Reflections

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  1. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    5 days ago

    My post never made it yesterday for some reason. I am feeling uncertain about next year when I am at Full retirement age if I will be able to work PT. My co-worker and I had a perfect plan of sharing a position but we were told it would be still 2 positions. We set up a meeting to look into it further since she would not need any benefits working only 2 days.

    1. Michele
      Michele
      4 days ago

      Hoping it all works out for you Robin Ann.

    2. Patti
      sunnypatti
      4 days ago

      I hope your job works out for you, Robin Ann.

  2. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    6 days ago

    Uncertain if I will be able to work PT next May as I as hoped for. My coworker and I wanted to job share and she doesn’t need benefits but my company considers it still 2 full time position slots. So we requested a meeting with HR to go over it further. 😔

  3. sparrow51014
    sparrow
    6 days ago

    There are quite literally
    hundreds of day lily and hosta stalks
    in the gardens of my little half acre
    (I counted them once,
    several years ago),
    and the job of cutting them down
    and pulling them out
    has only grown.

    I despair,
    thinking that I’m getting too old to do the job.
    Am I?
    Last year
    someone stepped in to help me
    but now
    that someone is gone
    and the new stalks await,
    looking sad, tired,
    and bedraggled
    every time I look at them.
    I myself,
    in those moments,
    feel sad, tired,
    and bedraggled,
    hopelessly imprisoned
    in a body with a back
    that can no longer bend for hours.

    Last week though,
    I decided
    that doing something
    was better than doing nothing,
    and went outside with my clippers
    and clipped a few stems,
    and then a few more
    and a few more.
    Soon
    I had a nice little pile to put in the wheelbarrow.
    I went back the next day
    and the next,
    and today I can see a difference,
    which gives me hope
    that I’m not too old at all . . .
    just a little slower.
    I am certain now,
    that by the time snow falls
    the gardens will be clear of every stalk.

    Doing something
    is better than doing nothing. ♥

    1. Michele
      Michele
      5 days ago

      “Doing something is better than doing nothing” – thank you for this reminder Dear Sparrow.

      1. sparrow51014
        sparrow
        5 days ago

        It works for me,
        dear Michele . . . 🙂

    2. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      6 days ago

      Our day lily, just have one big clump, finished up its last flower yesterday. Gave us a good season of a couple three flowers a day for about 2 months, dear Sparrow. Your mention of the stalks reminded me of this. 🌱❤️

      1. sparrow51014
        sparrow
        5 days ago

        Day lilies
        are so resilient and strong . . .
        they are a jewel in any garden,
        are they not,
        dear Joseph? 🌱

        1. Joseph
          Joseph McCann
          5 days ago

          Just add water!

  4. D
    Drea
    6 days ago

    I like to run, and it turns out that I, like many runners, tilt my pelvis back. This, in turn, makes the legs and feet work harder than they need to, and leads to repetitive use injury. Through grace & fate, I became aware of my proclivity this week, and am taking steps to remedy it. On today’s run, I made a few little tweaks and already felt less pounding on my legs, knees, and feet. The hope is to patiently rejigger my running form through body awareness and practice. The action is to make small adjustments and be patient with the inevitable confusion.

    1. Mary
      M2
      5 days ago

      Go, Drea! Monitor and adjust!

      1. D
        Drea
        5 days ago

        Yes! The body is a teacher, but I’m still learning to listen. Kind of amazing how much wisdom is in there.

  5. Emmaleah46781
    Emmaleah
    6 days ago

    Right now, I am uncertain as to weather Hurricane Lowell will impact my island. I am hopeful that it will follow the newest prediction and stay west of us. I have already done the majority of my prepping, for now I will let go of the stress I was feeling yesterday and try to stay hopeful.

    1. pkr29022
      pkr
      5 days ago

      Dear Emmaleah, praying for you & all the Hawaiian Islands.
      I was married on Kaua’i, love the Islands.
      Stay strong, be safe.
      🙏🏻✨🙏🏻✨🙏🏻✨🙏🏻✨🙏🏻✨🙏🏻❤️

    2. Patti
      sunnypatti
      5 days ago

      I hope it continues following that new prediction, too, missing you and everyone on your island. 🙏🏼

    3. Michele
      Michele
      5 days ago

      I hope Hurricane Lowell passes you too. The Pacific has been very active this year.

    4. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      6 days ago

      Our son has the same concern of Lowell, Emmaleah.

      1. Emmaleah46781
        Emmaleah
        6 days ago

        I hope your son stays safe, Joseph. Is he on Kaua’i?

        1. Joseph
          Joseph McCann
          5 days ago

          Oahu but he was going to go to Kona. He said that it should be missed.

    5. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      6 days ago

      I hope,
      dear Emmaleah,
      that this hurricane misses you . . .
      your islands
      have had so much devastation recently.
      You need some space to recover. ♥

      1. Emmaleah46781
        Emmaleah
        6 days ago

        Thank you ❤️

    6. D
      Drea
      6 days ago

      Wishing you and your island safety and ease, Emmaleah.

      1. Emmaleah46781
        Emmaleah
        6 days ago

        Thank you ❤️

  6. pkr29022
    pkr
    6 days ago

    Pray & surrender.
    Happy Friday All. Enjoy this beautiful day.
    🕊️❤️

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      6 days ago

      Thank you PKR and a lovely Friday evening to you!

  7. Antoinette88615
    Antoinette
    6 days ago

    Take a swim and go in the sauna !

  8. Charlie T
    Charlie T
    6 days ago

    The hopeful action that I try to take every day, is to surrender to uncertainty. It would be nice if I could embrace uncertainty, but I’m not there yet. Call it what you will, faith, trust, or just the knowledge that things can go many ways and I have very little control over that. It’s the control that my ego wants.
    By practicing gratitude, I am reminding myself, that things can go many different ways, and I am able to respond with some agility. Attempting to not judge situations so quickly, to give it a minute, things have a way of morphing over time. Knowing that I need very little to be content, also helps relax into the uncertainty.
    Happy Friday to you all. May we all experience some peace and joy today. 🙏😁

    1. Mary
      M2
      5 days ago

      So much wisdom here, Charlie, thank you. One phrase that will stay with me is « respond with some agility ».🌸

    2. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      6 days ago

      🙏😊

    3. D
      Drea
      6 days ago

      Peace and joy to you too, Charlie.

    4. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      6 days ago

      “It would be nice if I could embrace uncertainty, but I’m not there yet.”

      I’m not either,
      dear Charlie,
      but like you,
      I am making the lesson
      part of my life’s journey.
      Thank you. ♥

    5. Carol Ann Conner
      Carol Ann Conner
      6 days ago

      Such a wise response, Charlie. I find it very helpful to me.

    6. Antoinette88615
      Antoinette
      6 days ago

      Happy Friday to you too ! Thank you for the positive vibes! 💞

  9. Ngoc Nguyen
    Ngoc Nguyen
    6 days ago

    Give myself a calm pause… taking some slow, deep breaths ready to play by flow… ☺

  10. Mary
    M2
    6 days ago

    I may sound like a broken record referencing my healing foot from a break this summer, but this weekend I want to try a couple activités I haven’t attempted since May. I want to play golf and I want to ride my mountain bike on an easy dirt trail. So rather than want to, I will just do. With golf, leave the driver in the bag, shorten the backswing, and just feel the joy of an easy swing. On my mountain bike, choose an easy trail, trust my body and skill set, and be totally in my body.

    1. Michele
      Michele
      5 days ago

      Have fun!

    2. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      6 days ago

      ⛳🚵Enjoy Mary.

    3. D
      Drea
      6 days ago

      I’ve heard from PTs on various occasions that we should push ourselves within reason, and see how the body reacts. Sounds like you’re on the right track.

    4. Patti
      sunnypatti
      6 days ago

      Sounds like a lovely weekend ahead, getting back to things you love doing, but being careful and wise. Enjoy!

    5. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      6 days ago

      I am happy to hear,
      dear Mary,
      that your foot
      is really healing well . . .
      it doesn’t always work out that way.
      No wonder you are grateful. ♥

    6. Antoinette88615
      Antoinette
      6 days ago

      Congratulations Mary so cool mountain biking and golf ! Nice work ! 💞💓

      1. Mary
        M2
        5 days ago

        Thank you all for your encouragement and support! Yesterday’s mountain bike ride made my heart sing and my foot felt good the rest of the day. Golf later today.🌺

        1. Antoinette88615
          Antoinette
          5 days ago

          Good job Mary! 😉🙌

  11. Misty96862
    Misty
    6 days ago

    I’ve been waking early with racing thoughts. Instead of lying in bed worrying, I’ve been getting up and doing a 5 minute gentle exercise routine I found on YouTube. Helps to reset my thinking.

    1. Mary
      M2
      6 days ago

      I can’t credit this quote, Misty, however you are exemplifying it. « Nothing alleviates anxiety like action. »😉

      1. Misty96862
        Misty
        6 days ago

        A great quote for me to remember – thank you, Mary.

  12. Patti
    sunnypatti
    6 days ago

    There’s not a lot of uncertainty with our upcoming move, but I will use today to take care of more packing and cleaning. I’ve been off since Tuesday and it’s all coming along fine. But it’s still a lot of work and stirs up some stress. I’m grateful I took the week off. We were originally going to travel to Florida this week and start our move, but since we’ve sold most of the large items in our home, we decided to save a trip. This time was needed in the current home, and I hope all of our efforts help us get our deposit back!

    Happy Friday, friends ☀️

    1. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      5 days ago

      Hope all goes well with your move Sunnypatti!

    2. Michele
      Michele
      5 days ago

      I am sure you will be leaving your sunny positive energy in the old place that the new tenants will feel. I’m excited for your journey 🙂

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        5 days ago

        I can’t believe we’re moving a week from tomorrow ✨

    3. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      6 days ago

      I don’t envy you a bit,
      dear SunnyPatti,
      all of the sorting and packing.
      When we moved here 14 years ago
      I swore that I planned to die in this house
      rather than navigate another move. 🙂

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        5 days ago

        My mom said pretty much the same when I spoke to her the other day. She & my dad bought the house they’re in now in 1998, the year I graduated high school. But she apparently told my dad that this house was it. The one she’d stay in until her last day!

        1. sparrow51014
          sparrow
          5 days ago

          🙂

      2. Joseph
        Joseph McCann
        6 days ago

        When we moved to this place in “98”, 12 miles down the road from where we lived, I told my lovely wife and our children, then 8 & 10 that the next time I move it will be either in a box or urn!

        1. sparrow51014
          sparrow
          5 days ago

          Me too . . . 🙂

    4. D
      Drea
      6 days ago

      Good luck with the final touches! It always takes forever to get out and leave a place clean, doesn’t it.

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        6 days ago

        Sure feels like it!

    5. Mary
      M2
      6 days ago

      All the best, Sunny Patti!🌺

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        6 days ago

        Thank you, Mary 🙂

  13. L
    Louise
    6 days ago

    I’m only feeling uncertain about what kind of nursing job to take after I finished school. I recently turned down a job in Northern Ontario because I was uncertain about housing. The action I can take is to make up my mind about what I really want. I either want to stay in my house that I’m living in now, or I want a job that provides housing the entire time without any fuss, like what I had when I worked in China.

    1. D
      Drea
      6 days ago

      Good luck on your job hunt Louise. I noticed traveling nurses in the US do quite well, not sure if there’s a similar thing in Canada.

      1. L
        Louise
        6 days ago

        Yeah I know about that, but I have to do a “return to service” in the long term care sector, which isn’t a part of the “travel nursing” sector. Thanks though!

        1. D
          Drea
          6 days ago

          I had to look up “return to service” — understood. That’s pretty cool that you can do that kind of work exchange, doubt we have a similar thing here. Or maybe it’s the rural work exchange Joseph had mentioned a while back … I’m always learning about such things.

          1. L
            Louise
            6 days ago

            So cute!

  14. Michele
    Michele
    6 days ago

    The results of my first DEXA scan (Bone Density) reported that I have osteopenia. I will take extra calcium and Vit D – that is my action. I will be mowing my yards today – chore exercise.
    I’m off and will be enjoying a long weekend. 🙂

    https://nationaltoday.com/national-wildlife-day/

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      6 days ago

      You will prevail, Michele. I had a bone densimeter scan many years ago, at least 40+ when I participated in a San Luis Valley wide diabetes study. The picture of my entire skeleton looked cool, I recall.

    2. D
      Drea
      6 days ago

      Glad the scan caught it, seems like an opportunity to fix it before it progresses. I am thankful for some of modern medicine’s scans, labs and scopes for catching things early.

    3. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      6 days ago

      I have a touch of that too,
      dear Michele . . .
      seems like a lot of people have this
      as we get older.
      Exercise works wonders. ♥

      ps. I will be in full celebration of National Wildlife Day.
      ‘My’ goldfinches
      are loving the seeds in the sunflowers I planted. 🌻

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        6 days ago

        So true about the exercise. I know a lady whose osteopenia went away. She said her doctor told her it was because of the strength training and yoga. I don’t recall her saying how long it took, but she was given the clear, which is wonderful! Just no deep forward folds with a rounded spine (keep the spine long) or major twists (twists are okay, just let your hips twist with your torso) – that much I do know!

    4. L
      Louise
      6 days ago

      You will also get sunlight when you mow the lawn, which is good for vitamin D too!

      1. Michele
        Michele
        6 days ago

        🌞

  15. Joseph
    Joseph McCann
    6 days ago

    My lovely wife Cheryl and I are leaving for Forney, Texas in six days to visit Team Tirell, our daughters nick name for their family and their last name. My sister’s husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a month ago. He died Monday morning 8/31. A memorial service is planned for 9/25. 9/24/02 was when my brother’s funeral was held. The uncertain feeling is the cost in money. Michael lived in San Diego, CA. Allen lived in Simi Valley, CA. Money. I know it is only numbers. I know I have never had much of it. I know I have always had enough. Both years droughts. Both years’, time for garden harvest of root crops and the rest of the corn. Uncertainty. I had it in “02” also. All will be well. All manner of things will be well.
    Presence with what is, will be my action.
    Peace, Love & Light.

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      5 days ago

      Thanks to all for the wellbeing thoughts and vibes. Very much appreciated. Namaste.

    2. Y
      Yram
      5 days ago

      Sending loving thoughts and prayers.

    3. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      5 days ago

      Very sorry for your family’s loss Joseph and for a very hard year of harvest. Safe trip to Texas as well.

    4. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      6 days ago

      My heart goes with you
      and with your lovely wife,
      Cheryl,
      dear Joseph,
      as you embark on this journey
      (for I can only call it that).
      It was quite recently
      that you mentioned how quickly
      your brother in law
      went from being a hearty, healthy looking man,
      to someone who was quite ill . . .
      it’s a shock how quickly that can happen.
      He died very quickly.
      I also well understand the money thing . . .
      it’s only numbers,
      sure,
      but it’s also how you survive your own life.
      This always comes to mind for me too,
      as we are older now
      and income is limited.
      But you are right,
      and i would do well to remind myself of this as well . . .
      “all manner of things WILL be well.”
      Blessings,
      and may the Divine
      go with you. ((( ♥ )))

    5. Carol Ann Conner
      Carol Ann Conner
      6 days ago

      “Presence with what is, will be my action.” What a profound and wise statement. Moment by moment may you feel and know the wisdom of NOW.

      1. Christina Rossi75270
        Christina
        6 days ago

        I love your quote, Carol! Presence.

    6. Antoinette88615
      Antoinette
      6 days ago

      Sorry for your loss Joseph. Take care and be well . Hugs 🤗

    7. Antoinette88615
      Antoinette
      6 days ago

      Sorry for your loss Joseph. Take care and be well . Hugs 🤗

    8. D
      Drea
      6 days ago

      I’m so sorry for your loss, Joseph. Safe travels.

    9. Mary
      M2
      6 days ago

      Blessings on your journey, Joseph.🌺

    10. Michele
      Michele
      6 days ago

      My condolences on the loss of your brother-in-law, I’m so sorry. I will be thinking of your sister and family and that sudden loss. Safe travels next week too.

    11. Patti
      sunnypatti
      6 days ago

      I’m sorry about your brother-in-law, Joseph.

    12. Christina Rossi75270
      Christina
      6 days ago

      Boy, Joseph you have a lot goin’ on!

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