What Chapter is This?

A couple evenings ago, I began to reflect on our daily activities. This reflection illuminated something I've been vaguely aware of for the past couple of years: short outings/activities can be a result of your pets becoming elderly. But what had not occurred to me before--are we currently living in a pet hospice?

Our sweet (to us) Izzy, seems to become more anxious every month. Electronic dings and pings, rile her up, and lately she no longer stays sleeping in the same room with us during the night. Her reluctance to drink water on her own, means we feed her 3 times during the day (nearly 2 cups of water added to prescription food)--which keeps us close to home.

And then there's cantankerous Hope, who has become friendlier to strangers in her old age, but it's obvious she's losing strength and agility. She's 3-4 years older than Izzy, but seems more active.

And during this chapter, I'm thankful for N. He's a better pet parent than I. He notices things I don't and is awesome at getting us out for dog walks. {full disclosure: walking may be the wrong term--it's more of a sniff and stop and mosey}

Social Media Feels

I have weeks when I feel the weight
     of all the words I add to social media.
The words occupy active space in my brain:
     I replay my posts/comments repeatedly,
          I edit, I delete, it even bothers my sleep.
And often I don't just ponder deleting.
     Once I start deleting, on fb particularly, I find it difficult to stop.

But then I wonder . . .
    if I delete fb completely . . . will I feel worse?

A New Year, A New Post

After reading Carolyn Hax all these years, I've become more aware of personal boundaries, how numerous they are and why it's important to respect other folks'. And then, over a year ago, I lose a bunch of weight. The questions began to be asked--questions about the weight of my body.

My first thought:
"No one would be asking these questions if I'd gained weight."

I tried to deflect curious folks I don't know as well and soon-- I began to get irritated when asked.

Do I have all this boundary stuff wrong?

Looking back, I wish I had been less concerned with the boundaries being crossed and realized those asking the questions thought we were close enough to broach the subject of my weight. AND I wish I'd understood it all (okay, most) came from concern and love.

Perhaps this is a lesson in: One Size Does Not Fit All?

Hairy Thoughts and Deeds

Since deciding to retire, I've under gone a few minor changes. One intentional, the other unplanned, but shouldn't (to be honest) have been unexpected.

Like many folks, I spend too much time thinking about my hair. (Our crowning glory?) I could blame it on that popular pixie cut (I had until high school) that my Mom had read in a magazine was the only way to tame my wavy hair. Or, more likely, I could blame it on my lack of fortitude to stick to something for more than a short period of time.

Longer hair, the care and feeding of, is something a person needs to expend time and effort to learn how to do. Also, deciding to embrace and grow out curly or wavy hair, means you have to let go of that 'each hair in its place' mentality. That's a positive for me, but learning to (mostly) 'leave it alone', can create an internal struggle, between hair and hands.

My current hair care and schedule:

1. Wash every 3-4 days. 
2. Use one product in shower after shampoo & conditioner
3. I use a diffuser (no brush or comb) for about 6 minutes to get the air drying started.
4. Wear satin sleep cap to bed
5. After showering on a 'no hair wash day', hang head upside down, gently use fingers to comb and shake through strands of hair. If needed I may work in a small diluted amount of product into my hair on no wash days, but tbh I prefer a softer feel and look.

My current product choice is from Ouidad's Vitalcurl line, but I'm open to suggestions.

The other minor change happened while I was trying to balance pain relief with a sensitive stomach (yet again). I thought I'd conquered the right way to take Naproxen, but then one day my stomach had had enough.

My brain didn't hang onto the details, but over a period of weeks my stomach began to hurt during meals and then I completely lost my appetite. Losing your appetite has always sounded like a minor thing, when reading an article, but once you experience it you know it's not minor at all. Every forkful (even dessert!!) took another concentrated effort to get that food in my mouth. Now, looking back over the last year, I feel like the 'event' reset my appetite. What else can I attribute my sudden ability to eat correct portions for my body weight? Eating half as much as I used to, is not the problem I can remember from the last time I lost weight.

I did my best to eat a bite here and there, but the weight began to fall off my body--nearly 50 lbs. Recounting the experience, reminds me of the old joke about whether you want the good news or bad news first. If there was good news, it was losing that weight. To me, the weight represented pregnancy and grief. Not things to be done with, but to embrace, honor and accept. The bad news, obviously, was I now had to use acetaminophen to control the constant hip pain. Thankfully, I was sent to a neuro muscular physical therapist. He gave me insight and exercises to strengthen my gluteus minimus--a common problem as we age and change. I look forward to conquering a proper squat.

There were hairy moments, but I reached out for help. Even though I didn't get the pain injection I was after, I may have ended up with something better--a little more knowledge about my body and some tools to help. Huh! I guess that covers the hair status as well!

Fun With My Microbiome

I've been fascinated with microbes, ever since I first read about their many roles--roles that are still waiting to be discovered. As a result, I peeled fewer vegetables, was okay with a little organic dirt, and ate as little processed food as I could. All things, I believe, that contribute to a healthier me.

Recently, I began to notice that wounds weren't healing as quickly as they used to. When you sleep with pups, their dreams can cause human scratches. Then *I* scratched an itch in my half sleep state. Rather a nasty gouge, it was. Aha! An opportunity to experiment with wound care!

The nasty gouge appeared approximately 2 weeks ago on my lower arm. I began to search for articles regarding wounds and by happenstance stumbled upon a health article written about using a pumice stone, all over, in the shower. I had no idea! Did you?

What I've learned so far:

• Read entire article before beginning
• Make sure you own one of the smoother stones
• I've noticed a difference already

What I've learned regarding my own wound care:

• There's is no substitute for a good regular cleansing of wounds
• I saw improvement in healing, when I washed the area thoroughly 3x a day
• The stone helps remove old tissue surrounding wound

If you want to give it a try, but are concerned about hurting your skin--start on your rear. You'll enjoy a smoother end, tomorrow.