Attention and energy

I frequently use the videos of Keith Hughes in my classes. His HipHughesHistory offerings are extensive and give to the point summaries that help my students.  Each video ends with his quote, "where attention goes, energy flows" and is a reminder that we should keep our focus.

I'm struggling to find my focus.  My attention is drawn in many directions and my energy is waning.

• My FIL has stage 4 Parkinson's. 
• My MIL has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
• she moved in with us a few weeks ago
• she has weekly dr/chemo visits
• she makes little effort to do for herself, even when feeling better and can
• Their house has to be renovated and sold.
• My cousin, raised as a brother, suddenly died last week and the loss is devastating.

Life is overwhelming. I know that going to the gym will help. Time.  I know that blogging would help clear my head and refocus.  Time.  How do you take care of yourself?  How do you find time to do all that needs to be done personally and professionally?  There are only so many hours in the day.  

That dense fog of life

I feel like my week needs a fog advisory.  While I am thankful to be recovering from a sinus infection the fog of medication and fluid in the ears is really disrupting my days.  It doesn't help that the squirrels I teach are way to squirrely.

Positive progress has been made this week.  I have been to the gym everyday!  This is a major celebration.  Life is better when there is exercise involved. We feel better. We cope better.  It has to happen.  The only way that I can do it regularly is to go directly from work. It is a crap time to go, but it works.  If I go home first it is way too easy to get side-tracked or just give up and take a nap.

My motivation for better shape:

If we have any hope of paddling Dauphin Island bay I have to get in better shape.  So almost four months to get my body to tolerate the outdoor activities I love.

Time flies when you're having fun...

Or something like that.

I started this blog with good intentions, but life...you know how it goes. Honestly, I didn't have anything to say. I'm not sure that I have anything to say now. Maybe a few rant and raves about the state of education, behavior of students, personal hygiene issues of middle schoolers, or the anxiety of my dog which results in sleep deprivation.

Life is hectic at times, but I am happy. Well, happy with most things. The craziness of life has disrupted our healthy living.  Gone are the days of rush to the gym after work. I would like to say we are so busy and use that as our excuse. Honestly though, with two in college, two in high school and driving themselves, and one in middle school we have  more time now than we had a year or two ago.
If I blame anything I blame myself and the extreme lack of motivation that comes from teaching middle school. We start school at 9 and get out of school at 4. I am NOT a morning person, not by any stretch of the imagination.  Getting out at 4, there are days that I am here until 5:30 or 6.  Yes, we have a planning period. It is taken up with meetings and meetings to talk about the meeting we are going to have. This is the most meeting centered group of my professional career. There is NO time for anything else! By the end of the day I don't want to do anything else and certainly do not want to set foot in a gym. Something is going to have to give. I have a Groupon for Burn Boot Camp so I will either have to go or waste that money.  Hating to waste money I look forward to that month of unlimited health conscious torture.

What does the future hold?  Time will tell.

H, I, J speeding by

House stuff, insanity and just getting by.

I knew April was going to be tough, but it is proving to be everything expected and more.  We close on both houses in ten days...HOPEFULLY.  Road blocks are teasing us. Slowly but surely I think it will all work out.  We are certainly working to pack everything and make the final step easier.  

Father in law is having surgery today. We have not been as involved as we would like, but fortunately home health has been available to make things a little easier in their household.  I don't know how long he will be in the hospital after today's kidney stone removal.  We sort of hope it will be three days which will allow for insurance to cover a recovery period in a rehab facility.  It is getting to the time where he needs constant care. Unfortunately he is not ready to accept this. 

Day to day we seem to be just getting by. Everything is getting done, but sometimes it feels like barely is the best description.  

Life is about choices.Each day I am having to choose whether to blog or go to the gym.  Yesterday, gym won.  Today, blogging...with hope that gym will be a part of it too.  Pretty sure I will go back to blogging when I can. It certainly shouldn't be a stress point. There's plenty of that without blogging being part of it.  

Growing up: Ten thoughts

Today's AtoZ post is G for growing up.  Many of us wouldn't mind going back to a certain age, with the knowledge that we have as an adult. Growing up isn't all bad, but there are many things I wish I had realized earlier in life.

1. Naps are not a bad thing.  I hated naps as a child. In kindergarten it was torture to have to stop learning time and get my mat for nap time.  Now, I fully support nap time in all grade levels and think it would be wise for the workplace as well. 

2. Oh to be as busy as I was in high school.  Yes, students have full schedules these days.  Parents of students have it much worse. We have our adult responsibilities and our parent/student responsibilities. I remember being overwhelmed as a junior and senior, but I still had time to chill.  Now, it seems that every day is jammed with adult responsibilities or kid responsibilities.  Someone the other day asked what TV shows I watched.  When do I have time to watch TV???  

3. Life is about change, deal with it.  Plans change. Situations change. Circumstances change.

4. Be flexible.  See #3.   You have to be willing to be flexible when things come up or you will drive yourself nuts.

5.  Time is valuable.  All those times I didn't have time to go home for a visit are regrets. I would love to have the opportunity for another visit with my Gran.  I know we shouldn't live with regret, and I don't agonize over it, but I have no clue what was so important that I couldn't go home some of those times.  Time is valuable, use it wisely because you can't get it back.

6. Relationships are work and if you want them to work you have to work!  Love is not enough if you don't show it, if you don't communicate, and you don't value your partner.  You really need to work on liking the person too.  That initial infatuation is not enough to build a life on. Life changes and if you do not adapt and work at your relationships the life changes will get in the way and destroy what may have once been good.

7. You get what you put in.  If you don't put in effort then you will get poor results.  You can be as fulfilled as you seek to be. To be successful in school you have to participate in school. You have to do your assignments and you have to try to get involved.  Same with life. You have to participate to get joy out of it. 

8. Health is important.  You have to take care of yourself and you can't wait until something is wrong before you start!  

9.  Rejection happens and it isn't always a bad thing.  Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the things that didn't work out. Learn from life.  You may not get the job you wanted, you may have to try something else. Life has a way of working things out and you have to walk the path.  Some things work out and some things don't. Work with what you have.

10.  You can always learn something.  Be a lifelong learner. Never stop.  Seek knowledge. It's part of the participating in life thing.  

Live life. Give joy. Be at peace.  

Friendships, how many do you really have?

F is for friendship. Today's A-to-Z.

How many friends do you have?  How many friends do you need? Who is really a friend?  According to Facebook I have 160 friends.  These are 160 people I have met or have interacted with to some degree. Do you consider your social circle your friends?  How many of your social media friends would you call on for help?

There are several things from this 3/18/2015 TIME article that I find interesting.  Friends are necessary for our good health and our happiness.  I believe that.

According to data from the General Social Survey (GSS), the number of Americans who say they have no close friends has roughly tripled in recent decades. “Zero” is also the most common response when people are asked how many confidants they have, the GSS data show. And adult men seem to be especially bad at keeping and cultivating friendships.

My best friend is my husband. I have three others that I consider close friends and we correspond regularly, but have not seen each other in years. I have some "friends" that I see on a semi regular basis but I would not share intimate details with them or call if there was an issue.  There are very few people I would actually call with any problem.  If my three besties were closer I wouldn't hesitate to call them.

Apparently 15 is the magic number for how many close relationships we should have when it comes to our best mental and physical health.  I don't know that I have 15 individuals, friends or family, that I would consider close.  I also do not feel deprived.

I enjoy my social interactions, but I can also put my phone away and enjoy the time with my best friend.  I started a blog in 2003 and wrote regularly.  I loved the social interaction. I craved the back and forth of blogging and discussion boards. I didn't have that interaction at home and looked for it online. It had an element of fulfillment. I decided to start another blog this year and it isn't the same. It is work. I still have some of the same friends, but I have a true best friend.  He is someone who cares about what I think. Listens to my ideas, complaints, frustrations, and celebrations.  He also shares his own.  We have a wonderful partnership in all aspects of our life.  A healthy friendship makes a difference in having a healthy life.  I am now emotionally fulfilled by my relationships. I am happier with me. I am happier with life.  

I don't think it is healthy to rely on your friendships for your emotional fulfillment, but I do think that friendships are an element of good emotional health.  How many friends do you REALLY have?  Do they know that you value them?  That's the other thing, let people know that they have value.  You can contribute to their well being.  

E is for Environment

Today's A to Z Challenge is brought to you by the letter E.  This Wednesday after spring break I am missing the Island.  This trip we spent our time exploring the Audubon Bird Sanctuary.  I will be sharing images throughout the month.

Right now...my environment is not conducive to blogging. Maybe April was not the best month to try to do this.  :-/