Month: June 2016

Wisdom and Limits

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I learned that I qualify for free help from an Occupational Therapist, so when my O.T. came over, I asked for help organizing my fridge. What I quickly realized is that the help I actually need the most is in limiting my activities each day.

For the past few years, I’ve been pushing through when it’s hard. “Few” years? Maybe more than a few! Sometimes pushing yourself harder is the right choice. I’ve needed to push myself a lot to do the basics the past two and a half years. I’ve nearly passed out in the grocery store several times. (But friends and strangers have always been there to help me, praise God!)

The O.T. has come twice now. The first time, she taught me about taking regular brain breaks and “micro breaks” to keep in the “safe zone”. I had noted that my symptoms were similar to those suffered by people who had a concussion. My job was to pay attention and take breaks before I needed them to avoid the “danger zone” where I felt symptoms. Getting more education helped me to pay attention to my tolerance levels.

The second appointment (yesterday), my lovely O.T. taught me about limiting my schedule and keeping track of my “points” to help discern how much activity I can tolerate in a day.

IMG_5414.JPGJune is a crazy month for families with school-aged children! I’ve set up my binder to help me be organized and limit my activities. I’m trying to figure out how many points I can tolerate per day and how to appropriately schedule my life.

My goal is to stay in the “safe zone”, and thereby increase my capacity (and size of my “safe zone”) … so I can do more! 🙂

I’ve never been naturally gifted at setting limits. I always want to squeeze as much out of life as I possibly can! But right now, I am painfully aware that by setting strict limits I will actually be able to get more out of life.

Saying “no” to some things helps us say “yes” to others. Always praying for wisdom to choose well!

I’m starting to feel nausea and a headache which tells me I’ve crossed into the danger zone. So I’m not going to read over this post or edit it …

 

 

Marathon Weekend

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Like many weekends for most of us, this past weekend was a marathon for our family … but what made it different was that my husband actually ran the marathon, and the kids and I volunteered at it!

Jono has run a few marathons before, but this time he ran to raise funds for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of a cheering crowd of supporters, not only did he run a personal best 3:25:29 but he also raised $1725 (so far)! We are happy with his achievements, and so glad that he is recovering well from the run.

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No pressure, but if you want to give, there’s still time: http://ottawacancer.kintera.org/ottawaraceweekend/jono

Speaking of recovery, at the end of each race is the “recovery” area where volunteers give food and drink to the runners. The kids and I volunteered there on Sunday, setting up and handing out yogurt, chocolate milk and bananas. It was a privilege to be part of the team who served 47,000 runners this weekend. So many of the runners expressed gratitude for the volunteers who served in a variety of ways. We were there for about 4 hours, and I am thrilled to report that I was able to complete my shift! I was exhausted afterwards and very stiff, but I also recovered well from my volunteering “marathon”.

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A quick photo with our friend who coordinates volunteers and generously welcomed us to her team. (My daughter was the youngest there.)

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Calm before the storm! It was a privilege to be part of the team who served 47,000 runners this weekend with a smile! Very well organized effort!

The past few months I’ve been deliberately pushing myself harder and harder to try to increase my endurance. Life is a marathon! I’m noticing my stamina has improved and also my ability to bounce back after exerting myself. I’m still not well enough to take on a job, but if this trend continues, I’m very hopeful!

Also on the weekend the kids and I put on a lemonade stand fundraiser for the Cancer Foundation. We surpassed our fundraising goal and raised $225.25! Thank you to all who encouraged our kids and donated!

We’ve been fundraising because I have the energy to, and because we are grateful for the ways the Cancer Foundation has helped our family and many others, through clinical trials, workshops, coaching, classes, etc. I have recommended their cancer coaching to two people this week alone!  The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation supports people who have been diagnosed with cancer and their families and friends. For more information: http://www.ottawacancer.ca

Now it’s time for a break from fundraising, time to focus on the next chapter, the next segment of our race. I don’t know what’s next, but I’m looking forward to it!

How’s your marathon going? Is it time to take a break from something? Time to dive into a new challenge? Time to keep on keeping on in some rough terrain? Are you running a good race? Looking forward to what’s coming next? I hope you are, and I hope you are surrounded by teammates who cheer for you and support you!

Thank you for cheering us on in our marathon … we all do better with encouragement and support, don’t we!