How To Cross the Road

In June 2012 we travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia.  It is considered a trip of a life time.

This picture is one of the streets of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.  One of the first strategies we learned; how to cross the street without getting maimed or killed.  The bikes were a barrage with what seemed to be no break.  There were very few traffic lights.  The motorcyclists seem to be on a mission to travel from point A to point B.  Period.  It was quite a sight to see.  It was organized chaos.

It reminded me of a symphony.  The music was in front of them and they played at the right time with the right notes. We wish we could see the music so we could read and play it too.

The picture you see and the description above is how best to describe my mind.

I have a plan, similar to crossing the road in Ho Chi Minh City.  I need to get across.  The great part is, I can see the other side of the road.  The challenge is all of the opportunities and work that comes with meeting these goals is overwhelming me, like the constant barrage of motorcycles with what looks like no rules, traffic signs or signals.

Several challenges are new to me thus a few major learning curves.  I am in a different world with different rules.  Many opportunities have recently come to me which I have wanted for quite some time.  These opportunities are very promising, but, have changed the focus I thought was in place.  With that comes an abrupt change in how to complete the ‘BIG PLAN’.

I am aware of the multitudes of phrases and quotes that summarize how to eat an elephant, take baby steps and carpe diem.  Believe me, that is top of mind each day.

I make lists, I cross them off.  I thought crossing off the little stuff first, leaving the really big stuff last would be best.  I understand now this is not going to get me across the street.  It’s like taking a step on the road, seeing the bikes and stepping back on the sidewalk.

How did we cross the street in Ho Chi Minh City?  We looked for the biggest gap of motorcycles.  We held hands tight and began to cross.  We were concerned we would be hit.  We were surprised when we came in front of a bike that it would stop and let us cross.  We finally had the music.  We were learning how to be part of the symphony.

The Vietnamese motorcyclists chuckled at us.  I am certain I could hear them say in their chuckle…”Foreigners.”.  It was a huge sense of accomplishment to get to the other side.  And…we learned the motorcyclists had compassion and understanding of our goal.

It is time for my mind and actions to know and do the same.

You Can Get Diabetes By Touching Someone

Our family moved in 2001. As a result of the move the kids transferred to a new school. Kurtis was living with diabetes for just under one year. In his previous school the acceptance & understanding of staff & children with his diabetes was great.

Within weeks of his new adventures of being a 3rd Grader in his new school, Kurtis informs me he can’t make friends. “Why?”, I ask. “They point at me and laugh. The kids are telling other kids if they touch me they will get diabetes.”

Within days I receive a phone call from his teacher. She asks if I will come in & speak with the class. She tells me the same story Kurtis has just days before. She wants the class to learn about diabetes.  She is concerned that the misinformation being discussed among his peers will lead to long-term issues.  She is concerned for Kurtis’ well being.   Ms. Maker explains she feels I will make an impact because I live with diabetes as well. They will see me as a Mom who is a nurse, I have friends & I have a daughter that doesn’t have diabetes. I agree & start planning how I will speak to the children about this.

The main myth to displace was reassuring them that Kurtis didn’t get his diabetes from touching me.   My plan was to think like a 7 & 8-year-old.

Word for word I can’t tell you what I said or how I said it.  It was a little less than 12 years ago.  I do remember sitting in a chair with the kids sitting on the floor around me.  They had a lot of questions.  I kept it simple.  Kurtis was pleased & so proud his Mom went in to talk with the kids about his diabetes.  It helped with them being more social with him.  He was not gawked at as much.  But making friends continued to be an issue until Grade 5.

Look for my Blog tomorrow on what happened that caused the children to respect Kurtis and his diabetes.

 

 

Finding Balance

I just completed The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale.

In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe decided to study whether or not stress contributes to illness. They surveyed more than 5,000 medical patients and asked them to say whether they had experience any of a series of 43 life events in the previous two years. Each event, called a Life Change Unit (LCU), had a different “weight” for stress. The more events the patient added up, the higher the score. The higher the score, and the larger the weight of each event, the more likely the patient was to become ill.

Below is the score Interpretation

300+ You have a high or very high risk of becoming ill in the near future.

150-299 You have a moderate to high chance of becoming ill in the near future.

<150 You have only a low to moderate chance of becoming ill in the near future.

Upon taking the survey, it did not consider that I live with diabetes, I have a 19-year-old 'child' living with diabetes who has recently experienced complications, I am still going through court proceedings trying to settle with my divorce, starting two new businesses AND most recently after months of severe undiagnosed pain I finally have a diagnosis in which I will be going for major surgery for in April.

So, not including the above mentioned, the score I 'achieved' is 687. Of the 43 items listed, I have experienced 22 in the past 2 years.

I am not writing this to have you think to yourself "Oh poor Tracy".

I am writing this for 2 reasons:

1. Understanding that everyone has life events that are very stressful. Sometimes when in the middle of it all, as these events pile up one on top of another, it is very difficult to step back and see what has occurred. It is even more challenging to see the positive or how to take care for yourself in the midst of it all. There are many events in life that we cannot change. It is important to accept this and decide ways to find balance by taking care of ourselves.

2. I need to write this to help me. I have wanted to do the survey for a while. I knew the score would be high, so it was not for that purpose. I took it today because I am so tired. So tired, I needed to make myself take the survey so I could sit down & figure how I could find balance among all of it. I am not taking the best care of me as I have in the past. It's time to change that.

The picture posted is from my walk yesterday. I had 2 choices yesterday; sleep or walk. My body felt full of toxins from the stress. I haven't been listening to my body as I should. Although I was extremely tired, my mind urged me to go for the walk. I needed to get the blood flowing and help my body clear out the toxins and my mind.

We ended up driving to a park in the city. We took the puppy and started through the park. I felt like I was in the country. No traffic noise, lot's of trees and snow. We didn't talk much. We both just needed to 'be'.

Initially in my mind, I didn't want to go far. I have an ongoing list in my head of tasks that need to completed at home both on a personal and business level. But as I walked further, I realized that this list never has nor will it be finished. That's life. For this walk I needed to let that never-ending list go and enjoy the moment for my health's sake.

We ended up walking 10 kilometres over 2 hours. Towards the end of the walk, the tightness in my chest and my inability to take a deep breath began to disappear. It felt so good to take a deep breath.

Today we will do the same. I will leave that list behind. I will leave the items I have marked off on the survey behind. I will envision taking these items and tucking them away in a closet only to taken out when absolutely required. But not on the walk.

I urge you to take the survey. Determine where you are at in your life when it comes to stress. Then, decide what you can do to balance these items. Whether it be reading, going to the gym, taking a long walk, yoga, stretching, having a long relaxing bath, lighting some candles and listening to music, playing with your kids, hugging the ones you love.

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." –Ovid

"Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it."
–Hans Selye