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Posted 1/27/2009 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
Friends,

I quess I'm a little down this week.  sad Winter has been so long and cold and it still has a long way to go before I can get outside in my wheelchair and enjoy the yard or go to the park or any place for that matter. sad Sure I've gone a few places this winter.  Places like the doctors, grocery shopping with my husbands help, out to dinner a few times  The routine things you do right along. Sunday afternoon, even with the temperture still in the single digets above zero I saw a mother and two younger childern walking up the block from the park where they had been sledding. The mother was pulling a little girl about four on a sled and a boy about seven trudged behind pulling his sled.   Made me think of when my kids were young and we went sledding at the same park. It alo brought back memories of sledding with my brothers and sister many years ago. yeah   yeah My brothers had an awesome tobbogon that four or five kids could go barreling down the hills. yeah yeah It was while I was riding on that tobboggon with my two older brothers and a friend of theirs on a very icy hill that I went flying off the back of the tobboggon and slid into a big tree breaking my right leg for the first time in two places. cry   cry   still remember that Saturday afternoon very well.  My brothers and their friend didn't know I'd gotten hurt until they made it to the bottom and heard me screaming at them for help. A women who was there with her kids came and helped me until the para medics arrived and took me to the hospital. When I think back on these things it makes me wish that I could still partake in this winter activity like I did a few years ago when I would take my nieces and nephews sledding.  I wasn't so brave then as when I was a kid though.  My niece and nephew were between eight and ten and we stuck to the little hills even though my nephew wanted to go down the big hill in the pack of the park. 

    

    I should go for now.  I hope I didn't bore you all with old time stuff, but I'm really ready for Spring to come yeah   yeah .

Wheelchair Bound

Linda

Posted 1/28/2009 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
Not boring at all Linda :-)

If it is any consolation, I think winter is stupid. There is no reason for it, except for tobogganing -- and that's only good if you are a child ;-)

I remember childhood and being invulnerable. A snowsuit was something to be filled up with snow! Wind chill ??? Never heard of it!

Most of my body parts still work but not the same way they used to so I watch the kids and remember, like you do. At least, the memories are good :-)

I'm trying to start a grassroots movement to end winter -- maybe you'd like to join? I don't know about 'global warming' but I figure all you have to do is barbeque all year round and winter will go away! The movement is slow locally but I have managed to coax a couple of my neighbors out on their decks in past February's with the scent of searing steaks (OK OK ... 'roasting cauliflower' too Jeannie/Lanie ;-) so it is only a matter of time before spring happens sooner ;-)

I can only imagine what you've gone through and what you are experiencing now, in terms of your physical loss. Your posts have been an example to follow and an inspiration to try harder when trying harder seemed impossible.

Thank you!

Chris
Posted 1/28/2009 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
I think the farther north you are and the longer the days are in winter, the more you wish spring would come sooner.  I loved winter when I was growing up in NYC.  Snow!  Sledding and skating!  Snowmen, snowforts, snow tunnels, mittens and hats hanging over the radiators, galoshes drying out!  But as kids we didn't have to worry about everything our parents had to worrry about back then.  Anyway, right now we're anticipating a freezing rain advisory which means getting up early and wondering if schools are closed here.  Public schools will close at the drop of a flake (or ice drop, ice drop? what's an ice drop?  sounded good when I wrote it...) but the university (where I teach) isn't as easily closed.  We have a big problem with ice here and I'd take a foot or two of snow anytime.  Linda, put on some videos and forget about winter outside.  Chris, there's nothing wrong with steaks!  There have been times I've eaten nothing for a meal but a steak.  Great blood sugar afterwards too!   :-)

smurf


Posted 1/28/2009 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
Take it from a Southern California native, don't cut Winter out of the picture. We basically have Summer or at least Fall all year long. Never an drop of either snow or ice in my front yard. but it does snow a couple of times a season up in the Mountains. Snow is that flakey white stuff right I see on Christmas cards, right???
I'm in the San Diego area.

When it does snow that first time each year, the whole population heads up to see that funny white stuff. The freeways are littered with accidents and people who've slide off the roads. Newscasters flock to the higher elevations to cover the occurance and the police have checkpoints to make sure that everyone has chains. 3/4 of the cars are turned away. You'll see children playing on the side of the road at the checkpoint in a small patch of snow just for the "experience" before they have to turn around and go home. It's sad...But if you're lucky enough to either have the right vehicle or you've timed it right that you don't need to have chains or 4 wheel drive, you get a TREAT!! After you get to the top of the mountain (1 1/2 hr drive) You get to drive around for 20 minutes waiting for a parking spot to open up (under the watchful eyes of police cars making sure you park in the right areas) on the side of the otherwise quiet desolate 2 lane road. Squeeze into the spot and then your kids get to sled and slide with 50 million other kids on hills that aren't fenced off. WE LOVE THAT WHITE STUFF YOU CALL SNOW!

I have NEVER had a white Christmas here.

Don't END Winter...Spread it out!! We'll take a chunk of it. Our weather is so boring. My sister says that she can look out her window any time of the year and it all looks the same...It gets to you. We'd give our eye tooth to see snow outside our windows! No, we can't all just go to the beach. Beaches are for perfectly formed supermodels only. And the gas money to get there, parking problems and crowds suck!! I'm so tired of our so called perfect weather.

Send us some of your "winter" and we'll gladly (or at least I will) share our sunshine!
Posted 1/28/2009 2:42 PM (GMT 0)

Hey Diane, I didn't say I didn't like snow ... I just hate WINTER!

Winter is a nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there ;-)

Lanie:  Yes, I know steak is good ... eat it all the time.  I was just illustrating my new, healthy outlook :)

Chris

Posted 1/28/2009 5:30 PM (GMT 0)
We're getting 25-30 cm (10-12 inches) of snow today! My driveway's snow banks are about 5' right now so, I've got lots of the white stuff to go around. Not sure if it would still be snow by the time it got to CA, though :-)

I'm one of "those" people who've always loved winter. I could do without the freezing rain and occasional wicked snow storms but otherwise, I love the crisp, clean air and change of seasons. My favourite thing was to lie in the snow, make snow angels, and stare up at all the stars on a clear and windless day (hey, the sun goes down by 4:00pm in December :-) Somehow lying on a blanket of snow, with nothing but whiteness in the periphery, the stars just seemed to swallow you right up like you were floating in space. Cool!

My doc's office called yesterday with lab results. Turns out I'm vitamin D deficient. Gotta get 1000mg/day of the vit into me. For some reason most of her patients are D deficient this year. Not enough sun lately :-( What I did find interesting is what I researched about it. It seems to affect so many things in our bodies. Our moods (SAD), metabolism (i.e. mineral absorption), and a whole whack of other things I won't hijack this thread to go into. Just wanted to mention that it would be interesting for many of you to check out (especially those in the more Northern climes).

Linda - love your posts. Your courage and attitude are always inspirational. I admire you for that :-) I do hope Spring comes early for you so you can get out and about and enjoy life more. Just an idea... maybe crank up the heat a tad, put on some summer clothes, crank up some beach party music, and plan an indoor BBQ or some kind of summery meal and pretend, if just for a little while, that it is that time of year. (A friend once had a beach party in Jan, in his garage, with heat lights, a huge 2x4-contained sand pit complete with volleyball net. It was hilarious to party with everyone in swim/beach wear and our glowing white skin :-)

Cheers,
Kris

p.s. Mmmmmm....steak
Posted 1/28/2009 6:14 PM (GMT 0)

Funny you should mention Vitamin D.  Last night I saw a local newscast.  In the health section they were talking about what appears to be a rising epidemic in Vitamin D deficiency.  Some doctors are saying its the use of sunscreens and sunblocks which actually block Vitamin D absorption. LOL!  Also, if you're diabetic and taking oral meds you may be low on Vitamin B-12 (I was).

Marburg

Phishbowl said...
We're getting 25-30 cm (10-12 inches) of snow today! My driveway's snow banks are about 5' right now so, I've got lots of the white stuff to go around. Not sure if it would still be snow by the time it got to CA, though :-)

I'm one of "those" people who've always loved winter. I could do without the freezing rain and occasional wicked snow storms but otherwise, I love the crisp, clean air and change of seasons. My favourite thing was to lie in the snow, make snow angels, and stare up at all the stars on a clear and windless day (hey, the sun goes down by 4:00pm in December :-) Somehow lying on a blanket of snow, with nothing but whiteness in the periphery, the stars just seemed to swallow you right up like you were floating in space. Cool!

My doc's office called yesterday with lab results. Turns out I'm vitamin D deficient. Gotta get 1000mg/day of the vit into me. For some reason most of her patients are D deficient this year. Not enough sun lately :-( What I did find interesting is what I researched about it. It seems to affect so many things in our bodies. Our moods (SAD), metabolism (i.e. mineral absorption), and a whole whack of other things I won't hijack this thread to go into. Just wanted to mention that it would be interesting for many of you to check out (especially those in the more Northern climes).

Linda - love your posts. Your courage and attitude are always inspirational. I admire you for that :-) I do hope Spring comes early for you so you can get out and about and enjoy life more. Just an idea... maybe crank up the heat a tad, put on some summer clothes, crank up some beach party music, and plan an indoor BBQ or some kind of summery meal and pretend, if just for a little while, that it is that time of year. (A friend once had a beach party in Jan, in his garage, with heat lights, a huge 2x4-contained sand pit complete with volleyball net. It was hilarious to party with everyone in swim/beach wear and our glowing white skin :-)

Cheers,
Kris

p.s. Mmmmmm....steak

Posted 1/29/2009 6:03 AM (GMT 0)
Linda,
Don't lose courage yet!!! We still have to have February... PROVEN TO BE THE LONGEST MONTH OF THE ENTIRE YEAR IN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY! It's that month of gray, gray, gray... Gray sky, gray snow, gray sidewalks and driveways, gray people... I think even the food in February is mostly gray. I usually start grilling outside in February like Chris. Our house is so full of people right now that we take numbers for the shower... and we haven't even done February yet!!! I can't believe that Christmas was only a month ago... feels like three! And it's still snowing! I, for one, will be very happy to see the daffodils this spring! Just the thought of them makes me smile.

Hang in there, people! We can do this... one day at a time. I think I'll go look at a seed catalog.
Posted 2/6/2009 9:50 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Linda,

I hope you are feeling better.  I just want you to know how much you have helped me.  Your courage, wisdom, and willingness to share are truly inspirational.  We all have up and down days.  I have also been struggling with my health, and emotionally (I feel the loss of my parents the most during holidays (they lived with me and I lost Dad in 2005 and Mom in 2006)).

It during those dark days when I look back through my memories.  While they can bring about the feelings of loss even more, they also bring out the smiles.

Marburg

Wheelchair Bound said...
Friends,

I quess I'm a little down this week.  sad Winter has been so long and cold and it still has a long way to go before I can get outside in my wheelchair and enjoy the yard or go to the park or any place for that matter. sad Sure I've gone a few places this winter.  Places like the doctors, grocery shopping with my husbands help, out to dinner a few times  The routine things you do right along. Sunday afternoon, even with the temperture still in the single digets above zero I saw a mother and two younger childern walking up the block from the park where they had been sledding. The mother was pulling a little girl about four on a sled and a boy about seven trudged behind pulling his sled.   Made me think of when my kids were young and we went sledding at the same park. It alo brought back memories of sledding with my brothers and sister many years ago. yeah   yeah My brothers had an awesome tobbogon that four or five kids could go barreling down the hills. yeah yeah It was while I was riding on that tobboggon with my two older brothers and a friend of theirs on a very icy hill that I went flying off the back of the tobboggon and slid into a big tree breaking my right leg for the first time in two places. cry   cry   still remember that Saturday afternoon very well.  My brothers and their friend didn't know I'd gotten hurt until they made it to the bottom and heard me screaming at them for help. A women who was there with her kids came and helped me until the para medics arrived and took me to the hospital. When I think back on these things it makes me wish that I could still partake in this winter activity like I did a few years ago when I would take my nieces and nephews sledding.  I wasn't so brave then as when I was a kid though.  My niece and nephew were between eight and ten and we stuck to the little hills even though my nephew wanted to go down the big hill in the pack of the park. 

    

    I should go for now.  I hope I didn't bore you all with old time stuff, but I'm really ready for Spring to come yeah   yeah .

Wheelchair Bound

Linda

Posted 2/8/2009 4:10 PM (GMT 0)

Friends,

Thankyou for all your support.  yeah I do feel better the past few days.  Winter has moderated somewhat, at least temporarly.  Yesterday and Friday it was close to 40, and it's supposed to be in the thirties again today :-)  .  It sure makes a difference when the sun is shining. I do still wish Spring would hurry up and come though.  I quess I'll just need to be patient and wait another six or eight weeks.  We probably will get a couple more feet of snow betweem now and then though.  shakehead

Wheelchair Bound

Linda

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