Day 218: Pain Empathy + Support

Today I learned...
...that people in pain can be kinder and more personable than the professionals helping people in pain.

Today I am thankful for...
...the opportunity to be there for my husband.

Day 204: Condescending Manner + Group Progress

Today I learned...

...just how condescending some drs are to Rick.

Today I am thankful for...

...stories of progress in the group I lead. 

Day 200: Change + Surgery

Today I learned...

...that things can always change.

Today I am thankful for...

...my mother-in-law's surgery going well.

Day 198: Snag + Encouraging Treats

Today I learned...

...that when things have been calm with a high-maintenance situation for a long time, a problem or snag is bound to occur. 

Today I am thankful for...

...the "encouraging treats" my boss brought to work. Yesterday I was stressed by some work things and told her I was trying to keep my positive attitude. She said she would give encouragement. Today I came in to muffins and cherries for the office. I asked her if she had bright them and she said, "Yes! Encouraging treats!" :-)

Day 155: Fear + Eye Health

Today I learned...

...that the women in my group are experts at overcoming their own fears, especially if they push through discomfort. 

Today I am thankful for...

...the clean bill of health my eye doctor gave me and my bothersome eye.

Day 154: Healing + Eye

Today I learned...

...that healing can happen from afar.

Today I am thankful for...

...my right eye feeling better after hurting for a few days.

Day 121: Wednesday Nights + Running

Today I learned...
...Wednesday nights home with Rick and much better than Wednesday nights at grad school. :-)

Today I am thankful for...
...my first run in months!

Day 93: Nap + Classmates

Today I learned...
...that a good, long nap can make a sick woman deliver a presentation without failing. I was sick, but went to work...decided what was best was for me to go home...so I left at 10:45 am, went home and slept until 3:30pm. Then, I got dressed and drove to class to give a presentation. If I had worked all day, I highly doubt I could have delivered a presentation.

Today I am thankful for...
...my very intelligent and caring classmates. They never cease to support me and each other.

Day 92: Time-Outs + NyQuil

Today I learned...
...that time-outs are needed when a person is sick. Even though I make it a commitment to have my Wednesday video up and ready for Wednesday morning, I couldn't... I was too ill. I went to bed instead. The world did not end.

Today I am thankful for...
...NyQuil! No, seriously - I am!

Day 81: Perfectionsim + Tools

Today I learned...
...that it takes a lot longer to cure perfectionism than I originally thought. :-)

Today I am thankful...
...for all the tools I am learning to help combat my driving anxiety. Thank you, Dr. Salas!

Day 31: Second-Guessing + a Safe Home

Today I learned...
...not to second-guess myself, even when it comes to very trivial things. At 6:00 this morning, I jolted awake because I thought I heard a bell. I listened intently and didn't hear anything else, so I thought I had imagined it or dreamed it. I went back to sleep and woke up an hour later to scared cats that were hiding and a horrible smell pervading the house. The thermostat on the wall downstairs seemed to be making a bizarre buzzing noise. Rick and I assumed it was our heating system and called the service who works on it. Rick went to a doctor appointment and work while I waited for the repair man to arrive and called in late to hospice. After a while of inhaling the awful fumes, a man came to help me. He went right to the wall with the thermostat and said, "You think the buzzing is coming from here? I don't." I looked puzzled and he pointed to a box a couple of feet above the thermostat, on the same wall. The doorbell transformer box.

And yes, the buzzing was indeed coming from the doorbell box. After he checked every aspect of our heating system to find everything working perfectly, I took the box cover off the transformer for the doorbell that is fastened to the wall. It was super hot and yes, the smell came from it. THAT was what I had heard at 6:00am. The doorbell shorted out and RANG. I just called myself crazy, but maybe if I had looked for the source FIRST, I would have avoided bothering the heating people. 

Long story short, the wires from the doorbell unit extend down into the wall, which was making me nervous about fire, but with the help of my iPhone to take a photo of the transformer box and send it to my dad, he talked me through removing the right wire to stop the electrical current and therefore the buzzing and the burning smell. It was like dismantling a bomb! Thanks, Dad! All is well at the Bair household again.

Today I am thankful for...
...healthy cats, a safe home, and my dad. Why? Because of all of the above!

Day 24: Ethical Dilemmas + Rick's Health

Today I learned...
...that there are very serious situations that are not just black and white. In hospice today, an ethical dilemma was discussed...and I'm damned if I can even choose what I would do in the situation. There's just no good, right answer. So many sides.

Today I am thankful for...
...my husband finally feeling better! He was pretty sick for a few days and went back to work today, feeling almost human. I'm so glad.

Day 22: Eyesight + Health

Today I learned...
...that when my eyeglasses prescription changes, I need to update my lenses. Forget money, forget hassle, forget my justification that I wear contacts 75% of the time... An old prescription = headaches because my eyes aren't seeing the way they should. I picked up my new (nerd chic) glasses tonight and besides the fact that they are delightfully cute, I CAN SEE. It made me realize how insufficient the ones I had been wearing were. My poor eyes. Yikes. Hear that, Arielle of the future? New prescription = time for new lenses. Learn your lesson.

Today I am thankful for...
...my health, and specifically my immune system. Rick has the stomach virus that everyone and their mother seems to have. He went home sick from work after throwing up. He looks atrocious and is doing nothing but moaning and sleeping. And here I am, perfectly healthy and typing away on a blog. You might say, "Don't speak to soon!" but by being grateful for my stellar immune system I am garnering more and more health. I can say, "I hope I don't get sick! What if I get sick and miss work/internship/class/etc etc etc?" or I can say, "THANK YOU, body, for keeping me healthy in this moment. I am so glad I am not sick like Rick is right now." I choose the latter. Obviously. This is Project Positive Thinking, people. ;-)