Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Habits

At times in life we have to create "good" ones, i.e. habits.
Over the years I have had a few and I am happy to say that.
Race walking three miles a day in forty minutes for four years. (work hours changed that)
Working out at the gym for four years then. (falling and numbness changed that)
Teaching and prior to that going to Aquacise classes for also four years. (having an issue with my body functions plus too warm pool water put a stop to that)
Quitting smoking for now it's over eleven years; broke that four year lasting habits and so far sticking with that forever or until I turn eighty, surpassing my parents ages, and then I might have one!
Why not, by then they might find out it was a good thing to do, ha! Nah, never.
Oh my latest good habit is going into our swimming pool, so far three times in the last ten days, I think. I think that habit's frequency will have to improve.
I do have it documented here, somewhere that is in about in how many days.
Unfortunately, I am not organized yet with my in water exercises.
I am currently just enjoying the freedom of being in the water that gives to anyone with less mobility on land.
My very first impression and experience that caused amazement is when I was in PT, physical therapy way back in 1996-7 for when I could not walk for six months, at the time they blamed my Fibromyalgia, but I truly believe it was the MS back then too, anyway they showed me at the rehab a paraplegic when he was once lowered by a special machine how he was able to maneuver in the water, and that I thought was incredible! (Although, I have swum since a five year old and had my junior life saving at age fifteen.)
My biggest issue then once I got into the water was walking backwards for those muscles were very nearly atrophied.
So water therapy was my biggest help back then and after I graduated they put me in touch with the Aquacise class that the Arthritis Foundation had there for free at the time and so once I connected with them I took that class three times a week that was taught by an eighty-eight year old woman that would make anyone a believer in water therapy!
And due to my love of the whole thing and exuberance in class it was suggested that I get certified to teach and so I did.
It was pure joy.
Teaching those seniors when I was the kid.
I spoke loud enough in the pool so even the ones who had taken out their hearing aids liked me since they could still hear me without them!
They became my surrogate parents, especially it seemed when they found out mine had passed away. I was still in my forties then and their mean age was seventy-five. 
I truly loved them.
I went to the arthritis support group and I don't know for sure but I think due to my outspokenness they voted me co-president with a dapper dresser of a man, an octogenarian, a truly handsome oldster, who loved to dance, Fred Mack a very nice man. Sadly he passed away in April of 2009 he was in his nineties by then and in the same hospital unbeknownst to me when I was there for my first IV Solu Medrol infusions. I found out way after he died.
Soon I was offered to take over the local fundraising of the fashion shows, something I actually knew quite a bit about. I had modeled for department stores on and off from the age of seven until twenty-one. And in college a course was included on giving fashion shows, and so I took that and it helped when I worked in Daytona in promotion and later on for fundraising for the Arthritis Foundation we had luncheon fashion shows, several, plus a combo fashion and entertainment show a three hour production. I also had one Golf Tournament.
I eventually besides getting certified in teaching water aerobics, I received CEUs in grant writing and teaching a self help course.
So it was quite a wonderful ten years that I also was one of their board members, and even went to hear the doctors who received grants from us on new findings in helping arthritis and went to meetings usually in Tampa, Ft. Myers and Orlando Florida for the board, and in 2005 we were wined and dined and flown to Nashville by Glaxco Smith Kline to hear about their new arthritis medication for osteoporosis, and other non profits were there too all from the southeast from Alzheimer's to you name the illness and they were there to hear about new medications the pharmaceutical company was hawking. They put us up at the Loews Hotel in Nashville and we even made a tourist stop at a recording studio where we all sang and recorded Garth Brooks song Friends in Low Places and received the discs, so very cool!
Three years later I resigned in 2008, too many personal issues and I was not emotionally or physically doing well.
My priorities changed.
I do have eight of the more than one hundred types of arthritis's there are, goto to learn more:  arthritis.org
My Multiple Sclerosis took me over to be more significant than the arthritis.

A few years back I did try volunteering again with a local clinic, but the nurse who was training me had no patience and found fault with everything I did, and was not available when she would leave me on my own for me to ask questions. And a clinic setting was more important because it dealt with medications and dosages, and that needed to be exact. Without access to ask questions I felt out of my element and with her bullying attitude when I did finally get to ask her, I thought it best for me to quit.
Not proud about that, but I was finding it difficult to maneuver in the facility too, too tight for even my walker then.
The woman in charge at the time, Doreen, we had hit it off, and she asked me to reconsider, but I felt that it was not a good fit literally and figuratively.

Oh where was I?
That's right habits, good ones... to date I continue not to smoke and try as best I can to fit in capable types of exercise plans from PT to independent exercises to swimming. although stopping for legitimate reasons any time that is necessary.
I guess my rules are different these days, which is quite alright, since I am a free agent and I have to do whatever I can to succeed to keep on going!
Too many medical problems so I adjust accordingly.

The rain is here again, but has very little to do with Tropical Storm Emily that depressed into nothingness and left the state and is not supposed to restart again in the Atlantic as it was first thought would happen.
This rain is due to other factors that only meteorologists can explain correctly, but I think it is left over moisture that built up from our high temperatures, basically our usual here.
Just a laywoman's concept.

On that note allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear! 

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