Well, I took a little time off to try and gather my wits here. My to-do list grew to the point of uncontainable chaos and I know it’s because I let go of structuring my days to allow more “creative flexibility.” It appears the added room for folly isn’t something I can handle effectively. No matter how good it feels to let go of shoulds, it always catches up with me in the end.
Today, this post is a catch up response and I need to write it all out, so that I can make some room in my head for the piles still sitting on my desk. Hang with me today and maybe there is something that will be interesting or useful for you, too.
The first thing I want to mention is that March is Worldwide Red Cross Month. Although we with lupus are not exactly the donor pool they’re looking for and deal with more than our share of lab work, there are still several ways to contribute back to our community. The Oregon Trail Chapter of the Red Cross has a blog ,written by locals, offering opportunities to learn more about what’s available here. In fact, I have recently signed up to take an Adult CPR class in April (as my first step towards some certification credentials.) Their blog offers other things such as free tickets, local event information and even little snippets like the recent post about a landmark I remember from my childhood growing up in Forest Grove . The blog is full of information and is now included within my favorites. I recommend you check it out.
Another postponed task is the “Part 2” of my conversation with Roxanne Black (now Black-Weisheit)—author of the book “Unexpected Blessings: Stories of Hope and Healing” . It will be posted as soon as I dig it out of the drafts file of my emails, where it’s been sitting and (amazingly enough) never sent itself to her for review. Go figure. As soon as she gives the okay, it’ll get it posted. The book discussion for February and March concludes this week officially, but the discussions on Shelfari.com are continuous. To catch all the discussions so far, click here . If you don’t get the book we’re covering while we’re discussing it, you can join in later no problem. Fortunately, I have been able to get the authors of the books to do open question and answer, so if you have any comments or topics you want to cover at any time, please feel free to join in. If you don’t want to join up officially, email me and I’ll do the work in getting your note out there for you (and anonymous is fine.) This book has been less of a discussion and more as a recommended reference book. Those who haven’t participated in the discussions, but have mentioned to me through the other networks I (Ning communities, Facebook, Twitter) and emails, mention how they use the book as a quick source for inspiration or food for thought. It is a light read, but one that can easily shed some ‘light’ on those days where all we seem to see is the dark.
The next book discussion in April will be “Little Bee” by Chris Cleeve. This will be our last discussion until Fall, as we will be shifting towards different seasonal activities. This next book isn’t lupus focused, but is about the enduring relationship forged between two women and the story that materializes from a single choice. A couple of people have requested it and I have heard that it’s a good one.
You may also have noticed that we’ve added an email registration on the right side of the site. This acts as a sign-up for events, workshops and target get-togethers, community social events, participation in the P.O.R.T program and local research projects, and for future notices or invitations. As I would expect from any site when handling my own contact information, your name and email information is never sold to any third party, nor will there be any marketing solicitations. This registration is merely a means to connect with you out there both locally and nationally, to help build up our services and information data base. Of course, you can withdraw your information at anytime by emailing me directly.
With the weather improving (fingers crossed), I’ve had conversations with readers who are interested in partnering up for outings including quick walks, meeting up for coffee/tea, and other opportunities to get out to enjoy the Portland-metro area with individuals who have lupus or lupus-related illnesses. MLWT partners with other chapters including the Arthritis Foundation Oregon Chapter , the Oregon Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation , and a few local support groups including fibromyalgia and Living Well with Chronic Conditions , so the get-togethers aren’t limited to lupus only. There are other social groups offering similar ‘meet-ups’ for activities, but there is still the concern about the varying degrees of ability we experience from day-to-day that the general group participants/leaders don’t account for (because they just aren’t aware, not because they’re clueless.) Meetup.com offers quite a variety of opportunities. I belong to the Portland Women’s Outdoor Club and I really encourage you to join one! Our P.O.R.T. program is a more defined social gathering designed for those who feel support groups aren’t for them. Support comes in many forms and MLWT aims to provide as much variety in offering support opportunities for individuals to find the type that works best for them.
In addition to keeping these outings quick, and targeted towards the level of ability for that day, some of these gatherings will include a local professional or a MLWT Guest blogger who will join in with the group as we do an activity and talk about topics within their specific expertise. So, as a means to really sneak in the exercise we (I) often push aside, these local gatherings will incorporate a short educational aspect and opportunity to meet potential local health connections. These new gatherings offer an additional benefit: they connect participants directly to the outside community (and form the foundation for our P.O.R.T. program.) So, even if you have limited energy or experience severe health challenges, the goal is to offer a variety of opportunities to help you bridge with others in-person, which is extremely important and necessary for our overall health. Some of us have Skype, which is the ability to have audio and video when speaking with others through the internet, but that is still no substitute for the real thing (which we will be hearing more about that in future research, I guarantee.)
Finally, MLWT will be offering a class on a topic for anyone living with chronic illness (pending final review), a workshop on bridging our health and work selves, and specific products that are designed through collaborations with local businesses. I’m currently completing some professional certifications that will be filling out the rest of this MLWT project in order to offer more specific support services. It all seems to be taking awhile, which is why it is sometimes really quiet here regarding posts. However, it is wonderful to be coming up on our second year and seeing this project become a more established community service. I want to thank many of you who have contributed your time, expertise, energy and stories (locally, nationally and internationally). You have been key in its fruition.
As always, if you know of someone with lupus, who may have lupus or you yourself have lupus and want to make a health connection, the MLWT lupus “hub” is here to direct you to available resources within our community. Referrals are made only to area organizations, foundations, chapters and other professional sources who all have particular strengths to offer and take their missions about health and wellness very seriously.
Whew! Now, back to work. Wishing all of you a wonderful week ahead!
