Clones

I'm often saying I need a clone. It would be so nice to be able to share the work with another me. She would know how I like things done. She would think like me. She would do exactly what I want her to do. Wouldn't she? A good friend of mine brought up a good questions the other day. What if a clone took the other side in matters where you're torn? What if she called you on the things you know you shouldn't be doing but do anyway? What if she was better at living up to the standards you set for yourself, but don't always live up to? You could end up in a very frustrating situation! If you fight with yourself you'd never win! You might end up with a stalemate and NOTHING would get accomplished instead of TWICE the work. AUUGGG!! That would be awful. So now, instead of saying I need a clone, I think I just want a robot who doesn't think for themselves, but does exactly what I say when I say. Though, there's probably something intrinsically wrong with that, too, and it would backfire on me as well. Maybe I should just quit complaining and get things done myself.

Acupuncture

After a year of fighting crashes (in the water not the car) and several visits to the doctor to try to figure out what was wrong with DB we finally gave up on western medicine and went to an acupuncturist. Her first visit was earlier this week. Dr. Zhu talked with DB about what was wrong with her from her point of view for a few minutes. He asked about her eating and sleeping patterns, felt her pulse (or at least that's what it looked like) and made his diagnosis. She's not getting enough deep restful sleep, so she doesn't have enough oxygen in her body to support her when she swims. He can fix this by aligning the energy in her body properly through the course of six treatments in three weeks. And then came the words of profound wisdom, "It will work (pause) or it will not. We will see."


DB said the first treatment was a little uncomfortable on one side of her body, but no major pain. Today she was told that the reason for the discomfort was her chi was out of alignment, and as it gets put in to place it will no longer hurt. And guess what... HE WAS RIGHT! Already her practices are better, she feels stronger, and she's lasting longer before she crashes. It amazes me how sticking a few needles in strategic places and relaxing in a warm, darkened room with soft music playing can have such a profound difference on physical activity, but it has. I can hardly wait to see the difference all six treatments will make. Evidently, "It will work!"

Chemotherapy Buddy

Chemotherapy! Just the word sounds scary. Thankfully, the people closest to me have not been affected by the big C. Until now. A few weeks ago my dear friend Kristen was diagnosed with breast cancer. She quickly had a double mastectomy and had lymph nodes removed from under her left arm. She is the mother of 4 children and friend to thousands! She's an amazing woman. And has always been so full of energy she is difficult to keep up with. She comforted ME when she told me about the cancer... I cried and she soothed. that's just the type of person she is. 


Today I went with her to her first round of chemo. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't at all what I saw when we got there. The patients are incredible. Everyone is supportive of the newbie. The room is filled with words of wisdom, advice and encouragement. Doctors, nurses, patients, friends - everyone has a  positive outlook on life. I never would have expected this to be the place to come to make new friends and improve your mood


Thanks to Kristen's fight, I've realized that I need to enjoy my life more, be willing to take a few chances, follow my dreams, encourage my children to follow theirs, and have a positive impact on the people around me. I need to - no, I HAVE to avoid worry and get more out of my life. Just as Kristen had the cancer removed from her body, I need to remove the negativity from my life. And if that means having a difficult surgery to cut away life sucking people and things, so be it.

Swim Season Begins

I got to see DB swim for the first time this season. It was a short swim, but she was in the water, and it was beautiful! The meet was at Round Rock High School (I love that place) during the school day. My wonderful team covered me while I raced to RR (I even took the toll road, gasp) and back. I can't believe how much her form has changed since I saw her swim in June. She's like a different person, umm fish. She was much more confident and secure looking. Her "Big Sister" for swimming was watching near me, and was able to tell me that, yes, she really did swim well. Not just by being one of the first ones to finish in her heat (it was too close for my naked eyes to tell who was first and who was second), but also in her form. It's always nice to have someone who knows what they're talking about to confirm my belief that she's incredible. :-) 


She also got to see a friend she's known since Wee School when she was three-years-old. The young man (who was a bit of a toot then) has turned into a very nice, very talented swimmer/diver, very handsome, guitar playing, Christian young man. With that long list of attributes he was interesting to many of the other girls on her team, and they suddenly needed to talk to DB when she began to visit with him. They made plans to try to get together to do something later. Maybe the boy who defended her from bullies when she was three and four will be back in her life... who knows?