Are we free-falling?

Over Spring Break, I spent seven days away from the pressures of work and home. Our family went to Florida to focus on each other, have fun and get some rest. During that time, I read Rebecka Lions new book Freefall to Fly.


The book is a candid recount of how the author suffered with depression and anxiety as she searched for, and eventually found, deeper meaning in her life. These are topics so many of us can relate to and I appreciate that Lyons did not sugar coat the journey. (although it was perhaps a bit to heavy for Spring Break reading). 

The World Health Organization named depression the second most common cause of disability worldwide after cardiovascular disease, and it is expected to become number one in the next ten years. In the United States, 5 to 10 percent of adults currently experience the symptoms of major depression, and up to 25 percent meet the diagnostic criteria during their lifetime, making it one of the most common conditions treated by primary care physicians. At any given time, around 15 percent of American adults are taking antidepressant medications. (Christianity Today, 2009) 

Many people afflicted with depression are women. Rebekah's premise is that many women need to find their God-given purpose to break out of depression. She urges us to embrace our true calling, looking back to see what has made our hearts sing when we were young and without the pressures and responsibilities motherhood, wifehood and careers bring.

Lyons gives women permission to look beyond taking care of family and daily responsibilities as means of fulfillment and do what truly touches our souls. The overall feeling of the book is a bit dark, true to the struggle she faced.  Lyons seems to judge/discourage the use of medications to combat depression. She surmises that many of us may be running to medication, alcohol, or other vices to numb the pain that God wants us to work through in order to find our true calling. I tend to disagree with her on that one. 

I am lucky that while I have faced humongous struggles, both personally and professionally, over the past decade, I have been assured and confident in my calling as a wife, mother and in my career in public relations for faith-based organizations and businesses (although that one took some exploration before I realized I had been where God wanted me all along). 

If you are struggling with "being enough" or emptiness inside, I recommend picking up a copy. Rebekah's journey just may inspire you too.

Sitting is the New Smoking and I'm Breaking the Habit

According to David Suzuki, an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster known for his ability to explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, understandable manner, the more we connect to nature, the smarter, healthier and happier we are. In fact, he claims getting outside even makes us nicer and more likely to clean up the planet. Unfortunately, most of us spend more than 90 per cent of our days indoors, away from nature.

I recently discovered just how inactive I was/am when I got a device called a FitBit. It tracks steps taken, stairs

climbed, miles walked, calories burned and sleep. Health guides tell us to aim for 10,000 steps a day and on an average day, I only take 4,000 - 5,000. In fact, in the three months I have had this device I have only hit the 10,000 step mark twice and both of those instances where when I took a walk outdoors. 

I spend pretty much all my life in doors. I wake up, get dressed, drive to my office building, work at a desk or sit around a conference table for 8 hours, walk to the parking garage, get in my car, drive home, sit at the dinner table, play on the family room floor or lounge on the couch and then lie down in bed. 

Acoording to the David Suzuki Foundation, SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING! 

I am not alone. On average, North Americans spend 9.3 hours a day sitting. Researchers conclude that this unprecedented level of inactivity is causing 5.3 million deaths per year – a similar level of mortality to smoking. Getting active outdoors is a simple but effective remedy. 

I don't breathe fresh air except for maybe 4 minutes a day. I am more sedentary than I have ever been. At a time when I am trying to lose 40 pounds. So I am joining two challenges and observing a self-motivated challenge to help me get exercise and get some fresh air. 

First, I am joining in the 30x30 challenge to get outside for 30 minutes a day every day for 30 days in May. This may be during the workday with two 15 minute brisk walks outside, before work taking my dog out in the early morning hours, or afterwork playing with my kids in our yard. 

Second, I am taking the couch-to-5K challenge. I started

yesterday with the training app which leads me in alternating running and walking, increasing the running portion incrementally each week. In 8 weeks, I shoudl be ready to run a 5K - an illusive goal of mine for a while.

Lastly, I am trying to hit 10,000 steps and 10 flight of stairs every day. My activities to meet the two challenges above will surely help me reach this goal. 

I want to be an example to my kids so that they will enjoy being outside and having fun. When I was little, I was always outside exploring. I need to provide a safe environment for them to do the same. So I resolve to get my family out of the cave and to embrace the sun! (or even the rain). How about you?

Spring Break Reading

My family and I just returned from a week in Florida. Time at the beach and swimming in the canal and relaxing as much as you can with little people running around. We had a great time together. I even got a little reading in. My first book was a nice fiction novel called Scent of Lilacs by Ann Gabhart. Set in 1964 in small-town Kentucky, its heroine, Jocie Brooke, is a curious preteen who digs up life-altering answers to questions about her family. It's a delightful coming of age novel with mystery, suspense and innocence wrapped into one.

I'd definitely recommend putting a copy in your beach bag. Available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

40 years of Mobile Connectivity, We've Come A Long Way

Recently, we gave in and got our oldest a smart phone. We have questioned, is she is ready for the responsibility? We have worried it, would open her up to unnecessary dangers? We have reasoned, it will keep us connected as she ventures into her teenage years. I find it fitting that today marks the 40th anniversary of the very first cell phone.

Well, that makes the cell phone older than me by a few months, which is difficult to believe. And no, the first cell phone was not made by Apple but by Motorla, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x. It weighed 2.5 pounds, had a one-line LED display, and cost nearly $4,000 with a battery life of just 20 minutes!

Cell technology did not hit my house until the mid-to-late 1980s when my mom, who was a real estate appraiser and traveled alone in the car often, got her first car phone. It was the size of a shoe box and had a cord attached to the receiver. It sat on the center consul of her Nissan Maxima, which later became my car.

Even as a young professional in the mid 1990s, cell phones were not prevalent. I was

given a pager at my first real PR job and back in 1999, at my current company, we had two company cell phones that we could check out when needed for travel or events, otherwise we all had pagers. When we got paged, we had to stop and find a pay phone to answer the call. Today, my daughter would not know what a pager is and we'd be hard-pressed to find a pay phone anywhere.

Eventually, we all got cell phones. Those little Motorola flip phones. And I was among the first of my colleagues to get a smart phone. It was an HP Pocket PC and I loved it! I could write word documents, email, see my calendar. It was a organization-freak's dream! I guess that little device began my love affair with smart phone technology. Since that time, I have had numerous devices including Blackberries and every edition of the iPhone (my current love). It is a rare occasion that my iPhone or iPad are not close by my side (though I really do try to disconnect for some time each evening).

I wonder now, how my parents got along with three kids- two of them boys- without a cell phone (or even a pager) to keep connected. I guess they trusted them to be where they said they would be. Now we can track our kids by the cell GPS.

With talk of apple coming out with iWatch, where all the mobile technology would be available on a device small enough to wear on our wrist, and of Google developing augmented reality glasses, it is unimaginable where technology will take us in the next 40 years. I can guess I know one thing, I'll be on board for the ride. So, thanks to Marty Cooper, who made it possible for that first call to be made, you have changed our world completely!

Speaking to the Heart

Currently, I'm doing a short devotional from the book by Julie Zine Coleman called Unexpected Love: God'd Heart Revealed in Jesus' Conversations with Women. The book unpacks Biblical encounters between Jesus and several women of the first century revealing His heart for all women. Each chapter ends with suggested Bible readings, devotional prompts and journaling suggestions.

Leading up to Resurrection Sunday, it is a great reflection on the love Jesus had for me, so great that he would lay down his life and call me his friend. The book is available now at online retailers. It is also a good reminder that even when life beats us down, we are daughters of the King and he treasures us.

I was given the book in exchange for an honest review. I encourage you to grab a copy and a mug of coffee and spend nine mornings or evenings basking in His love.

World Down Syndrome Day - A Mom's Perspective

Today is World Down Syndrome Day, a day we recognize people who have an extra 21st chromosome - some call the love chromosome. We also advocate for opportunity, inclusion, respect, understanding and protection for people who have some extra vulnerabilities that stem from having that extra genetic material.

All persons with Down syndrome are cognitively impaired to one degree or another, but every one of them has the capacity to learn, be independent, enjoy hobbies, work and have meaningful relationships.

Persons with Down syndrome often have physical impairments as well. Most common, they have low muscle tone which makes it take longer for them to learn to crawl, walk, run, hop, and skip but oh can they dance! Low tone also affects the facial and tongue muscles so a delay in talking and speech issues are also common. Despite having a low tone, people with Down syndrome can be great athletes and many enjoy being on sports teams and participating in the Special Olympics.

Other physical issues common to persons with Down syndrome include heart impairments, hearing impairment, Celiac disease and an increase risk of Lukemia and Alzheimers. Science and medicine have come a long way in treating these conditions and there is much hope. People with Down syndrome are living longer and longer as new treatments are developed.

Research regarding how to improve the cognitive function of persons with Down syndrome shows promising results. However, research for Down syndrome, which occurs in 1 in every 700 births , is grossly underfunded.  As a mom, I am hopeful that one day, there will be treatments that will enhance my son's intellectual capabilities and give him the best opportunities life has to offer.

However, there is still a long way to go when it comes to inclusion and acceptance in society. When the "R" is used so casually, when we allow children and the vulnerable to be made fun of in our TV shows and by our celebrities, when police officers use force instead of patience to remove a confused and frightened young man from a movie theatre resulting in his death, when our little ones get left out of birthday party invites, when we have to fight for our right to the least restrictive environment in education and when scared moms-to-be are presented with antiquated information about raising a child with Down syndrome and are encouraged to abort. I hope for a day when persons with Down syndrome and other disabilities are seen for the beauty and value they bring to this world. For their abilities, instead of their disabilities.

I am so thankful for my little buddy. He has brought immense joy to our lives and is so happy and full of life. Last week, I went to a theatrical production of Grease put on by the Habima Theater in my town. The acting group is primarily made up of persons with developmental disabilities and included several actors with Down syndrome. The play was wonderful and I was so elated by their achievement and their expressions of pure joy as the performed! I know the possibilities for my son have yet to be imagined!

If you'd like to support Down syndrome, please visitwww.dsaatl.org

Previous Posts:
21 things to know about Down syndrome

Three Things To Know About Down Syndrome

How to Survive Your Child's Sleep Study

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  On Valentines Day, I had a date with my little guy at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for a sleep study. My dad had had one so I was somewhat familiar, but it was my two-year old undergoing the study and I was still somewhat nervous. I asked some friends in a Facebook group to which I belong for some advice. The following are their tips, coupled with a few of my own.

   

  • If this is your 1st sleep study, sending you lots of love
  • Make sure he is good and sleepy so he falls asleep fast
  • Your child will hopefully sleep, but you prob won't sleep a wink
  • Once you arrive and he's hooked up,  you stay in the room until he wakes the following morning
  • Some say don't let them nap the day-of, others say keep their routine
  • Take a DVD player to distract your child while they were hooking him/her up
  • You'll get woken up at about 5 or 6 pm to leave
  • It is always much worse getting everything off in the morning, it's hard to get the goop out 

  • You'll want to go straight home to a bath
  • If he flips out when getting the leads on, ask if they will wait until he falls asleep and then they put everything on him and hook him up.
  • Or Have the tech put all the leads and tape and such on you as well 
  • Wear warm clothes
  • Bring a glass of wine so you can sleep
  • Have your ipad so you can  dim it down and watch a Netflix movie with some earphones if needed
  • Their faces can react to the tape and glue remover so test a small spot before you wipe him down with it
  • Use tons of conditioner in your child's  hair, use a comb to get the glue off the hair and scalp
  • Bring your own snacks and drinks 
  • Consider going to sleep when your child does, you'll get woken up to have him or her lay down or fix a lead several times throughout the night
  • Arrive in sleepwear
  • Don't forget the favorite blanket or stuffed animal 
  • Bring a hat for your child to wear home over the sticky, goopy hair!
  • Good luck!

   

  Our sleep study went pretty well. We arrived at 7:30 p.m. and checked in along with a few other families. We were ushered to our room and went about the bedtime process. I  brought my iPad so my son could watch Cullens ABC videos while all of the leads were put on his head. I had to hold his arms and it took a few tries to get everything in place. He gave us the most trouble with the lead that sits right at his nose to measure oxygen. Once the leads were in place, they wrapped he head like a mummy. By that time, we were past his usual bedtime so he was ready to drift off to sleep.

   

  I got myself ready for bed and had planned on reading but decided to get some sleep in while I could. It was a good thing. My son moved all about his bed and sat up in his sleep a lot! Each time I had to get up and lay him back down. He awoke for about an hour and a half and I had to hold him some, which is not typical. Thankfully, we were the last of the sleepover patients to be processed so Joey got some extra sleep. It was 6 a.m. by the time we got all the leads off and I had used baby wipes to try to get as much of the goop off his head as I could. So we survived and I am hoping the results will enable to get the best care possible for our little man.

   

  If you have survived a child's sleep study, please share your tips!