WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2019
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cityjaneLondon wrote: »Machka - good article. 'Caring' is the hardest job of all. Hard enough when it's a physical thing, but especially difficult when it's your soul mate and you have 'lost' them. I am not made of 'caring' material and I hope I never have to do it. I would not last long. I know myself too well.
I really admire those of you, like Rori, who have given this your best shot. Lots of love to you.
Love Heather UK xxxxxxx
I am so incredibly NOT made of 'caring material. It's one of the reasons I never wanted children. It's one of the reasons my first marriage and one of my other relationships fell apart ... they were looking for a "mom" rather than a partner. It's the main reason why I didn't take after my mother and go into nursing or anything nursing-related. I did try to get into teaching, but was not disappointed when I ended up in a quiet office working with databases. Looking after people is not my thing at all.
And yet ... here I am.
I'm probably the most surprised of anyone who knows me that I'm doing this. I don't know how I'm doing this!
But believe me, sometimes I do feel like fleeing, crying, bursting into a rage, curling up into a ball and hiding ...
M in Oz10 -
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@Machka9“All of your emotions, good and bad, about caregiving are not only allowed, but valid and important."
I believe that this is very important for life for everyone, and it is what so many people misunderstand.
It is only by recognising and acknowledging ALL the emotions that we experience that we can move forward. We have every right to rage against the storm. Accepting and dealing with the negative is crucial to finding our way through it. (I find the occasional good weep is a great tension reliever.)
You are the epitome of what I think of as positive thinking. You meet every situation with fortitude and find a way to move forward that works for you.
@margaretturk I think Rumi sums it up beautifully.
☘️ Terri7 -
✔️1. weigh in
✔️2. log all
✔️ 4. five minutes meditation
-5. Take care of at least 3 shorter (1 pagish) writing or administrative task/bill, (union work doesn't count)
-6. At least 15 min cleaning
-7. At least 5 min day filing
✔️ 8. average 1100 calories net
• Overall Feeling : ok
• Log all: so far so good
• Exercise : 45 min elliptical plus 30 min walking
• 1100 calories net average : doing good this week. the major heat wave helps. one doesn't feel like eating so much
•3 Short term writing/admin per week: did 1
•cleaning :
•filing:
Grateful :
1. plenty of exercise this morning
2. summery weather
3. home rather clean and tidy
4. lease
5. a moment of lull without intense pressure1 -
I read that for women (or maybe people) over 50 doing 4x 45 workouts plus walking is a good amount. and to not do more than 4x 45 min workouts. that might be too little for many but that actually works for me. I used to be a major exerciser in my 20s and 30s, but I just feel tired if I do so much these days, like 2-3h work outs. I used to go to these 2h intensive dance classes, and I began to find them too long and just tiring, an hour would have been fine for me.
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@trucker743 Sharon, yes I'm like that, I have mini-moments of joy.
@cityjaneLondon that is sad how kids have to be supervised now. we used to be able to go ride around the neighbourhood, play or walk alone in the nearby little woods. that would probably be a no-no now, especially for young girls.2 -
@Machka9 I agree with you about feeling all sorts of emotions. Some say there is a tyranny of having to be happy especially in the Usa. Like if you say things are not great, people feel a need to say something positive to counter it and get you to look on the bright side. That can be truly good sometimes, but it is also great to have someone to just hear one's pain and be compassionate, without having to suggest a change of mind shift. Deep listening has great value.
Maybe it's similar in many other English-speaking countries. I'm so sorry about you missing your husband as he was.
In Europe there is, in many countries, a tendency to complain. it's kind of the opposite and can also be oppressive.In France if you are positive and optimistic, in certain circumstances, people often treat you like you are stupid and try to counter you or make fun or you, etc. It's much more normal and socially acceptable to complain and be suspicious here, than to expect the best.
I used to be quite optimistic but with time I am more mixed.
Life is not always easy.
I was at the meditation retreat once sharing a room with 4 people. One woman's son had cancer and another person was a body worker who really did effective healing work. she was convinced that cancer was impossible if approached the right way. I think she's mistaken, though her positivity is surely a good thing. (She's Japanese, of Japanese parents, grew up in Hong Kong, lived 4 years her teens and early 20s in Kansas and then the past 20 years in France).
Though she was well-intentioned, I thought it was horrible for her to be insisting to this person who was losing her son that there is necessarily another way, when there Is not necessarily.
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lol forgot to say the 80 hrs if for 2 weeks1
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Trying to catch up with everyone phew, lots of different topics being discussed.
Pip - the pictures of Bullwinkle are lovely, hope he continues to do well. It is hard to let them go, but we do it because we love them I think we seem to know when the time is right and when it is best for them.
Machka I also agree that all emotions are important, if you can look on the bright side, good, but sometimes we need to have a good cry/shout etc at the unfairness of life.
Sharon – mini moments of joy , yes I like that. I find joy in simple things like looking at the clouds, my fur babies (although not really keen on that expression ) and music.
Lisa – You certainly got me thinking! After my hubby died 4 years ago I was like a table with only two legs, the slightest thing and I would collapse in a heap. I remember calling my friend in tears because water was pouring out and I couldn’t turn off a tap (faucet?) She sorted me out and arranged for a plumber to call later that evening to put a new washer on the tap. It was just beyond me at that time to think straight. I slowly “grew” another leg, it started to get stronger, but now it’s weak again. But, I know it will get strong again, it will take a bit of time, but I’ll get there. (As long as nothing drastic happens!)
I used to be a 'cup half full' person, always happy and laughing, especially as a child, but "life" happened and knocked me back a bit. I sometimes see flashes of the person I used to be, and would like her back! I tell myself that there are people out there worse off than me, (I'm a work in progress )
Can't believe the time, better get a move on, still have a few forms to fill in for my mum to get the utilities changed into her name and I'm back at the dentist this afternoon.
Viv UK8 -
morning ladies
I slept pretty well but was up early.. Had my tea and watched Joyce.
instead of leaving early have to go in for 11 am... I guess thats alright...
I can't wait to get away i need this sooooo bad..
Kim~ so very happy for you.. girl you got this!!!!
Pip~ loving all the pics of Bullwinkle she is a cutie..
Viv~ Bless you I know how you feel...4 -
Morning, afternoon and evening, all...
Love all the different perspectives! When our discussions range from panties to the perils of positive thinking in 48 hours, it's definitely a wide range... We make me happy.
I think the biggest impact for me in terms of happiness/joy etc. is simply being able to recognize when you are happy. So very many people who've walked through my life simply don't know when they're happy and continue to search for it, mourn for it, and believe they don't have it. Those "mini-moments" simply don't get recognized... possibly because they believe happiness means they are happy all the time, every waking moment. Not sure that, as humans, that's even possible.
And waiting for me when I got home from my day at camp (not MY happy place, I might add--pretending you're homeless was never my forte... ) were two emails - one saying we didn't get a small grant, and one saying we did get a larger one. Life and work are a mixed bag, always.
Love y'all,
Lisa in AR8 -
When granddaughter Olivia was born 2 years ago and had such a rough start after being born at home, my stepdaughter & her husband had a strict rule for visitors in the NICU predicated on the advice of their friends. These were the same friends that convinced Katie to stay home in labor another 24 hours after she had reached the point where she was saying "maybe I need to go to the hospital". They were so adamant about the "rule" in the NICU, that they would banish anyone who had a sad look on their face! They had only happy talk, music, & positive energy in various forms, 24/7, and even instructed the nurses...it was way over the top, even for me, but we totally understood where it was coming from in a desperate situation. The only people who were allowed to discuss her current medical condition at the bedside were the doctors. If we wanted to discuss Olivia with the doctors/nurses, we had to be completely away from Olivia. And as most of you know, Olivia had a complete recovery.
Now, same daughter-in-law (Katie) recently started Facetiming with us, so Olivia & Phoenix won't forget who we are, since they are so far away. The calls start out great, but children have short attention spans, so they run off to play, & Katie starts to talk about her estranged husband & "what a loser he is". Katie is understandably self-absorbed while she is talking about him, so she doesn't notice what it does to the kids, who we can see in the background. It visibly upsets Olivia, who becomes more & more agitated, and acts out, getting Katie's attention. After this happened a couple of times, I said, I know you need to talk about this, but it's agitating Olivia. And Katie went into a major rant about how all of her friends are telling her to banish the negativity, etc., like before, but she needs to talk about it & we are the only ones who will listen to her. So the pendulum has reached the other zenith. I told her to call twice. Once for us to interact with the grandkids & once while they are napping so she can vent. So far it hasn't happened.
Having said all of that, my 2 cents' worth on the Power of Attraction is that planning to succeed or attain a goal, using positive affirmation to do so, is amazingly powerful stuff. It's how I succeeded in school & career from about 8th grade on. It is not the same as denying negative/sad feelings or refusing to acknowledge failure, all of which were inevitable in my quest to succeed. And, most importantly, whenever my personal 'power of attraction' quest imposes on or influences another person, or fails to take facts into account (terminal/dire medical conditions, autism, psychiatric issues, physical limitations, e.g.), it has the potential to do great harm.
My dear departed Mom used to say that she tried always to do everything in her power to get the outcome she wanted, & then...let go of the outcome. She said she sometimes had to pray on the letting go part, LOL!
Love you all,
Karen in Virginia6 -
Hi everyone!
About the pea protein- the first decision was whether to get unflavored or not. I decided it would save me time to get a vanilla flavor with a sweetener in it. It's a personal choice, but it's not fair to buy the unflavored then complain about the lack of flavor. So I got Bob's Red Mill Vanilla Protein Powder. It is sweetened with monkfruit. Tastes pretty good, just a little bean taste. The taste blends well with oatmeal. The ingredients aren't too bad for a powder. Nothing I wouldn't eat daily. I got it from Amazon. So far I am really enjoying it, and I feel better with more protein in my diet.
Annie2 -
Did the Peak Fitness Challenge DVD. The plan for tomorrow is to do Jillian Michaels Killer Arms and Back DVD.
Barbara – Yes, Vince feels a bit better (his back) but he doesn’t want to push it, he wants to be all healed for when we take Jess to Iowa State. Which reminds me, I have to tell her that a truck rental would be a little less than $1100 whereas the Pod she was looking at was something like $2000. Vince and she can drive out to Iowa with Shadow and I’ll just fly out there, no problem. That is, IF she decides to go this route. I would think so since it’s less money.
Newcomer tidbit: I noticed that new members aren’t on the mail list. I don’t know who is supposed to be doing this. I did explain that the mail list and the website have nothing to do with each other which is why you need to add a new member to both. Oh well…not my problem. One day someone will say something like “I’m not getting Newcomer notices”. Personally, I find it a bit funny, they’re so concerned about new members yet simple things like this aren’t being done. The last person who was added was someone I added in late May because I added them.
You won’t believe what I started doing last night. Yup, went on the deck and started stringing popcorn. At least I can really take my time, plus I’m not sitting after dinner thinking about food.
Lisa – that’s great that you got the larger of the two grants
Anniesquatas – The Tone It Up protein powder comes in vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter and I THINK strawberry. Admitted, it doesn’t have strong, say, chocolate flavor but it does have a chocolate flavor. Plus, it doesn’t have any added sugars. Personally, I like the vanilla. I mainly like the fact that it isn't a strong flavor so the flavor of what I put it in is what you really taste.
Will be leaving in a few to meet up with Jess.
Michele in NC
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bananasandoranges wrote: »Some say there is a tyranny of having to be happy especially in the Usa.
In Europe there is, in many countries, a tendency to complain. it's kind of the opposite and can also be oppressive.In France if you are positive and optimistic, in certain circumstances, people often treat you like you are stupid and try to counter you or make fun or you, etc. It's much more normal and socially acceptable to complain and be suspicious here, than to expect the best.
There was some of the pursuit of happiness (and the pursuit of "passion") in Canada too. Right from some point in my 20s I became aware of an apparent "need" to find my life's passion and attain happiness.
Only ... I never did. I never found a "passion" (especially not one at which I could earn any money) and never found a place of constant happiness.
Then I moved to Australia and stopped hearing about such things. However it wasn't until I had been here a few years that I attended a personal development seminar about writing CVs, and the presenter mentioned that in the US (and perhaps North America in general), people are encouraged to pursue a "passion" whereas in Australia the idea of finding a "passion" doesn't really exist or at least not very strongly. She just confirmed my perceptions. Maybe that's one of the reasons I feel comfortable here.
During the early days of my husband's situation, a number of my Canadian friends did exactly what you've mentioned: "Like if you say things are not great, people feel a need to say something positive to counter it and get you to look on the bright side." I'd mention that he's still in a coma and they've no idea when he'll come out or what the results will be if he does come out of the coma ... and I'd get "At least he's still alive!" Whereas my Australian friends would say much more comforting things.Morning, afternoon and evening, all...
Love all the different perspectives! When our discussions range from panties to the perils of positive thinking in 48 hours, it's definitely a wide range... We make me happy.
I think the biggest impact for me in terms of happiness/joy etc. is simply being able to recognize when you are happy. So very many people who've walked through my life simply don't know when they're happy and continue to search for it, mourn for it, and believe they don't have it. Those "mini-moments" simply don't get recognized... possibly because they believe happiness means they are happy all the time, every waking moment. Not sure that, as humans, that's even possible.
Regarding the happiness side of things, I mentioned I never found the place of constant happiness I felt like I was expected to find. In fact, I've never been able to nail down what "happy" is or is supposed to feel like. What I found instead was a general contentment with a portion of my life, and enjoyment in certain aspects of my life. I figure that's close enough.
Machka in Oz4 -
All that said ...
M in Oz6 -
Did the RushFit DVD. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. The plan for tomorrow is to do the Peak Fitness Challenge DVD. That’s not as long as I usually work out but I have to leave early to meet Jess to pick up Shadow. We’ll be watching her while Jess is in Iowa. She’s a worry wart so I was going to tell her that Vince was home cutting the grass but he feels that I should tell her the truth. I’m just afraid it’ll spoil her vacation.
Rebecca – It’s nice to go away, but it’s nice to come home. How do you make the faux stained glass?
JR – you really impress me taking in all those children. I honestly don’t think I could do it. It takes someone real special and that’s you!
M – how right you are that our bodies change. I had a REALLY nice skirt suit, but when I went to try it on, it was just too tight around the waist. Still fit me in the hips but way too tight in the waist. My body just changed
Lisa – I’m not even going to waste my breath trying to get Vince to not worry about things being perfect. I’ll just do it my way and if he doesn’t like it, he can do it himself! Of course, he didn’t go to ceramics last night, I did. He was turning the steering wheel on the tractor (if I’d done it it just would have taken longer – that’s all) and pulled his back.
Pip – when was that pic of Bullwinkle with the underwear on taken? A friend of mine just had her dog spayed and the dog absolutely hated the “cone of shame” so what she did was buy an infant onesie and put that on the dog just until the stitches healed enough that she wouldn’t chew at them.
Barbara – normally, I would tell Vince to do it himself. I have. But I know right now the excuse will always be “my back” and nothing will get done unless I do it. Like today I grouted the spillover from the spa into the pool. Sure enough, Vince was right there even doing it. Poor me had to stand in the spa to do it Don’t you feel my pain??? Lol Anyway, there are things that I just can’t do (like screening, that takes 2 people), but like I said, if I don’t do it, it won’t get done at all. So rather than listening to complaints all the time, I’ll just do it myself
Went in the pool. Boy, do I feel good even tho I didn’t have the sound of the waterfall. Tonight the plan is to put the sealer on the new grout and hopefully I can get Vince to let me cut this wood. See, we want to put the ceramics that will go by the house on a piece of wood because right now I have to put them so far into the mulch that you can’t see their feet. Update: the grout wasn’t dry so we couldn’t put the sealer on
Welcome everyone new! Keep coming back and let us know more about you. Post when you feel like what you feel like
Whenever I purge something, it goes to the Salvation Army if it’s decent
Protein Powders: I use the Tone It Up. That was the only brand I could find that didn’t have added sugars or sugar substitute.
Drkatie – Getting protein powders in individual packets isn’t an option around here either. The only place I’ve ever seen that is in a health food store in FL
Kim – Yea for you!!!!
KJ – you always have such neat things that you have the kids doing. Wish my kids had that when they went to preschool
Michele in NC
That pic was a long time ago, maybe when she was 2-3 yrs old? Old trick from when I was a kid. Works great with boxers2 -
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Karen in VA - very, very wise. I like your summation on using positive affirmations. Visualizing positive outcome and letting it go.... your mom was a peach.
Lisa - "discussions range from panties to the perils of positive thinking in 48 hours" - LOL! Yep, what a unique group we have here.
Margaret - the Rumi poem is right on the money. He's one of my favorite poets/writers. His perspective is ageless and so very kind.
Barbara AHMOD - hope you can find a way to live in harmony with that bear and he/she doesn't turn into a rug in someone's den. I see there are bear repellent trash cans for $200/up. YIKES! Your blue garbage can looks like the one provided by our garbage utility. Our can sits out all the time by DH's shop.... I am surprised a raccoon or coyote hasn't tried to pry its way in.
Katla - WA State has very lax laws about 4th of July fireworks in my opinion.... too many days of the racket. That being said, every county has the option to totally ban them, and some counties have. What you are hearing and seeing is most likely fireworks purchased on reservations and being used illegally. Even with burn bans, the "kids" of all ages will set them off. And there aren't enough police to respond to the hundreds of complaints. Sigh. I've loaded up on "calmative" pills for our older dog. I'm going to try some CBD treats and see if that takes the edge off for her too. Being the vengeful sort at times, DH and I always get a thrill from hearing an ambulance during the week of night-long explosions and hoping some drunken dimwit has lost a body part.
Machka - I see a lot of myself in your discussion about not being a natural caregiver.
Heather - As I read our chatter here about positive thinking, I wonder what your DIL's take would be? I know I pick up little gems from everyone's viewpoints.
A couple years ago, I ran across Dr. David Hanscom who wrote "Back in Control" about how to deal with back pain. (I know I've mentioned him in this forum before. Apologies for the rerun, lol. )
One of his primary rules was to not talk about your hurting back - don't give that pain power. He's not saying to deny it. I've noticed when I'm out with my girlfriends, my aches and pains seem to disappear. I think of my grandmother and my dad (her son) who had various surgeries, and their motto was "don't give in to it" - move past it and get on with what needs to be done. As farmers, there was a lot to be done.
And, they treated their pain as a temporary visitor, much like Rumi's outlook.
On that note, time for some stretches. Make it a wonderful Friday, ladies!!
Lanette
Sunny & cool SW WA State3 -
Spent some quality time with Alfie and my DFIL in rare.form this.morning.. he had me cracking up..
Gonna be a hot one today so going to keep the shades pulled ..
Working 11-5 today.1
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