Angels Make Me Smile

Somebody loves me! Today I received my 4th Angel from a Secret Angel Stitcher in Colorado. These are delicate lace angels, machine embroidered in many different colors.  Each angel I've received came with a card and nice note from the sender. The others are from North Carolina, Indiana and New York.  I've started hanging them across our mantel like Christmas cards!

This is a small group of women who support and encourage "others facing circumstances of physical, emotional, relational, or any kind of pain"   by making these lace angels for people nominated by loved ones.

I've been keeping my eyes, heart and mind open during this journey. I've been blessed with many skills; some have turned into hobbies. When I recover I want to give back to others. I thought about making quilts for those having chemo or teaching cancer patients how to blog. I'd definitely like to be a Secret Angel Stitcher.
I'm looking forward to checking the mail tomorrow!

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The Power of Hugs

Thanks to my sister, Heather,
for coming up with this post title.
 And my friend, Jody, for making
  this adorable hug wand for me!

I created my own support system by collecting ten hugs per day. Everywhere I go I give and ask for hugs. This was something a friend told me she did when she was going through cancer treatment. Jackie said it was a way to help her employees and customers at her store overcome the awkwardness of not knowing what to say.

I have been advocating the importance of parents hugging their children for years. Well-known family therapist, Virginia Satir, is quoted in BrainyQuotes.com, "We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth."
So I did not miss this opportunity for another teachable moment.  I thought the novelty would wear off but there is one student who has not forgotten to hug me. Everyday when the bell rings he walks over and gives me a hug before leaving. It doesn't matter where I'm standing in the room or if I'm sitting at my desk, he has never skipped giving me a hug.

A study in USA Today indicated that hugs will reduce the stress hormone Cortisol, making way for an output of two feel-good hormones in the brain, Serotonin and Dopamine.

10 Reasons We Need at Least 8 Hugs Each Day  by Marcus Julian Felicetti

1. The nurturing touch of a hug builds trust and a sense of safety. This helps with open and honest communication.

2. Hugs can instantly boost oxytocin levels, which heal feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.

3. Holding a hug for an extended time lifts one's serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.

4. Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the body's production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.

5. Hugging boosts self-esteem. From the time we're born our family's touch shows us that we're loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still embedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.

6. Hugging relaxes muscles. Hugs release tension in the body. Hugs can take away pain; they soothe aches by increasing circulation into the soft tissues.

7. Hugs balance out the nervous system. The galvanic skin response of someone receiving and giving a hug shows a change in skin conductance. The effect in moisture and electricity in the skin suggests a more balanced state in the nervous system - parasympathetic.

8. Hugs teach us how to give and receive. There is equal value in receiving and being receptive to warmth, as to giving and sharing. Hugs educate us how love flows both ways.

9. Hugs are so much like meditation and laughter. They teach us to let go and be present in the moment. They encourage us to flow with the energy of life. Hugs get you out of your circular thinking patterns and connect you with your heart and your feelings and your breath.

10. The energy exchange between the people hugging is an investment in the relationship. It encourages empathy and understanding. And, it's synergistic, which means the whole is more than the sum of its parts: 1 1 = 3 or more! This synergy is more likely to result in win-win outcomes.

See the 14 Types of Hugs by Dorothy Neddermeyer. 

Then go hug someone! 

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Sharing the Love

Do you need any love today?
spice4living - registered TM

When Tommy was 5 years old we traveled to a darling little resort town in Eureka Springs, AK with some friends where I found this can of love, or rather, it found me. It has always remained full of love no matter how much or how often I used it.
I sprinkled it in Tommy's cereal and Richard's tea. I added it to most recipes. I gave the kids a spoonful if they were ill or would just pour it on their tongue when they were sad.  I sprinkled it on skinned knees and boo-boos.  We passed it around the table with the salt and pepper at family gatherings. It has become a permanent fixture in our home.
For years I tried to find the company behind this ingenious product. I wanted to sell them on my recipe site so more families could enjoy this wonderful tradition. I finally found the owner and it was like finding a friend. One day I was ordering a shipment and told Peggy about my new journey and what had happened at the first chemo treatment.  I overheard bits of a conversation with the patient next to me. A nurse summoned a social worker who asked if there was a family member or friend available to pick her up. The patient just stayed in a fetal position and kept saying that there was no one.  I got distracted with everything they were doing to me and lost tract of the elderly woman but worried about her for days. How was she going to take care of herself, stay hydrated,  keep up with the meds and get food? Peggy said it sounded like that woman needed a can of love. She takes cans of love everywhere because she usually runs into someone who needs it. What a brilliant idea!
Now I'm sharing the love with family and friends, teachers and students, nurses and doctors; people who give to others and may need replenished. Some look inside the empty can and will say they don't see anything. I just remind them that you can't see love and that the more you use the more you will have available. You can never use too much and will never run out of love.  It makes everything taste better and people feel better. It's truly magical!

Everything happens for a reason. Don't you agree?

Buying that can of love in Arkansas 17 years ago, getting cancer, finding Peggy - 

EVERYTHING! 

Check out this Blueberry Muffin recipe, made with love

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Ice Ice Baby

My hands and feet on ice.
 Jody, Thanks for making this
shoulder wrap to keep me warm!

This morning I went to Carlton Massage in Green for the complimentary therapies I mentioned in my previous post. I felt pretty good when I left at noon - until I was half way home.

I got a call from the Treatment Center and the nice nurse was wondering if there was a problem because I didn't show up for my 10:15 chemo appointment. I almost went off the road! I explained that we just checked the appointment card and I was scheduled for 1:15. She looked in another location and said that I was scheduled for labs at 1:15 and could see where they made a mistake. She needed to find out if there would be enough time to come in  for my treatment today. What?! I told her I HAD to have it today and could come in immediately to get started. She promised she would call me back with an answer.

As I pulled in the garage I got the call to come in at 1:15.  I seemed to lose my focus and the effects from the massage and Reiki were gone. I had a few minutes to eat a sandwich and finish packing my pink bag. We were on the expressway when I realized that I forgot to numb my arm with lidocaine! I have a port to access the vein in my right arm and the needle looks like a thumb tack on steroids! Oh Geez!

As soon as I got settled into my chair we unpacked the Raspberry Italian Ice and tried to numb my arm. It still hurt because it goes through so many layers of skin but Richard let me squeeze his hand and it was over before I could cuss. Note to self - Don't EVER forget the lidocaine again!

First, I had Decadron by IV (a steroid to prevent an allergic reaction). Then I had to wait 30 minutes before the chemo drug Taxotere. While I was waiting I got my hands and feet put on ice. The purpose is to constrict the veins to prevent the drug from doing the following:

• numbness in my hands and feet which is called peripheral neuropathy. 
• keep layers of skin from peeling on my hands and feet
• keep finger and toe nails from turning dark and falling off

I know! Gross! Right?


What I like about this drug is that I'm not nauseous!
What I'm dreading is the bone pain...

Tomorrow I will be going for fluid IV (2 bags=2 hours) and a shot of Neulasta in my tummy. No, silly! Not a shot glass. I'm talking about the needle kind!

Let's have a little contest. See how long you can leave your hands on ice. The record to beat is 75 minutes.

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Letter to Santa

Friday was the last day of school and now it's time to get ready for the Holidays. I got home just in time for the Lazyboy delivery of a replacement cushion. I first met Bill in October when he repaired my recliner. We had discussed how he learned to sew, which lead to my job as a home ec teacher (gasp! I said the word) and then to other job related topics. He was easy to talk to so today I pointed out my new head gear and he shared that his aunt and mother are breast cancer survivors. I should be keeping tally every time I hear about survivors because it's a lot!

Lora, Christie, Aleena, and Katie
getting ready to play in the kitchen.

Lora and her daughter arrived shortly after and we spent several hours visiting, making and decorating cookies, making pizza and just hanging out. Aleena brought me some warm socks (she found out I asked Santa for a pair) and a copy of a letter she wrote to Santa. It's the most precious wish and I am so blessed to have them both in my life.
We agree that it was divine intervention when I got my first teaching job back in 1987.  At that time, Lora was 8 years old when her mom lost her battle with leukemia. A few years later Lora entered my classroom and my life. I am honored that she calls me her second mom.

Aleena explained that when she wrote this at school she didn't know that I was her "adopted grandma".
She thought I was her "real" grandma. How sweet is that ?

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