On the 8th we found out that the state will entirely pay for the modifications to the type of van we selected (Toyota Sienna)! Gary called the Driver Rehab specialist to tell him this, and he said he was waiting for the authorization from the Department of Vocational Rehab. Unfortunately, Gary forgot to ask him what the next step is, but we think he goes out with us to pick out the van.

Gary has been continuing to do well with his rehab weight training at the university. He says he gets a lot more sore doing three sets of ten with more weight than he did with the one set of thirty routine, even though while he is doing the exercises the new routine feels easier than the old did.

He recently made it up the hill from the Student Rec Center (where the gym is) to the math department with just one rest (at first, he needed three). He said he turned down two offers of help from people asking him if he wanted to be pushed (I’m so proud ;-)). He says his record there is being asked three times if he wants to be pushed up the hill.

He says that when he is going across the parking lot to get to the hill he actually is asked more often than that if he wants a push (and he has never accepted). It’s not a steep push, but it is a fairly long one. He notes that he is getting good exercise doing it and that he notices improved lung capacity as a result of those pushes. He says he can cough much better, for example – though his sneezes are still weak (I’m sorry, but I can’t help laughing sometimes when he sneezes – the sneezes sound funny to me).

We switched beds last night (the 10th) so Gary could try out a double bed at home. It went fine – for him. I got cold in the other room and slept badly. I guess in part that shows he’s in much better condition, healthwise, than he was while at Shepherd. He used to get cold so easily – we were constantly at war with one of his roomies over the temperature controls. And he used to get so cold after his bed baths that his teeth would chatter and I’d have to bring him hot chocolate or tea to warm him up.

I had a bunch of weird dreams all night last night, though I don’t remember them. But I do remember a recent one. I was in an airport to catch a plane, and the security procedure had been changed. I had to be interviewed by this woman. The result of this interview was that you could “get” to be one of the people assigned to stop any terrorists on your plane – I guess we were supposed to throw ourselves at the terrorists. The alternative was to do an hour of community service. I didn’t say so aloud, but I planned to opt for the community service (didn’t want this woman to know I was a coward, I guess ;-)). She noted that I had read Kurt Vonnegut. Boy, I didn’t know the government knew such details. I admitted I had, but that it had been required in high school (I didn’t admit I liked the book ;-)). She was quite disapproving and told me she had voted for Nixon. Then she asked me if I was paraplegic. I thought the answer should have been quite obvious ;-), but I said “no.” I assumed the question had to do with my ability to throw myself at a terrorist, but when I told Gary the dream, he said that probably the questioner thought that all paraplegics were subversive.

We finished the Dorothy Sayers mystery videos sent to us last summer by J.P. and Pam Holmes. Recently we watched the original version of King Kong, and now we are watching the recent remake to compare. I was surprised by how well I was liking the movie – until last night. They went too overboard and made it unbelievable (yes, I could suspend disbelief up to then – I would even have accepted shooting one giant grasshopper off the back of a man with a machine gun, but not a whole horde of them – at least, not without killing the man).

I will finish this entry by passing along a little story someone sent me by email. Thanks, Vicki – most of the techniques for dealing with the burdens of life had me chortling.

Stress Management

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20 grams to 500 grams. The
lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone money and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

* Never buy a car you can't push.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.