Joyful Hugs

Ben & Galen on the 13 mile paddle.

My family was off kayaking and camping last week at Cumberland Island. This trip is too difficult for me and this crazy disease. It's a 13 mile kayak over to the campsite, the heat can get bad, there are a lot of ticks and scorpions and snakes, and it's a two mile hike from the campsite to the beach. My husband Greg has gone a couple of years in a row and both times wanted me to go. He's a strong enough paddler to get us both over and he planned to devise a way to carry me to the beach. A human powered vehicle of some sort (aka a litter). Here's what I imagined:

But it would probably be more like this:

Maybe someday I will join them but I decided to sit this one out. Sometimes they were in cell phone range and they sent me pictures through texts and I felt like I was there! Well, sort of. I called it my mobile vacation. It was my way of making the best of not actually being on vacation with my family.

Here's one of my favorite pictures:

My husband wrote "Greg & Marjorie" on their private oasis.

I managed to have some fun back home and got plenty of  R&R. But, I can't explain how much their coming home meant to me. When I spoke to my kids on the phone, they sounded so happy to talk to me. They didn't get home until after 3 am but I got up to greet them and I got the biggest hugs. The next morning, more hugs! I'm not talking side hugs or lean over hugs or pats on the back. I'm talking straight up, warm hugs. Longs hugs that said "I know I'm a teenager and sometimes I can be awful and sometimes you can be a pretty awful mom but you mean the world to me and I missed you so much." Now that is my kind of hug!

If that's what it takes to get one of those kind of hugs again, well, where do you want to go next?

My boys hiking to the beach - Cumberland Island 2012 

Welcome home boys. I missed you! Thank you for the hugs.

Breakfast of Champions

MS like many fun diseases comes with a plethora of diets: The Swank Diet, Montel William's Juicing Diet, Dr. Wahl's Mitochondria Diet (Paleo), The MS Recovery Diet, and more . . . They are all pretty similar. Stop eating junk! BUT, junk is SO good! Me and these diets have been at war over the years. Let's face it, food is part of what makes life fun. Potlucks, BBQs, weddings, parties, holidays, ice cream, a candy bar, popcorn at the movies, etc. Life as we know it tends to center around food that don't fit into the equation of what I call Extreme Healthy Eating. But, I've come around! Why Extreme Healthy Eating? Well, because I think it sounds funny! But you don't have to be extreme. That's just what I'm doing. So, why bother? I mean, I'm disabled. It is what it is, right? Well, who knows? My life choices (including diet) are now allowing me to go into stores and limp around on foot rather than using an electric cart (most of the time). Also, my energy is very good for someone with MS in the heat of summer. I will never know the possible benefits if I don't embrace a healthier lifestyle. The other way, well, like Dr. Phil says, "how's that working for you?" And my answer, not so great! Everyone could benefit from some of the big concepts. In a nut shell, eat TONS of veggies, some fruits, chicken (grass fed if possible) and fish. It helps to have some allies. My husband has been helpful and my chiropractor Dr. Bob and his wife Claire are Extreme Healthy Eaters and have been a huge support. It's really not that bad. I had a tea party yesterday with my sweet nieces. I didn't think there would be anything I could eat. I had a beautiful meal! It's amazing how accommodating restaurants have become. And I went to a movie with a friend the other day and brought my own snacks. I didn't think I could see a movie without eating popcorn. I did and I survived to tell about it. And when I really want some sweets, I go to Gluten Free Cutie in downtown Roswell. It's okay to joke around too. I don't mind my friends razzing me about my diet. Really, look at my breakfast this morning! A smoothie with one apple, a handful of kale, a handful of spinach, a whole carrot, a slice of lime, plant based protein powder, almond milk, water and ice. Even I laughed! But, it wasn't that bad!

We intrerrupt this blog for . . .

. . . a nervous breakdown. Oh man, life sure can get hard and I don't feel up to sharing during those times. You know the saying, this too shall pass? Well, it does. And then something else comes along. It's like the laundry. Once it's all clean, someone takes off some dirty socks and throws them on the floor. If we wait until the laundry is done to be content, it may never happen. So is the moral of this story to find joy in doing the laundry? Maybe. But every day I am grateful to be here marveling at God's beauty. What an honor to be a part of His creation, turmoil and all. He uses trials to refine us. Well, some of us are going to be pretty darn refined! Keep on keeping on folks!