The Little Things 2

Yesterday I worked hard at preserving another year's crop of berries and cherries for my family to enjoy for the following months. Today, I am paying the price of my burst of energy. It seems to be that way for me. I have a lot of energy and spend it all on the things I love to do. Then, the following day or two, I spend that sitting around recovering. I used to get mad at myself for doing that--wasting all my energy. But now I look at what I have accomplished and take delight in the things I have been able to do.

Just recently, I had a friend approach me with the devastating news her fiancee is going through--the process of being diagnosed with MS. She had a million questions on what were 'they' going to do. For one, I appreciated her always saying 'they' and not 'him' or 'me.' Her fiancee will certainly need all the support she can give him. One of the concerns we talked about were all the 'little things' they may not be able to do anymore. She was focusing on the negative side of it. And I can see why with that first diagnosis and so unsure where this unknown path is taking them. I have been there, traveled it, still trudging along, and still noticing the little things.

So this post is for her and all those out there worried about little things. But I am going to focus on the positive side. It is all about adapting, moving things around, going with the flow, and appreciating those the things you love to do even if you have to do them with baby steps.

I love to spend time in the outdoors. Hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, canoeing, gardening, you name it; I love to do it. When I was younger, my family and I would take 7-mile hike back into the Bob Marshal Wilderness of Montana and spend a week at a time living out of a tent, cooking all of our meals over an open fire, fish for food we couldn't pack in our big packs, and enjoy what Mother Nature had to offer. I so wanted to do that with my family when I got older and was lucky to marry a man who hiked and hunted along side me.

With my diagnosis and the issues this disease brings, I've had to make adaptations. I still camp. I've now graduated to a trailer with a bathroom since a tent and a port-a-potty doesn't work well with my son and all his boyhood buddies tagging along. Plus,with balance issues, tripping over holes in the ground  makes for interesting issues there, too. Mind you, it has been a 16-year gradual change.

I still canoe and the laughing that comes with getting in and out of the thing creates great campfire stories for years to come. But the smooth ride across the lakes is a great thing! I still have the arm power for slicing through the water and making the canoe glide with ease.

Fishing is great! I'm able (due to my disability) to have a lifetime free fishing permit. I also am able to drive up to a lot of lakes or streams and park closer than most people can. But who needs to fish on the shore when you have a canoe!

Also, I have a pass that allows me free entrance into any National Park and reduced camping fees at all National Parks. http://www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm . We use this a lot during spring and fall, which are the cool times and makes it great for me to go hiking. Now, I am not going on any 7-milers in the outback. Haha. But I do small 1/2-1 milers, sometimes walking with my cane and sometimes being pushed along in my wheelchair. Sometimes, I do both--walk there, get pushed back. I think my favorite hikes were the ones we took along the Historic Columbia River Highway in Oregon and hiked to all the waterfalls along there.  We ended with the Multnomah Falls, which was spectacular! That hike took me lots of rests to get there, and lots of people shoved past, but it was worth it.  http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/crgnsa/home/?cid=STELPRDB5139466

My family at one of the many falls.  A timed-photo--say cheese!

This is Avalanche Gorge on the Trail of the Cedars in Glacier National Park.  A trail accessible for disabled hikers.  http://www.glacierhikers.com/trail-of-cedars.html

Photo by Rick Segeberg





When we moved to Utah from the Big Sky country of Montana, my hunting days were over.  Too many hunters and not enough deer.  So, I didn't miss it too much when MS limited my balance and walking.  I do crave good venison occasionally, though.

I still garden and this it where I do myself in.  Heat in UT is brutal so I have acquired a cooling vest.  I go out early morning since the evenings do not cool down.  I no longer have a 1000 sq. ft veggie garden but am working on getting a few raised beds so I can do more.  I have flowers, all sorts of fruit trees, grapes and berries to keep me happy.

Moral of my story, adapt.  Keep plugging away.  Look at all the little things around you and what you CAN do.  Not at the little things you CAN'T do.  When you start going down that road, it is hard to come back.

The Little Things

Last Friday, my husband, Rick, and I were sitting in the stands watching a minor league baseball game.  We were trying to remember the last time we had gone to a game, where we had sat, what we had ate, and decided it was way too long, since we couldn't remember any of it.  Surely, it wasn't that long?  Wasn't it just last season?  But no, it must have been two or three seasons ago, since we had brought so-and-so with us and they weren't around anymore.

That got me to thinking about a fishing trip we had been trying to plan for the last few months.  So far, it isn't working out and summer is half gone.  Between his jobs and my part-time one, time is fleeting.  We can't even seem to squeeze in an afternoon in to run up the canyon.  Rick is an adjunct teacher and since all the other staff took summer off, he is left hold the bag.  We do need the money to pay for all my medical needs, so I am not complaining.  It has just started me thinking about the little things--the things we like to do.

Are there things you have forgotten to do because life is busy?  Or maybe you think you don't have the money?  Or you've gotten to 'old' for it?  As I was sitting there with my hubby enjoying our brief evening, I thought of a few little things I was going to take time to do before summer (or life) passed me by--and I started at that game.

1. I sang really loud when the song "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" came on.
2. I had baseball game junk food--AND enjoyed it.
3. Write a thank you note to an old mentor apologizing for being an ungrateful teenager.
4. Enjoy the birds singing in the morning--even if it is 4:30 am.  I am up heading to the bathroom anyway.
5. Take a Sunday walk with my husband.  It is free and he can push me in my wheelchair.  Say hi to any of the neighbors that happen to be out.
6. Play pick-a-boo with the little baby in the row in front of me in church.  He's a cutie.
7. Make the bread my son has been bugging me to make.

As I started making a 'little things' list, I noticed my spirits lifted.  It is almost like my 'thankful' list.  Some of the things were wild and crazy, and I would never, ever do them, but it still felt good to think about them.  It was kind of like taking 'happy' medicine.

There are many 'little things' in our lives waiting to be rediscovered.  What have you lost?