Color

Come the last week of August I will begin caring for a two and a half year old little boy. Having just gotten back into caring for little ones I've been a little apprehensive about taking on a toddler full time. What have I forgotten? Am I still organized and energetic enough to care for more than one little one at a time?

Yesterday I went with a friend, who is presently watching the boy I will be inheriting from her in August, to a playgroup that they attend on a weekly basis. I thought it would be a good idea for me to spend some time with him before August and also get a feel for the playgroup as I intend to carry on this tradition. When we left the playgroup I had the answers to my questions - sort of and yes, respectively!

I have forgotten - I've forgotten the incredibly LOUD sound it makes when you put twenty plus toddlers in a room together! It is the most uplifting, invigorating sound I know. Even the cries are invigorating because they evoke in me a call to action, "What can I do to help?" "How can I make it all better?". You're always calling on your problem solving skills when you're around little ones. Of course, they're not always open to the solutions!

Apparently the trash can had been moved since the last playgroup and I got the biggest kick out of watching the kids attempt to throw their trash away after snack time. One by one they'd come running up to where the trash used to be, enthusiastically anticipating a "Good job!" from mom or caregiver for their willingness to clean up after themselves, only to be met by a big barrel filled with blocks. The look on their faces was priceless! They'd stand there looking utterly confused and stare at the blocks, not saying a word, as if in disbelief. Maybe if they stood there and stared long enough the garbage can would re-appear? Then they would start scanning the room and if they didn't see the trash can you'd hear a loud "HEY!" or some chose to run back to the table and leave the garbage there. After watching this for a few minutes I decided to park myself closer to the blocks so I could redirect the flow toward the trash can seeing as it seemed kind of mean to continue to watch this happening. Mostly my directive was met with appreciative smiles but I also got a few loud, "Hmph's", as if to imply how DARE you move my trash can when I was just getting the hang of this! Have you ever read that book, Who Moved my Cheese? Well apparently all you have to do to rock a toddlers world is move their trash can! Oh, how quickly we become attached to our routines.

I'd also forgotten how good it feels to be surrounded by bright colors. Bright blue homemade play dough (how much did you used to love playing with playdough?). A rice table (can you say MESS?) with the rice dyed hot pink and bright blue, blocks of every primary color, tissue paper of every shade of purple you can imagine cut into little squares waiting patiently for the kids to come glue them in place and turn them into beautiful butterflies. Yellows and greens, reds and blues, purple and pinks. I wonder at what age we allow ourselves to be taken over by nuetrals!

I think people who surround themselves with color have an ability to see a more colorful, joyful world. How many times have you felt yourself being drawn toward a couch, or a piece of clothing or some funky, colorful shoes only to talk yourself out of it, convincing yourself that it's too loud or even worse (drumroll please), "Inappropriate"? God forbid we risk being inappropriate!

I remember when a couple who moved into our neighborhood decided to paint their front door and shutters pink. The chatter in the "hood" went something like this, "Can you believe the poodle people (they own two poodles and always walk them in the middle of the road, thus the name) painted their door and shutters pink? Oh my GOD, it's the most hideous thing I've ever seen! What were they thinking?", etc., etc.. I decided I had to see for myself so I took a walk down the street of mainly tan, brown, grey and white houses and when I came to the poodle people's house I felt myself smiling. I thought it was the prettiest shade of salmon pink and it looked lovely against their light grey siding. They had placed a wreath on the front door which broke up the color a bit and planted pink flowers amidst other colors in a flower box on their front walk which I thought brought it all together beautifully. I was thinking as I walked home, "Really? THIS is what all the hubbub was about? Really?!"

I think young kids are still in a highly spiritual state, having just been sent from God. They haven't had time to be tainted by the world yet. That leads me to believe that bright colors are representative of Gods beauty. Why else are we mesmerized when we catch sight of a rainbow? Why else do we find peace in the colors of a vibrant sunset? Color's where it's at if you ask me!

Anyway...being at this playgroup brought back memories of my pre-school teaching days. I've known the woman who facilitates this group for years and I told her my instinct was screaming at me to jump right in and help her. That feeling answered those questions for me. It's like riding a bike, you forget but it comes right back once you hop on. Being around small children feeds my energy level. I equate it to going to a restaurant that's not busy at all and getting lousy service vs. going to a very busy restaurant and getting great service. The chaotic environment breeds the motivation. Just as yawns are contagious, so is high energy.

I will do just fine watching two little ones. I'll do more than fine, I'll start living in color again. Don't be surprised if the next time you see me I'm wearing something completely loud and inappropriate!

Talk to you soon...think I'll go hide the trash can on my husband and see what happens!

xo,
Carrie

Hi!

So...did I say 365 posts? Perhaps I meant 65! I haven't taken a minute to sit down and write since my last post. The days have gotten busier for sure. I started watching a baby on Mondays and Wednesdays, soon to be Fridays also and I'd forgotten how all consuming it is to watch a baby. I don't bother picking up a pen on the days that he's here for certainty that I will be interrupted. I am enjoying watching him very much.

I also decided to go back to my client on Tuesdays and Thursdays after one week of being gone. I spoke with her to see how it had gone with the new caregiver and unfortunately it hadn't gone very well. I felt compelled to offer to come back for the summer and she was thrilled with the offer. I hope by then a suitable replacement can be found. That sounded a little bit like I'm tooting my own horn didn't it? I don't mean to. I know that I do have alot of patience and in order to be a compassionate caregiver, patience is a must.

I'm not certain if I've shared with you that my husband and I are going to be grandparents...TWICE! My oldest son's wife is due in December and my middle son's girlfriend is due in October. There's alot I could share about both pregnancies but out of respect for my children I'm just going to say we're THRILLED at the prospect of having two new little lives coming into the family and I'm thankful to have my mom watching over them.

It's a beautiful morning and I think I'm going to go for a walk now but I just wanted to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

xo,
Carrie

Food

I have been dealing with some G.I. issues for a few years now. After getting an upper endoscopy and learning that I had inflammation of my esophogus I decided to not take the doctors advice of going on a proton inhibitor and seek the advice of a naturopathic doctor. I can't tell you how happy I am that I made that choice. Not only has she helped me to feel better but working with a naturopath has opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking when it comes to healing our bodies. "The world is facing the largest health crisis in recorded history. Modern synthetic practices have all but destroyed us. Every illness of the past, so carefully kept under control or thought to be eliminated, is emerging in more and more virulent scourges, as artificial suppressants no longer avail. Stronger medications are manufactured that only further stifle health. Earnest but futile researchers mutate generations of animals. They seek answers in unnatural compounds, as chronic poor life marches us toward the grave with the names of new illnesses scratched across the tombstone."

The other night I was in Whole Foods and came across a book that has really captured my attention called Alkalize or Die by Dr. Theodore A. Baroody. The book is a little confusing at first because there is ALOT of information in it but the basic message is that in order to be healthy and STAY healthy you need to maintain the proper alkaline-acid (pH) balance in your body. The first sentence in the first chapter says, "The countless names attached to illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause...too much tissue acid waste in the body!" "Think about it this way...Too much acidity in the body is like having too little oil in your car. It just grinds to a halt one lazy Sunday afternoon. There you are - stuck. The body does the same thing. It starts creaking to a stop along the byways of life and you find yourself in some kind of discomfort. I watch this with great concern as people of all classes and lifestyles suffer from this excess. It is the bane of rich and poor, young and old alike. Meat eaters and vegetarians are not exempt. Cowboys and congressmen also suffer its gradual effects."

While there are other factors that can affect our pH balance such as our emotional and spiritual well being, exercise, medications (nearly ALL prescription and over the counter medications are acid producing, thus the 'cure one ailment and a new one pops up' syndrome), it's really pretty simple - EVERYTHING we put into our bodies does one of two things - helps it or hurts it. The things that help it have more alkalinity than acid and the things that hurt it are more acidic. Our bodies have a reserve of alkaline so when we foolishly eat things that put us into a highly acidic state our body immediately attempts to rebalance itself but here's the thing - we do not have an endless reserve and once it's gone, if we don't replenish it through our diets, guess what happens? The acids deposit into our tissue and start to make us ill. It's ultimately what causes disease of all kinds, "When there is overindulgence in acid-forming foods (especially fried or processed foods), the body sickens. In its marvelous wisdom, the body will make every possible effort to rebalance this transgression by expelling as quickly as possible, all the acid-forming residues. But when this alkaline reserve is depleted, death follows."

The book has lists of foods and their alkaline/acid levels and a wealth of other information that I will have to continue to refer to before I actually comprehend it but it all makes perfect sense to me. Especially seeing as I've come to know my body and it's reactions to food very well over the past few years. I can accept what Dr. Baroody says as truth because it's been my personal experience.

Here's what I found to be maybe the most important thing said in the book so far, while I truly believe 1000% that it matters WHAT we put into our body, it is just as important to eat the proper portion of food -

"On reviewing nearly 2000 reported cases of persons who lived more than a century, we generally find some peculiarity of diet or habits to account for their alleged longevity; we find some were living amongst all the luxuries life could afford, others in the most abject poverty - begging their bread; some were samples of symmetry and physique, others cripples; some drank large quantities of water, others little; some were total abstainers from alcoholic drinks, others drunkards; some smoked tobacco, others did not; some lived entirely on vegetables, others to a great extent on animal foods; some led active lives, others sedentary, some worked with their brains, others with their hands; some ate one meal a day, others four or five; some few ate large quantities of food, others a small amount; in fact we notice great divergence both in habits and diet but in those cases where we have been able to obtain a reliable account of the diet, we find one great cause which accounts for the majority of cases of longevity: moderation in the quantity of food."

"You are what you eat" (and how much) or better yet, "You are what you ingest". Now go eat an apple or something (preferably with no chemicals on it)!

xo,
Carrie

The Lake

Hard to believe, but summer vacation will be here before I know it. Another school year almost behind us, another year of life lived. I remember my mother saying that the older she got, the quicker the time went by and I'm finding that to be true for myself. My youngest son is going to be a teenager in less than a month. I remember when he was just a line through a circle, a positive pregnancy test that had both my husband and I in shock. He was a surprise and what a wonderful surprise he's been. Yes, the time is going by and not only does it go by quicker as I age, it becomes more precious.

We are fortunate enough to be able to vacation once again this summer at the lake where I wrote the following poem. It's a place where time stands still just long enough to offer a sense of renewal and instill a deep gratitude for the gift of time. I'd say I can't wait to be there, but that would be wishing away the next few weeks and thankfully...I know better!

Do yourself a favor today and S * L * O * W * D * O * W * N - and of course, be thankful.


ODE TO THE LAKE

Time, beautiful time
We take advantage of you so
Tomorrow this, tomorrow that
Always more time, I know

The earth calls out, "Enjoy me now!"
I do not hear her pleas
To quiet all that screams inside
And walk among the trees

The soothing motions of the water
Invite me to come in and play
Yet I ignore the invitation,
"Sorry, no time today."

The Gods look down in silence
And wonder when I might see
Am I ungrateful or simply blinded
To the treasures surrounding me?

The things I allow to swallow me up
My job, the bills, endless chores
All the countless daily routines
Won't lead me to heaven's door

But today in this place, I think I hear you
Your rolling hills are calling my name
The gentle breeze you've sent to calm
Is telling me things won't be the same

Now that I'm in on your secret
I'll be more open to your voice
You're always here to offer me peace
And the taking is always a choice

Our time on this earth is not endless
I've got but one life, as me, to live
So time, time, beautiful time
I thank you for each moment you give

xo,
Carrie