So much has happened!!

It has been a long time since I've written anything here--life gets in the way, with changing jobs, more renovations, thinking about how and what I want to do... Right now I am enjoying working in an environment where I can actually feel change happening--where there are opportunities to be creative in ways that will improve patient care, by sharing knowledge.

I like this concept. It seems that we spend a lot of time spinning our wheels or reinventing the wheel-- looking for solutions to what are actually fairly simple things. For example, in my world, how to heal a wound is sometimes not the important question, but exploring the reasons behind why a wound won't heal would be the place(s) to look.

If you take away someone's specialty bed because the "system" will only cover the cost for 2 months, and the person has a wound that is likely not going to heal because the individual is unable to walk...then economically, what is the purpose of continuing to throw nursing care, dressings, etc at someone who really won't heal without that bed surface or some way to off-load the pressure and manage the drainage?

so in my "new" world, can I make change happen? Maybe not quick enough for this patient, but perhaps help to put in place some mechanisms so we pay more attention to the underlying (ha ha) issues rather than the "put a bandaid on it and walk away" approach. I hope so. For now, I'm an optimist.

September: the new year!

I always consider September as the new year. Having been a student for such a long time, I guess that's only normal...and the Fall signals the turning of the seasons to something more introspective than the perfusion of blossoms and warmth of summer, when basking in the sun, enjoying the long days and silken evenings is coming to a close. Although this year, the summer is still in full swing (hot, humid days; flowers rioting in the garden and pond).

The first day of school used to be the moment to step into those plaid, slightly scratchy wool jumpers, long socks, brushed hair pulled back with barrettes... but now, the first day of school will be shorts and tee-shirts, flip-flop sandals. Can't imagine anyone wearing wool in this heat!

And for me, I'm starting a new job next week, so that will be exciting and different... no shorts & tees, but I'll pass on the wool jumper too.

summertime

Mid-summer. All the activities of paring down (the yard sale earlier this month) and relaxing (the Home County Folk Festival, visiting some wineries in the Niagara region) are just the thing for our short time with summer.

When I consider complaining about the heat (it was 33 degrees C. today), I just have to look back at some of the photos of the winter--and this winter was particularly "challenging" in terms of the amount/frequency of snow!! I like winter for a couple of weeks, when the snow is white and crispy. But longer than that, and I'm ready to consider moving to some climate where winter and snow don't drag on.

So the summer heat is refreshing and delightful as I watch my garden unfold in various blooms. The dog lies down beside the pond, cooling his belly on the flagstones. I make sure the bird feeders are topped up, the fountains continuing to burble...and relax in the fragrant warmth of summertime. Too short...

Enrichment

Thinking of a word that somehow brings to light the feeling of more than being happy, of being “enriched” in the way one feels waking up from the best night’s sleep, in a beautiful room, with the light just so—and no bills to pay, no pressing engagements of the day. Waking up to the aroma of coffee.

I spend my life walking around this word, this concept.

perfection is in the eye of the beholder

Walking the dog this morning (a cool Sunday, nice change from the heat/humidity last week) and I, of course, am snooping other people's gardens--at least those gardens that are visible from the sidewalk. Several gardens on my usual route are wonderful: peonies and irises in full bloom with candy-pink and royal purple flowers, along with other pretty plants (although somewhat less spectacularly sized). These gardens are immaculate, with neatly mowed lawns, swept and clean patios, flower beds with tidy borders.

The first emotion, after the bliss of such beauty, is anxiety. I consider my own chaotic gardens and worry that the lack of order somehow reflects badly on me as a gardener. However it doesn't take long to realize that my gardens are fine the way they are; the untidiness is really just an expression of joy at the ability of flowers to bloom, birds to come and fish to dash around in the pond that manages to remain the best part of the garden despite the maple keys that shower into it and a fountain that sometimes sputters to a stop, clogged with debris. The lawn is lumpy, the grass is a bit long, the borders of my flower beds uneven and there are weeds.

But when I'm in my backyard,  I'm happy. No comparisons with those gorgeous gardens on my walk. It's the perfect place to be.

listen to the little voice in your head

I went to the Southwest Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) first Quality Symposium on Thursday (torrential rains, high winds to drive through on the way to Stratford) & was impressed by the themes presented by a number of the speakers--including the provincial Minister of Health, the Honourable Deb Matthews, PhD (her background is demographics, how appropriate!). The "end-note" speaker was Steven Lewis (not to be confused with Stephen Lewis, who would have been equally at home there). But the messages of how to maintain universal healthcare in the face of the increasingly elderly demographic with multiple chronic health issues were reminders of that little voice in my head.

I am the Participaction generation, with medals to prove my ability, as a 10 year old, to be supremely (well, okay, reasonably) fit. But it got me into running, cycling and other activities that have remained part of my life--even if sometimes taking second or third place to other things, like having children and working/going to school.

As a wound care specialist, I have seen the effects of sedentary lifestyle, eating junk food,  high salt consumption, diet pop instead of water or milk, and cigarette smoking. I have patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, lousy circulation, sore joints (ankles, knees, hips) and sometimes joint replacements or other "corrective" surgeries. The majority of these individuals are overweight. And not by just 10 pounds or so, but what we politely call, "morbidly obese". Obesity is an epidemic, we all know, and it's not getting any better.

I look around and think, it's not that hard. When that little voice in your head says, "You don't really need to eat that" or " How about parking the car a block further so you can get some exercise" or " Yeah, that cough IS from smoking. You do need to quit before it kills you". It's time to say "YES, you're right!"

Last year, I listened to the little voice. I lost about 40 pounds, started to exercise (aquafit, yoga, cycling--things I enjoy) and WOW!! How much better do I feel? A million times better. I don't plan to be in that chronic illness demographic as I get older.

Do you?

Having A Space of One's Own

I remember reading Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" when I was about twenty & considering how important it was to make sure I had my own space. At the time, it seemed easy to do: the extra bedroom would be my "workroom", with the long table, the sewing machine, art, fabric, photos, drawings. The window looking out over the garden...

Years went by and the space somehow disappeared. Children needed bedrooms, toys and books, musical instruments, their art, their imaginative jumble, took over everywhere, and my "space" became smaller and smaller.

There was always an office (and at home, a desk carved out in a corner), but the idea of "space", where creativity was more the focus, was elusive.

Now I find that I am once again in a position to claim "space" for myself. It feels a bit strange, like an almost forgotten memory of something I once did... this won't be the same space as anything I had before, and I feel much more tentative about the creative part of it. But I suspect I will begin to enjoy this place.

A new space. Arms outstretched, I feel the fluttering of ideas.