We are 27!

Things about us that I want to remember, not in any order of importance.

1.  We go to Chinatown to eat monthly.

2.  Greg likes buffets, I hate them.

3.  We are 11 yr old scout leaders.  We have always loved working together in church callings.

4.  We taught summer school next door to each other for the first time this year.

5.  We only taught at the same school twice for one year each.  

6.  Greg likes middle school kids and I like high school kids.

7.  Our favorite thing to do is stay home, eat popcorn, drink Slurpees and watch comedies on TV.

8.  I pretend to watch football.  Greg pretends to watch Cupcake Wars.

9. Our four boys mean everything to us.  We love them unconditionally.

10.  We have ran together since getting married and usually try to do a half marathon around our anniversary.

11.  We only argue when we allow other people to interfere with our lives.

12.  We were each other "secret" high school crushes.

Take that scale and shove it!

I am was a slave to my scale until 3 weeks ago.  It's pretty sad to think that as wise as I am to health and fitness, I weighed myself regularly.  How did I finally break through the chain that held be prisoner for so long and was a source of much frustration?

It began when I realized that the eating binge that began at Thanksgiving, gained speed at Christmas, picked up more steam at Valentines day and was out of control by Easter had consequences, mainly pants that were really snug.  (For those who are rolling their eyes because you think I am soooooo skinny and have no room to talk... skinny people yoyo with their weight too)

Anyhow, I began running more regularly and the miles were adding up.  I felt so successful until I got on that scale.  I tried to be patient with it.  I knew it took time.  However, despite the hours and miles of running for six weeks, my stupid scale showed NO reduction in weight whatsoever, none!  ARGH!

I vented to Greg who had to remind me of something I had always known.  Judge my weight by how I felt in my clothes.  Of course they were no longer snug. 

So at the age of 47, I set myself free and asked Greg (I couldn't do it myself, we had become so close through the years) if he could throw that stupid scale away....and he did!

If you are thinking about ending this abusive relationship you have with your scale and I haven't convinced you, read this.

10 reasons to put your scale in the trash.

The urge to go raving mad and scream.

My feet after surgery a year ago.

My feet now.  You can't barely see the scars.
My running journey since surgery hasn't been easy.  For months, my feet were so swollen they didn't fit into my shoes.  When I did start running again, I couldn't go very far without pain.  This pain wasn't the plantar fascia pain I had put up with for the last 5 years but a whole new set of pain in my feet (scar tissue), hip and back.  My gait had changed and my body wasn't adjusting.  I was down to running a mile a day.  One day in Zumba, a friend asked if I had done any Graston physical therapy since surgery.  I had never heard of this and began to do research.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graston_Technique
I found a PT and began treatment.  After 6 weeks and somewhat improvement, two friends (Kim G and Pat P) suggested I try acupuncture.  Yea, acupuncture.  Since there was one on my insurance, I gave it a try.  I was desperate to get back the running I had lost due to injury.
Upon arriving at her office, Dr. Ran (http://www.yelp.com/biz/dr-jinli-ran-las-vegas) is everything I thought an acupuncturist would look like.  Naturally, she is Asian and tiny.  The faint scent in her office reminds me of the holistic doctors my grandma took me to as a child in Vietnam.  She took me back to her office and went over my case.  I talked to her about my feet, my insomnia, my allergies.  (Heck, if I was going to be poked with needles I might as well see if it could cure me of all my ills.) After the consultation, the poking was about to begin.
Laying on the table, I had this urge to bolt.  This urge was further perpetuated by looking at the acupuncture chart and seeing needles in the cabinet.  I was sweating and my heart was racing.  If ever I should try to run, it was then.  However, when she entered bringing with her that sense of calmness and serenity, I stayed.  Dr. Ran is very good at distracting you while she does her work.  She placed needles between my eyes, in my head, near my nose, both wrists, arms, well, ok, everywhere!  They ones that hurt the most naturally were the needles in my feet.  Strangely, once the needles were placed, the pain stopped.  It actually felt nice and relaxing.
I can't begin to tell you how acupuncture works.  I won't tell you that I like it.  (I hate needles)  What I will tell you is that it really helped me.  I don't know if together with PT it helped or it helped alone or if I would have gotten better on my own.  I'm not a scientist.  I only know that I am back to running 4-8 miles daily without excruciating pain.  I will also add that when Michael hurt his shoulder (X-Ray showed no tears), I took him to Dr. Ran and he felt better after about 4 visits.  He also has severe allergies of which he hasn't taken any medication for since the last visit.  (Acupuncture didn't help my allergies at all.)
I haven't seen Dr. Ran in a month.  At our last visit she told me not to come unless I was hurting again.  What doctor tells you not to come?  She does, and it made me like her all the more.

Motherhood isn't for sissies.

While making dinner, I had a memory of Luke that I needed to write down.  Luke was 3 years old and struggling with JRA.  Every morning, he needed help getting out of bed and using the bathroom (he couldn't stand up to pee and refused to sit to do it.) After, he would be carried down the stairs and placed in the warm jacuzzi where he could relax enough to uncurl his arthritic fingers and eventually his legs.  Next came the force fed breakfast (JRA symptoms included lost of appetite) so that he could take his medication.

I was pregnant in this memory and fighting severe morning sickness.  I hadn't kept food down in days and this particular morning, the room was spinning and I was still in bed.  I could hear Luke calling for me to come help him because he needed to pee.  His sweet little voice "Mom, I need to pee, please come get me." on a cycle of repeat for what felt like hours.  I would replied, "In just a moment Luke." to his pleading as I tried to get up in a room, that according to my vision, was in full spin.  Finally, his exasperated message changed to "Dang it Mom, I just peed myself." followed by a loud sob.  My heart felt shredded then as it does now knowing I just took some of his dignity away by being too sick to help him.

I told this story to Luke.  He, of course, doesn't remember any of it.  He immediately replied, "Don't cry Mom, I still pee myself."

Luke just had his 20th birthday.  Against what several doctors told us, he survived JRA.  It destroyed his hip and crippled full range of motion in his wrists and other joints.  He has spent the last year learning how to use his new hip and legs.  While recuperating, he worked two jobs and spent all spare time at the gym doing physical therapy.

I don't know how Luke survived it.  Though he doesn't remember much of his painful childhood, I do.  When the memories come, I can't help but feel that failed him at times.  I am so grateful that he forgives me for those shortcomings.  Motherhood can be brutal.

Jesse Daniel Winder

Jesse was born at 5 am on May 5, 1989 almost 3 years after G and I got married.  Jesse taught me how to be a mother.  He converted me to motherhood.  (His brothers owe him for that.) Jesse is a perfect oldest child.  He was not quite 2 years old when Kel was born, 4yrs old with Luke's birth, and 7yrs old with Michael's.  I always thought that if Jess hadn't been such a responsible little boy, I might not have had the rest so close together.  Jesse hasn't always done things that thrilled me and he has done his share of keeping me up nights and giving me more gray hairs.  However, I am ultimately so proud of him for making his own decisions, being his own man, and finding his own way.
5 things you should know about this Cinco de Mayo baby are:
1-  He has held a job since he was 8 yrs old.  He began mowing lawns with Greg the summer after his 8th birthday.  He became a lifeguard at 16 and worked 2-10pm the rest of his high school life.  He never calls in sick with one exception (see #3).  Currently, he is employed by Nevada Highway Patrol and his start Trooper Academy in Carson City in June.
2-  Of all the boys, he is the most like Greg.  (See #1)  He is like Greg in the following ways:  love for jerky,steak, Vietnamese food, curd cheese, guns, country music, sports, the band Boston, love for a brown haired girl, and ability to save money.  He bought his own home with his own money and credit 2 yrs ago.
3-  Jesse once left work early because of a stomachache that turned into emergency appendectomy 3 hours later.
4- He loves his dog Henley that his girlfriend Ashlie gave him.
5-  He once worked as an accountant for the Hilton.
If you don't know this son of mine, you are missing out.

47

April 2 came and I had to turn 47.  This picture took some of the pain away. (I admit, I like it.  I usually hate pictures taken of me.)  However, what this picture doesn't show is the layer of Ben Gay smothered on my back and the ache in my feet.  It's not fun getting older.
Here's advice for those getting older (and who isn't) taken from many friends who have walked this path before me.
1- As your body ages, make the best of what you have.  
2-  Exercise every day.
3-  You don't have to keep up.  Going slower is ok because you are still going.
4- Wear lots of sunscreen.
I wish I had more words of wisdom.  Then again, at my age, I wouldn't be able to remember a long list.

Family Pictures2012