Does anyone remember the film Sleepless in Seattle? That title, if not the plot, comes to mind on nights like this when sleep eludes me and the best I can hope for is a short nap to get me through to early afternoon.
By then, my massage appointment will be over and I can have a hot shower and possibly sleep. Someone asked recently if my appointments were a luxury.
I can tell you this: Anyone with chronically tight muscles, overused joints and low back pain despite daily stretching, will benefit from the hands and knowledge of an experienced massage therapist. What was once monthly has become weekly as I am getting older. Massage cuts down on, but does not completely eliminate, the pain or stresses on my musculoskeletal system. It keeps me out of an orthopedist's office and free from long term physical therapy. Pain medication is not effective and muscle relaxants have unpleasant side effects and can impair function temporarily. Stretching, massage and movement help and have done for years. Luxury? I think not.
We each live in our bodies, no matter how worn by time, age or injury, without respite. In my case, a premature birth and diagnosis of cerebral palsy at one year of age has meant I faced challenges in movement, balance, stability and motor skills. In addition, I walked and moved differently to most folks which added stress to joints and muscles and ultimately resulted in wear and tear not commonly faced until one is elderly. These began for me in my late twenties and have grown with time. Add in a few crappy injuries and you've got a body which is prematurely aged.
That I remain upbeat and happy for the most part is a testament to something shrinks label resilience. Defined as the ability to cope despite obstacles or setbacks, it equates to mental toughness and I would add, the ability to learn to do things differently in order to get the most from every day. Why some have this quality and others do not is a mystery to me but I suspect nature, nurture, environment and example have more than a bit to do with its development. A mental health professional would be better able to elaborate on this. I am merely speaking from my own experience.
This does not mean that I do not face bad days or sleepless nights. I am having a sleepless night now. The fact that I can write about it somewhat relieves the frustration I feel and I know, like bad gas, it will eventually pass. Good sleep hygiene helps as does meditation. If nothing else my furry, nocturnal friend is entertained when I keep his schedule, play with him and feed him early.
What do you do when you cannot sleep?
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Sunday, February 2, 2020
No Super Bowl Here...
Our gray, cold and dropping temperatures have once more vanished. It is chilly but sunny and clear, a beautiful day to be off screens and outside.
The Super Bowl has been to my locale twice in the time I've lived in this building. It is hard to believe it has been over twenty years. By no means an American football fan, what I recall of those events has little to do with the sport and more to do with swelling traffic, crowds, noise and other more unsavory activities.
Though this community is small, our location right off a major road has always meant that the shrill sounds of an ambulance, along with fire and sheriff vehicles, breaking into my sleep at all hours. The added volume of traffic during Super Bowl weekend meant more cars, law enforcement out in increased numbers and fitful sleep for yours truly.
Awakened, I decided to get up and take out the garbage. Returning from the dumpster, I find my elderly neighbor poking around in the grass just outside our mailboxes. He tells me he's lost his key. After ducking inside for a flashlight, I notice blood on his face and helping him inside my apartment, begin to piece together the facts of a mugging at a nearby bank machine at which he had made a deposit.
The sheriff and paramedics arrived shortly thereafter as did his two granddaughters and a friend of theirs. While laundering the blood from his dress shirt and making sure he did not need to go to the hospital, I was relieved when the deputies and trio of women finally decamped. His wallet, found in a restaurant parking lot, was returned later that night, apparently emptied and left there by persons on a crime spree in this usually peaceful neighborhood.
I never knew who they were or what stupidity seized them and made them think they could get away with roughing up an older man and stealing from him. Though he has been dead for years, I spare a kind thought for this neighbor and his family on Super Bowl weekends. As the rest of America waits and watches, I will curl up with a book and hope for a sound sleep.
Have a good week...
The Super Bowl has been to my locale twice in the time I've lived in this building. It is hard to believe it has been over twenty years. By no means an American football fan, what I recall of those events has little to do with the sport and more to do with swelling traffic, crowds, noise and other more unsavory activities.
Though this community is small, our location right off a major road has always meant that the shrill sounds of an ambulance, along with fire and sheriff vehicles, breaking into my sleep at all hours. The added volume of traffic during Super Bowl weekend meant more cars, law enforcement out in increased numbers and fitful sleep for yours truly.
Awakened, I decided to get up and take out the garbage. Returning from the dumpster, I find my elderly neighbor poking around in the grass just outside our mailboxes. He tells me he's lost his key. After ducking inside for a flashlight, I notice blood on his face and helping him inside my apartment, begin to piece together the facts of a mugging at a nearby bank machine at which he had made a deposit.
The sheriff and paramedics arrived shortly thereafter as did his two granddaughters and a friend of theirs. While laundering the blood from his dress shirt and making sure he did not need to go to the hospital, I was relieved when the deputies and trio of women finally decamped. His wallet, found in a restaurant parking lot, was returned later that night, apparently emptied and left there by persons on a crime spree in this usually peaceful neighborhood.
I never knew who they were or what stupidity seized them and made them think they could get away with roughing up an older man and stealing from him. Though he has been dead for years, I spare a kind thought for this neighbor and his family on Super Bowl weekends. As the rest of America waits and watches, I will curl up with a book and hope for a sound sleep.
Have a good week...
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