Memory Lane and Onward!

Up in the middle of the night again, when I should be sleeping. After completing my "Lumosity" workout (Brain games, as I call them), answering a few inquiries about tractor tires I've posted for sale on fb and writing 3 or 4 pages on a story I started several months ago, I found my self beginning to mourn the fact that I let go of my blog at truthmusers.

That's when it hit me! Blogspot! Then, thinking I'd start a new blog, I typed it into the URL and what do you know? My first ever blog adventure is right here waiting.

It doesn't look as pretty as the one I paid dearly for, but here it is, holding that space and time nearly four years ago when, aching in the pain of my oldest son pulling away from me and trying to rationalize it and find meaning in it, I reached out to my own writing to soothe my soul.

Well, since then, I've gone through all the what-ifs and if-onlys. I've turned my house upside down looking for relief to should'ves and could'ves.

What I've learned is this: Life is truly an adventurous journey. I've been through so many other adventures since then too.

And all here at the beginning of a new year (well, very close to the beginning anyway; it's still January another 22 1/2 hours), just in time for a new beginning.

A victorious new beginning. Like my name, Vicki Dawn.

So I set sail again. Singing new songs; solving new puzzles; dreaming new dreams; creating a new me. Come, sail along with me. There's plenty of room for another boat in the sea.

Mistakes do not define us, but they do help shape us. They may be ugly, yet strengthen us. They may be uncomfortable, yet become a point of beauty within us, as a pearl within the oyster.

My son is

            Wise

            Strong

            Intelligent

            Caring

            Creative

            Intuitive

            Imaginative

            Beautiful

These are the tools he has in his toolbox to help not just “make it” in life, but to succeed and prosper beyond my wildest dreams.

I will not hold him back because I am hurt and sad (read “victimized”) or because I know better than him (read “I am more than he is.”)

I lovingly release my son to soar.

If I Had a Choice, He Wouldn’t Have Soared

If I had a chance

I would have stopped him.

No. It’s too far, or

No. It’s too high.

But I didn’t see him

Prepare his leap. It

Happened so subtly.

Then He spread his wings and

Flew.

Photo by Jim Behl

Early breast cancer detection

Why have your breasts amputated because you might get breast cancer? No thank you.

Why have your breasts smashed to see if there is a tumor? Couldn't this spread a tumor if there is one? and Doesn't more radiation in the chest region raise the risk of developing cancer? Again, no thank you.

At a young age, I decided that by the time I was 40 (the recommended age in the US to start having annual mammograms) there would be a better way to check these things. And just in time, when I turned 40, I met Linda Bamber, who had just purchased a thermography system.

Using this system, the technician can--without touching you, much less smashing you--detect through infrared images whether or not there is any inflammation in your breasts. A camera takes an infrared "picture" which can be seen on a computer screen. It's kind of like looking at a radar image on the weather. The technician looks for a big difference between the two sides. If one side is showing hotter colors, there may be a problem. Cancer apparently grows in hotter places. In my case, Linda took one look at the images and said, "We've got to talk." There was a major difference, one side being very inflamed.

I chose not to report the findings to a doctor. (See my previous post titled "My Turning Point.") Linda, who is also an experienced nutrition counselor helped me find appropriate things that would nourish my body so that my body could fight off any possible cancer cells. I listened to only positive, uplifting music. I exercised like a crazy woman--walking 2 miles a day and doing the "Tibetan 5" also known as the "Fountain of Youth." I laid out in the sun, exposed, first for 5 minutes a day and building up to 15 minutes.

Within three weeks a new thermogram showed the "hot" side had cooled considerably and was almost as "cool" as the other side. Did I have cancer when the inflammation was first detected? I don't know. I did not go to a doctor and get diagnosed. Do I have cancer now? No. I'm sure I don't.

Would I go about it this way again? Maybe. Maybe not. You never know. Something even better might come up...

Please note: I am not a doctor or other health professional. This is my personal experience and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure. If you have a concern about your health, please consult a health care person whom you trust.

Herb Fair

Today we visited the Herb Fair at Evening Shade Farms, Osceola, MO and had a grand time. There was a nice variety of vendors, including potters, a woodcarver, greenhouses, a blacksmith/artist who specializes in sculpture, a rug weaver, and jewelry. There was bluegrass music on the porch of the Soap House and a Jingle Dance demonstration by Chante Falcon, the princess of the upcoming PowWow in Columbia, MO. Everybody was friendly and there was something for the whole family. We came away with a book about organizing spaces, a little clam shell of beeswax moisturizer, and our brains and minds full of new information and ideas. I call that a successful day!

Romancing the nursing home

     Should people with Alzheimer's be holding hands and courting each other in the nursing home? When a spouse dies, we can more easily reconcile it for ourselves. But what if the spouse is alive and well while the other has dementia and is in a residential care facility? It isn't like they're being intentionally unfaithful. What, if anything, should the staff do about it? What can the staff do when the courting goes "too far," becoming socially "inappropriate," as it very well may. People with Alzheimer's and other dementias are often confused. It is no different when it comes to their romantic feelings. Can we lovingly distract them with something else as we would a young child?
     So far, in Inter-Active Music, it hasn't gone beyond hand-holding and looks of adoration. Thankfully, the music and activities keep the minds and the bodies busy. And often, the emotions seem busy too, as we sing and listen to songs from their past. Today, for instance, I learned all about one gentleman's time in California--surfing! With his mind on the waves, the beauty, and yes--even the taste of the sand--there was no time for this guy to romance the ladies around him today!