Just Rest! Ok...But How?

"Just rest, Greg," I said to my teenage son as he stood in the family room one Friday evening texting his friends about plans for the night."

He shrugged, sat on the edge of the couch, picked up the remote control, and began flipping through the twelve hundred digital cable channels.
  
I continued with my cleaning compulsion of bending over and picking things up like socks that didn't find their way to the laundry basket and papers that didn't find their way to the World Lit. homework bin at school. I choose to save my responsibility lecture for when my son, Max, returned from wherever. No sense hearing myself rant twice. (I am so glad those days are over!!!)

"I don't like resting," Greg said before he reached channel seventy-something.

I looked at him in disbelief. "You left for school at 6:45 in the morning and worked at the Y after that. Aren't you tired?"

"Nope," he said as he switched off the TV and headed for the shower.

"Do you want another tour of the bathroom? I think you forgot where the laundry basket is." I said.

Greg smiled. (I'm glad one of us did.)

I was reminded of this conversation last Saturday when my doctor came into my hospital room and told me I'd need two weeks of rest before resuming my normal activities. At the time it sounded good. My neck and throat were sore from the thyroidectomy he performed on the previous day and I felt groggy from the feel better drugs dripping into me from the IV. However, by Tuesday I found myself repeating Greg's words, 'I don't like resting.'

If I had the choice of spending a Saturday in a chair at the beach or one kayaking along the coast, I'd choose kayaking. The number one thing on my list of things to do when I travel to the Big Island of Hawaii is to climb Mauna Kea, the tallest sea mountain in the world. I enjoy resting for short periods of time, but two full weeks of no driving, working, physical activity, etc. seemed like too much.

I do, however, believe in allowing the body time to heal, so I adhered to my doctor's advice. What did I do?

I took naps whenever I felt a bit tired, even if they only lasted five minutes.

   I made time to remember my dreams when I woke up!

I contemplated about important issues while I looked out my living room window. Things like why do leaves flutter in different directions when the wind blows and why do leaves from the same branch fly in various directions when they are released from the tree? I knew I should have taken physics.

I read Gone Girl in 48-hours—the ultimate woman scorned revenge book. Wow! I will also be buying Gillian Flynn's other two novels, Sharp Edges & Dark Places. I love finding new authors who really know how to tell a story.

I traveled to the Hawaii on the Internet and made plans for when I go for real.

I nearly completed draft one of novel two.

I watched Doctor Zhivago from start to finish. 

Surprisingly, I never had watched this movie before in its entirety. 

Wow!

I watched bits and pieces of the Today Show and learned why they've gone down in ratings. 

Opinions on this are welcome.

 I turned off the Today Show and welcomed the quiet.

    I cooked.
Maybe that doesn't count as resting,
but it certainly was relaxing.

 I watched Life of Pi for the second time.
I definitely prefer the tiger story.
How about you?
This question will reappear on Kick Back Moments within
a few weeks, so watch the movie or read the book,
if you haven't already.

Resting is a lot more fun than I thought.

By the time my two weeks of healing are over, 

I have a feeling I will have mastered the art.

 

 

How about you?

Do you prefer resting or moving?

 

In other word, when you first step foot on the beach, do you head for the chair or the water?    

Take Care of Your Body!

Hi Kick Back Friends,

I'm taking a bit of a break from posting. I am having my thyroid removed on Friday and will need a little time to rest and recover. Just so you know, a nodule was found on my thyroid during a routine physical examination. That led to an ultrasound which led to a biopsy, and suspicious cells were found. I was also told that my thyroid was not functioning properly, which is why I was feeling exhausted, cranky, and gaining weight. I thought it was part of passing the 50-year-old mark.

The good news is thyroid cancer has a high cure rate and I should be back to my energetic self again within two or three weeks post-surgery.

The kick back advice for you is to make routine physical examinations a priority. I am the first one to put them on the back burner. When my husband asked me when was the last time I had a physical, I couldn't remember. He insisted I make an appointment, which not only may have saved my life, but will make me feel so much better once my dysfunctional, diseased thyroid is out of my body and my medication is regulated. So, if you're not able to find the time to visit your doctor, try harder. You are the most important person in your world. It's time to take care. I'm glad I did!!!

I'll check in next week to let you know how I'm doing. Then...back to finding those kick back moments that make our world a little brighter.

Fondly,

Peggy     

The Fog Will Clear

Addiction is hard. One day we try a substance whether it be caffeine, junk food, alcohol, or cocaine. Maybe a week later we try it again. A few days later, again. Soon our body craves the substance and before too long it demands it. We're officially addicted.

 Simple things like a stroll through the park, reading at the beach, spending time with a friend no longer provide pleasure. A monster has taken control of our life. It numbs our senses. Sadness is anesthetized with the a bag of chips; happiness is delivered by a scotch on the rocks; bliss is contained in a chemical. More than 24 million US residents aged 12 or older are currently suffering from drug addiction, and that does not include compulsive eating.

According to the website www.rehabinfo.net, "One of the biggest mistakes made about addiction is the assumption that those who are struggling under its control are weak or somehow lacking in willpower and moral integrity. On the contrary, drug addiction is a deadly disease, one that changes the chemistry of the brain and is characterized by relapse and compulsivity. Drugs work by either over-stimulating the pleasure and reward system or by mimicking neurotransmitters in the brain and altering the body’s ability to effectively communicate between systems.

If you or a loved one is addicted to drugs, is it hopeless?

No.

There are over 13,000 drug rehabilitation facilities in the U.S. and families can provide support to loved ones as they go through recovery. There are many success stories and I'm going to share one with you. A friend's nephew, Kyle, just took a major step in his battle to break an addiction. He realized that he could experience joy without his drug. I was so moved when I read the words and saw the drawing that emerged from him at the moment he realized how wonderful life could be. I am honored to share this with you:

THE FOG WILL CLEAR

By: Kyle Kindlon

 

            The road of life has twists and turns ups and downs at the end is so real so pure. My life has been covered with a fog that I was unable to see the light through the thick wet smoke damp fog. As the fog clears it represents my mind state clearing making me able to have a slight view of life with the light shining through the fog showing me how real and pure it really is. Seeing a beautiful view of mountains as the bright sky has the sun rising over the mountains, reflecting off a clear blue body of water seems to make two suns as the cattails blow in the wind. All these different sights represent a feeling of love emotion passion excitement distress the care others have for me so deep so real is mesmerizing as staring into a fire for hours days wanting it to stay this way forever. My whole life I spent thinking this was all a fairytale but it’s real as my mind clears more and more I can see how real it all really is. Not ever wanting that dark fog to mask this again, that fog is the depressing darkness of death that taste of the first sight of light seeing there is more to life.

 

 Kyle has been drug free for more than thirty days!

For anyone struggling with an addiction, Heart of Life by John Mayer:

 



"I know the heart of life is good."