointment this coming Tuesday for a massage. Now I've had massage therapy before with chiropractic, and I've had a few chair massages, but it's not the same as an hour on a table. I am SO looking forward to this. I remember reading a passage in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood where Vivi is on the massage table with a million worries dancing through her head and old memories surfacing and she just cries and cries and cries while she's being worked on. I can see that happening to me .... and I won't care at all. Let the tears come if they have to.

And I took a small step this weekend. It's going to sound silly, but I revisited a piece of my past so that I could sleep in this morning. I went to a Saturday Mass at one of the parishes for which I previously worked. I ran into a lot of the people I had known and enjoyed working with for years. There was one lady in particular I ran into -- I hadn't seen her in years, but I knew she'd be there. I think about her when I drive home on a certain road. She lives in a subdivision off this highway, and I sometimes thought about just stopping by her house to say hi.... but then I always go, "Aw, no, I couldn't do that." So I saw her last night and she just couldn't believe it! I also saw a couple of parishioners there who helped me so much back in the day, when I was having a serious health issue. He is a physician (albeit not in that specialty) and his wife is a nurse (now a stay-at-home mom). When I was having health issues about 8 years ago, my coworker asked them after church one weekend what advice they would give me if I had another flare-up. His advice was spot-on, and saved me a lot of trouble in the long run. I looked decidedly differently than those years ago, when I woke up in a hospital bed to see him standing at the foot asking how I was doing. Again, not even his patient, not in his specialty, but he was kind enough to reach out. And her advice on what to do in the meantime was extremely helpful!

But even better, I ran into one of my old dear friends.... okay, a "trouble buddy." I have some wonderful friends in my life, several of whom fall into this category. There are "LifeSavers" - they are the ones you call for bail money. "Trouble Buddies" are the ones in the pokey WITH you! Yep, she and I had some adventures back in the day! We sat together, laughed together, then went out for dinner afterwards. It was so much fun! It was an evening without stress, without a care, just lots of laughs and good memories.

And yes, I slept in, at least as long as my dog would allow. Boo-Boo is a built-in alarm clock. Not that he has to go outside, just wondering why you're not up, since you're usually up by now..... and it's a beautiful glorious morning of sunshine, warm (hot) weather, and the knowledge that I can do it again tomorrow!!! (Tuesday, another story.... but we're not looking that far ahead!)

Comments

Angie A said…
Keep up the great work. I am routin' for ya!
9:32 AM
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