Community Outreach

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At physio today I was asked about my community outreach. 

In the church, this relates to things like evangelism, or social assistance, or small groups, or relational friendships.

For me, with knees that don’t easily take me into community, community outreach is quite simple.  This relates to getting outside of the walls of the house where I’m recovering.

The interesting thing?  I’m  not expected to be "getting out there"!  At least if getting out there is detrimental to your health.  Stretching beyond your pain or concentration threshold can put  you backwards in recuperation. 

I pushed physio a bit further to at least get some basic "rules".  To which the reply came, "Listen to your body!"  So we started talking about my concentration level — I’m good for about 3/4 hour with other people.  When I sit in a regular chair, I get pains within 3-4 minutes and have to stand and move around.  Someone also recognized that once I’m out with a group I will stay until someone has to lock up the door.  so I’ll have to be very disciplined in any "community outreach" I undertake.  Suggestion — Ride to the post office (this is a small town!!) and stay in the car.  Just open the window and visit those who stop by to chat.  They won’t stay long, they’ve had a chance to visit you and you won’t overdo yourself.  

I’m thinking a whole new set of approaches to planning events.  We often recognize kids have short term concentration, and seniors live with high pain thresholds.  So how do we get granny and the kids together for an enjoyable meeting, and then go home wanting to come back next time? 

Bikes for the kids and beds for the grannies?  Might be something to consider!!

Cabin Fever

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The last few days I’ve heard people mention cabin fever.

For years I’ve wondered exactly what cabin fever is.

As a teen, my brothers would see the slightest melting trend, and they would develop "cabin fever".  Soon the crocuses popped out of the soil, and they would pop out of the house until another winter set in.

Then there were those horrible B rated films where "cabin fever"  seemed to always take place in sod shacks with small windows, set in a single room filled with smoke and no one around to provide company to the maniac trapped in the shack.  The  fake 3D effects of the film would then show the room starting to pulsate and finally everything explodes. 

According to these observations, I don’t have cabin fever. 

Of course, the highlight of my week may well be an hour of physio tomorrow — stretching, and groaning and climbing the wall.  

If that’s the highlight of my week . . .

Family Day

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From my Scrooge meanderings!!!

Four Canadian provinces have holidays today. 

One, Manitoba, has named theirs after a convicted criminal who is being rehabilitated in the eyes of the public (Louis Riel).  Not that other convicted criminals have not had holidays named after them (Christmas??).  These types of holidays tend to have controversy surrounding them. 

On the other hand, three provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, have named their holiday "family day". 

Now, get this!  We are in a country where "snow days" mean kids stay home from school — often with parents or possibly with sitters.  The weather can be known to dip to below comfortable levels.  No one goes anywhere — and even if they wanted to the car probably wouldn’t start.  For the months of January and February you can expect the nuclear family gets to see lots of each other — more by accident than design.

So, now, by design, we are going to add another "family day" to the calendar. 

Might be easier to call it a mental health day — at least you can do your own thing, lock yourself up, and get some rest.  But, no, we have to call it a "family day."  If  the other family days in the two coldest months of the year haven’t already killed you, let’s try another one.  If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!!

There are good reasons for a February holiday.  Let’s just not call it anything!  Bah, Humbug!!!

Day 28

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Here it is — looks a lot like Day 21.  But the sun went down a little later and came up a bit earlier.  If you aren’t taking time to measure progress, you’d never know.  You should see what my knees can do!!