Walking and Health

Walking in love requires a certain type of muscle to be exercised.  The heart is the muscle in question.  Normally a long walk would require a stretching of the muscle through a short warm up program.  Then, you begin the main portion of the activity where the muscle groups get a great workout.  Then, lastly a warm down to once again stretch the muscles in a cool down to prevent soreness later.

Walking in love, God’s love, is more of a continous stroll that you take down life’s path.  Walking in love is to step out of one’s own selfish desires and to get out there and help someone else.  Start out small, like a warm up, and eventually you’re heart muscle with crave longer, larger needs of giving and helping and loving. 

You don’t have to be a religious finatic to walk in love.  Give of your self to someone else by donating your time at the local library.  Volunteer to help at a school function, be a class mom or dad.  Help someone take their groceries to their car.  It’s the small things in life that create a better place to live for all of us.  Sometimes, just a small soft spoken word of encouragement can change a life forever.

I remember when my son was born.  He was born two weeks early and had fluid in his lungs.  I had a C-Section and as the doctor took him out I heard that sweet sound of a baby cry and then it suddenly stopped.  I couldn’t see what was going on, I could only hear the anxiousness in the nurses voices.  A stat this and a get him breathing and they whisked him out of the surgery room.  I prayed that he would be ok and my doctor doing the surgery took my hand and said they’ll take care of him.

After I had returned to a regular hospital bed and had rested for a few hours, a different doctor came in and gave me an update on my baby.  He said they were going to transport him to a different hospital just a few miles down the road where they had a NICU (a neonatal intensive care unit) that specialized in newborns.   They wheeled my baby in and he was strapped in a transporter.  It was one of those plastic incubators that you see in the movies when the new babies are born and the family is looking in at them through the glass window in the nursery.  I couldn’t hold him or touch him or let him know everything was going to be ok.  He was in an induced medical coma so he wouldn’t hurt himself and so the breathing tube in him could do it’s job and provide the oxygen his little body and brain needed to stay alive.   He was born 7 lbs 11 oz., so he was a good size baby, his lungs were just a little underdeveloped. 

I was released from Whittier Hospital three days after the C-section, and my husband took me over to the other hospital down the street, Whittier Presbyterian Hospital, to the NICU section where my baby was still in critical condition and the news was day by day as to whether he would make it through or not.  I was still very sore, so my huusband got a wheel chair and he wheeled me in to where all the special babies were.  Some were only a few ounces in weight and would be there for many months.  I looked at the incubator where my little baby lay and I started to cry when I saw all the needles coming in and out of him.  The head nurse on that shift that morning came over to me and put her hand on my shoulder.  She said he is doing well, he had a few rough moments, he is still not out of danger.  She said he was a fighter and they had  to sedate him even more than normal because he wanted to start breathing on his own and his little lungs still had some fluid in them.  She said I’ll be right back and she walked over to the nursing station and pulled something off the wall. 

She came back and had a picture of another baby.  The baby in the picture was sitting up and was about four or five months old and had a big smile and looked like the perfect baby.  She said a few months ago this beautiful, healthy little girl was lying there just like your baby and look at her now.  It may seem like he is in a bad situation, but I’m sure he is going to be just fine and will be like this little girl in a few months.  For the next few days, I lived by her words and my little Jeremy made a full recovery.  He was released two weeks from the date he was born and his lungs were completely clear of any fluid.  My heart goes out with a gratitude of thanks to all the nurses, who work in an NICU, especially Mila and the other nurses there at the Whittier Presbyterian in Whittier, California.  They are so loving and caring and understanding.

My little guy is now in his terrible two’s and I love him to death.  Everytime he gets sick with a little runny nose or a cough, I’m reminded of how fragile he was and how he nearly died and how that wonderful NICU nurse made that one kind gesture that I will remember forever.  Make an effort today to walk in love.  Your heart will leap for joy.

Jeremy taking a bath at 1 years old. 

 

One day a father was on his way home from the office and he suddenly remembers that it’s his daughter’s birthday. He pulls over to a Toy Shop and asks the sales person, “How much for one of those Barbie’s in the display window?”

The salesperson answers, “Which one do you mean, Sir? We have: Work Out Barbie for $19.95, Shopping Barbie for $19.95, Beach Barbie for $19.95, Disco Barbie for $19.95, Ballerina Barbie for $19.95, Astronaut Barbie for $19.95, Skater Barbie for $19.95, and Divorced Barbie for $265.95.”
The amazed father asks: “It’s what?! Why is the Divorced Barbie $265.95 and the others only $19.95?” The annoyed salesperson rolls her eyes, sighs, and answers: “Sir . . . Divorced Barbie comes with : Ken’s Car, Ken’s House, Ken’s Boat, Ken’s Furniture, Ken’s Computer, and one of Ken’s Friends.

Humor can get you through most instances in life. If you’re feeling stressed, depressed, angry, sad, lonely, or experiencing any other negative emotion, reading or hearing a good joke can relieve some of the negative feelings and bring about a lighter side to life. Start your day with reading the comics in your daily newspaper.

Humor also helps in understanding a difficult subject. Studies have shown that students seem to learn more when teachers use humor effectively. Humor can also increase effectiveness in the workplace. Let’s face it, the people around you in your workplace become your extended family. When you spend 40 or more hours with them, it helps if a few of them or yourself has a sense of humor and can lighten things up in the workplace. If everyone always had an “all work and no play” attitude, the hours would drag by forever. It really helps when your supervisor has a good sense of humor and uses it effectively to make the workplace more enjoyable.

Humor is also effective in helping to heal whether emotional or physical healing is needed. Studies have shown that “humor helps patients relieve stress and heal.” You can read a great article from Science Daily here Laughter Is The Best Medicine-Science Daily . Anyway you look at it, using humor effectively can bring a smile to anyone who may need it.

 

 

 

I listen to the radio at work and every week morning the DJ tells a joke. Most of the time it’s a little corny and always a rated “G” joke. It doesn’t matter what the content is, becuase in most cases it makes you laugh, it helps you to forget about other things weighing on your mind; it makes you feel good.

So, go out there and walk and be happy and enjoy life and stay positive and feel good about yourself and laugh. Laughing is contagious, spread it everywhere you go. Here’s one more…have a happy day.

Please feel free to leave a comment.

It’s Free, This is Heaven

“Don’t you understand yet? This is heaven, it is free!” Peter replied with some exasperation.

“Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?” the old man asked timidly.

Peter lectured, “That’s the best part…you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is Heaven.”

With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing down his hat and stomping on it, and shrieking wildly.