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What do you do for fun? MS Awareness Month 2021, Day 19 Photo by Chang Duong on  Unsplash Fun means different things to different people. I’ve always been a rather reclusive girl. I love reading, writing, knitting, yoga, and playing musical instruments; all of which are basically solitary activities. They bring me joy. They are stress-free and can be set aside when I am done for the day. The only drama that exists is what I make. As time goes by I have added socialization to my list of fun things to do. We have a mountain camp and have developed close ties with other folks in the campground. These relationships have spilled over outside the campground. In September a dozen of us are going to the beach together for a week. We’ll share responsibilities and visit much like we do when we’re camping; actually, the biggest difference will be the setting. The point is our relationships have grown into a more family attitude with the common interests we share. We have fun together. Not only i

I hope you’ve given some thought to your purpose. Maybe your purpose is to be cute like this doggie. Maybe your purpose is to care for your own furry friend. If you are the sole provider of your family, that is a demanding position. Maybe you feel like you have no purpose. You are wrong. Living with a chronic disease tends to isolate folks. Just because we are sick doesn't mean we want to be ignored. We are still the friend, the family member, the neighbor that we always have been; adjustments to our living style may be different after diagnosis, but we are still HERE. A friend of mine is living with terminal cancer and hospice has been alerted. I received a call from her a few days ago requesting a visit. When I asked my husband if he wanted to go with me, he paled and furiously shook his head. He didn’t want to see her in her current state. This made me sad, but I also understand what he meant. It’s hard to see a once boisterous friend shrunken by disease. I don’t think God is gi

FINDING YOUR PURPOSE MS Awareness Month 2021, Day 16 Photo by Ian Schneider on  Unsplash What drives you in life? What encourages you to rise every morning? I love books. When I younger I would often get lost in a book and forget to sleep. I remember at the age of nine or ten hiding beneath my bed covers with a flashlight and Trixie Belden, reading just one more page before my mom caught me. Since my family always lived out somewhere, book characters were often my only friends. I didn’t mind then and I don’t now. For the past twenty years, I not only enjoy visiting friends in print; I am also passionate about creating new characters to share my time with. My love for the written word became my life’s work as an English teacher/librarian and now an author! I get out of bed every morning anxious to get back to fictional friends. They challenge me. They energize me. They make sense of this crazy world even when there is no sense to be made. I love having a purpose and that is the reason

P = PURPOSE MS Awareness Month 2021, Day 15 Photo by Jen Theodore on  Unsplash AND THE IDES OF MARCH. There are so many things in life that frighten us. As MS Warriors, we live with the worst: The MonSter. He’s not hiding under the bed. He doesn’t live in the closet. Our MonSter walks daily by our side. Our MonSter has a purpose. That purpose is to create havoc. Our job is to fight back. With a purpose. PIL (Purpose in Life) is an area of research that focuses on the communication between the mind and the body. An individual’s purpose relates directly to physical and mental health. Jewish physician Viktor Frankl says “Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has meaning.” Years later researchers James Crumbaugh and Leonard Maholick created a scale that measures life purpose. They wrote that PI includes “1) believing that life has meaning

                My Sunday To-Do List Photo by  Kelsey Chance  on  Unsplash MY  Count my blessings Let go of what I can’t control Practice kindness Listen to my heart Be thankful for what I have Just breathe! Amen — Kelly’s Treehouse I love Sundays. Prior to the Pandemic regulations, my brother, Mom, and nieces spent the afternoon after church holding a Game Day. As we slowly meld back into that fun routine, my heart is happy. Today my oldest niece is visiti n g from North Carolina. She organized the day with most of the participants ready and anxious to meet at the card table. We’ll eat junk food or whatever goodies my mother prepares. We’ll laugh. We’ll share our latest accomplishments or disappointment. We’ll agree to disagree in the strong competitive nature that makes us who we are. Above all, we’ll be together and thankful for it. Have a blessed day, Lisa, Lady With the Cane t  my blessings Let go of what I can’t control Practice kindness Listen to my heart Be thankful for what I