Me and Mother Last Summer

Plenty of Sleep

They say that plenty of sleep is essential for good health. I agree. Sleep has a way of making anything better. I seem to need eight hours, seven at the minimum. As you age, especially in illness, you need more. I think the body's trying to repair during sleep, to concentrate the body's energies toward rebuilding, if you have a healthy body. If you don't have a healthy body, then sleep is the way the body gets a break from fighting the illness, or at least the conscious fighting.

I have a dear friend who claims she only needs 4 or 5 hours a night. She loves coffee too. Surprise, surprise! She needs the caffeine to keep alert from not enough sleep. She says no, though.

I'm still taking care of my mother. She had a very good day yesterday where she had very little drifting away from me. My brother said the greatest thing last night. My dad and I were talking to him on the phone. My dad was explaining her illness in very clear terms. Then he said, "Billy, don't worry about your mother." Billy said, "I'm not worrying, Dad. I just want her to know that I love her." That's how I feel too.

Cheers from the local Marsh Road Starbucks (with the lousy music playing right now),

Sue

Importance of a Wonderful Mate

I have one - my husband, Bob. I love him so much. He is my supporter, friend, and love. May it be so with everybody to find someone to love and who loves you fully and completely. Bob, I love you!

Sue

Mother and Doing All You Can

I am with my mother now, and she is with me some of the time. That is, I'm with her physically, but she sometimes goes away mentally and then comes back. Cancer is competing with her own spirit, her husband (and my Dad), my sister, and me for her consciousness. I have been through this before. My dear friend, Fran, also was taken from this world by cancer. I remember sitting beside her as she drifted away from me and back again. Fran was resigned and at peace with going, but my Mother is not. She does not accept what is happening to her. She is feisty and has not given herself over to the cancer and the inevitability of the destruction of her body. She is very weak physically, but she is still fighting and still struggling, or should I say hoping, to get well. My Dad gets it. He knows he will loose her and said to me with tears, "I was hoping to have her with me for a while longer." They both have very strong faith in God and knowledge that this life we know here is not the end of the living of their spirits. I believe this too. I am absolutely convinced of it and have known this from a very young age before anybody had a chance to teach it to me.

This week also we lost one of our dear friends to ALS. His body failed him. He no longer needs his useless body. What a beautiful funeral it was. I shall never forget it. It was so "him" and I felt his spirit there with us as we grieved and tried to get used to the idea of him being no longer here.

All else pales to having your health! That's why it's so important to do all you can to get healthy and stay healthy. This includes trying to get to the right weight. I think it's important to live this life as well as you possibly can, as fully, as truly as you can. I am struggling to expunge some of the excess fat I'm carrying around. I am determined and as anybody can tell you who knows me, I do not give up.

I still hope that some more of you will join me on this blog on our quest to get healthy.

Sue

What Fruits Are in Season

When I was shopping at the Kroger the other day, I asked for organic grapes. They told me they can't get them until they are in season. They also said that the organic grapes don't last very long. I remarked to them that the reason for this is that they have so many chemicals. The most important items to eat organically are berries and grapes, just the very items "that don't last long." It also occurred to me that I am not knowledgable enough about what is in season. You get more nutrition from fruits and vegies that are in season. Kroger is doing better at stocking organic, but they still have bins and bins of the same fruits and vegies all year. Not too much changes. This is wrong. We should be buying the vegies and fruits that are in season, not the ones that have been in cold storage for weeks. A good example are apples. They have them every week, but why? They come into season in the fall. That's why I have planted my own fruit: strawberries, rasberries, and soon blueberries. I have apple trees in the back too. So far, I have not taken proper care of them, so we haven't harvested fruit. I'm learning what to do, because I am not going to spray them. Farmers markets are starting up soon. I can't wait to have fresh non-chemical covered fruit and vegies.

Tough week. Sorry I haven't blogged, but this has been the week from ... well, you know.

I'd still like more followers. Or just comment below in the box.

Sue

Rainy and Sad

We lost a dear friend last night to ALS. He was a wonderful person and will be sorely missed by his many friend, us included. I take some comfort in the knowledge that he is no longer suffering in his useless body. It also makes me realize how blessed I am with a body that is healthy.

When I'm sad I want to eat. Actually I have the same problem for just about any strong emotion. Emotional eating is one of my biggest problems. I wish I could figure out something else to do that would make me feel better. I am SO TIRED OF LUGGING THIS EXTRA WEIGHT AROUND. You can't imagine. I have a healthy body that's too heavy for my frame.

Hey, you folks out there, let's get some feedback and comments!!!! Just click on Follow and then comment at the bottom of my posting.

Sue

Dine out without pigging out

How do you eat out and not pig out? I think one of the ways is to know what the restaurant serves and decide before you go what you're going to have. This works with places you've been before. For a new place, eat a snack before hand. We were invited to be with friends and try a new restaurant (to me anyway). We had appetizers and drinks at their house, also dessert there too. The bill was cheaper too. I had soft-shelled crabs, the first time I've ever had them away from the coast. They were good.

I think another way to eat out without gaining is put the focus on the people you're eating with instead of the food. It was so good to be with friends! It was fun catching up and talking. What a nice neighborhood they live in.

I always try to go for the seafood - fortunate, because that's what I like anyway. Restaurants get it fresh because they fly it in.

We're meeting some other friends today. We rarely do this and this will be two times in one weekend.

Unfortunately, it's raining. I would prefer that it rain during the week when I can't be outside! Oh well. I have some day lilies to get into the ground and it has to be done this weekend, rain or not.

Does anybody have any more hints for dining out? I wish you'd join and comment!! Let's do it together!

Sue