Tag: mental-health

So much to say, but …

Never could have seen or imagined things occurring here, and now. It was just yesterday. Maybe this past weekend. Time just blurred.

I have worked for many employers over many years. From a local grocery store, newspaper delivery, fast food chains, local restaurants I have seen many jobs come and go. Some were short-term and others were longer; employment depended at times on the bosses, scheduling and personal goals.

Serving my country a Soldier in the United States Army helped me understand and serve with duty and honor. Living overseas gave me opportunities to learn, immerse in local cultures, holidays, food and appreciate differences rather than denounce them. I served with a wide swath of American society. No one was better than anyone. No assignment or task was assigned by some nefarious means. We served together.

We all took the same oath. to serve the country, and follow the orders of an office, and not a party or person. This was the start of learning how to serve. And this soon became a part of me.

Being employed in universities affirmed the role of service. Lastly as Dean of the University Library service was keenly a part of my tenure. As I served on several organizations I found more comments as I encouraged others in their employment. Helping and simply listening were commonplace with me and were important for so much.

And that brings me to the current topic. I have never asked political stance, religious affiliation or loyalty to a person. I am not comfortable being asked nor will I answer the same. This day loyalty, or more specifically fealty, is infused in the news of the day.

Let me state that I am a Christian, knowing that judgment belongs to God alone. Not choosing to sound off-putting, I have friends who have been marginalized or dismissed and persecuted for their beliefs, parents, social status, orientation and any petty distinction.

Some of the connections to the hostile, the decisive, and the marginalized must be re-examined. This may be a time to make a disconnect and connect elsewhere.

Embracing Blessings: A Reflection on a Busy Thursday Morning

And here we go! Thursday morning, and this is shaping up to be a busier than normal sort of day. More to do this day than others. But it’s also a day that I choose to celebrate all of the blessings I have been fortunate to get. It can be easy, almost second-nature, to miss so much of life. I can remember the days before the cell phone, streaming television, round the clock news, and even computers. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to have a blog in the days of the typewriter! And inspite of all of the technology, I think I’ve been fortunate.

The sun should be slowly appearing in the East horizon. I think I’ll grab a cup of coffee and watch this day unfold.

Turn off the technology. Or simply set it to mute, and watch the sun announce this day. How have you been blessed? Share your blessings on this day.

Sleep

To begin, I have been living with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive sleep apnea (think those are the correct words) for a decade or so. Forgive me if I’ve used the wrong words or been more precise in the time, I have never been able to have a precise recall of any event. I use a CPAP machine. And now that the background has been conveyed – oh yes, I am also living through Parkinson’s disease – we can talk about my sleep pattern.

My evening routine is be in bed by 10:30 pm. At 10:00 pm I head to the bedroom. Last round of medications, prepare CPAP machine, and then sleep. My goal is to sleep 7 or 8 hours. That should put wake-up around between 5:00 am and 6:00 am. No alarm clock on the nightstand for a long, long time has been a great part of setting the environment for optimum sleep.

Then, there is Parkinson’s disease to contend with. I am not sure how much my restless leg syndrome or generalized tremors disrupt my sleep, but there are nights where my sleep will be more like two or three naps, stitched together with periods of no sleep between 4 to 6 hours of sleep.