Taking care of yourself

Well - my latest poll is finished and it seems that most of us take care of ourselves with exercise. That is great news! Exercise releases endorphins and that is why you get that relaxed feeling after you work out. You have to move that energy around so it does not get stuck and fester. If we were in China we would call this energy chi, in yogic tradition they call it prana. Of course, since I am studying to be a yoga instructor, I highly recommend trying yoga if you have not. You do not need to be a flexible, vegetarian, incense loving hippie to get the benefits of this 5000 year old practice. Also, it is NOT a religion or a religious practice. Yoga literally means unity - and in the case of a physical yoga practice it means unifying breath and movement. It can also unite you with your higher power though meditation (or at least attempt to) after your asana practice - and that is great, but it is not a religion by any definition.

Anyway - on to the star of our corner of the interweb - Hailey!!!!! She is resting at home with mom today. Its so good to have mama take care of you when you are sick - there is nothing like it. They took Colleen to school this morning, then Hailey is getting IV fluids again at 10:40 am. They also check her blood counts etc...while she is there. Yesterday the PA on duty said to Hailey "WOW, your counts are really low!" - Hailey was not as surprised as the PA was because she could feel how bad it was. She is weak, tired, keeps getting a low fever (nothing to worry about, yet) and she has fainted a few times at home - but hanging tough :) It makes me tired & worried just thinking about all of that...ugh.

Also, her car is fixed - she had to get a belt replaced and it only cost $200 - so it could have been much worse. Poor thing freaked out yesterday in the parking lot of a church when her car started acting funny - she said it was not pretty, lots of cussing involved. She was much calmer when I saw her last night and she seems OK this morning as far as stress level is concerned.

We had a good visit last night - I made her dinner (her ususal, chicken noodle soup, saltines and fresh apple juice) and we hung out on her front porch in the rocking chairs enjoying the breeze. It feels so nice outside! I love fall, but I will miss flip flops. I hate shoes...stop calling me a hippie ;)

Here is a picture for today starring Hailey's awesome tat. The star is supposed to bring you good fortune and the Hope - well, that is pretty self explanatory. She has had many compliments even from older grandma types at our church, but she has also had some strange looks. We hope people dont think she is a skin head! Tattoos, bald head, a WP sticker on her car (stands for Widespread Panic, but somebody could infer otherwise) plus she looks like she could kick your butt even as sick as she is, so we think that people may be coming to the wrong conclusion here.
*Heather shakes her head & rolls eyes*



OH! And for the poor person (I am betting its a woman) who voted on the poll that they dont have time to take care of themselves...HEAR THIS NOW! Nobody else is going to do it for you and you can not take care of others very well if you do not take care of yourself. Ten minutes a day to dedicate to yourself is a good start - listen to nice music, do some stretching, go outside, just be quiet...anything...just do it :)

Love & Light
Heather