Mondays with Marlene

In my opinion ...

My husband and I have just completed a six week “course” on Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions. It’s presented by the University of Victoria Center of Aging and is designed as a self-management program. It covered a lot of topics I was already familiar with, but like most courses contained these wonderful nuggets of wisdom and practicality, and often jolted my memory and reminded me that there were things I could do to make my life the best it can be with the condition I have to live with. The attendees had a variety of chronic problems and believe me, some of them made me happy to have the problems I had to deal with.

One of the most important things I was reminded of was to communicate. Sounds pretty simple, but it’s probably one of the things we all fail miserably at most of the time. Coping mechanisms was also a biggie. We all know that we have to do certain things, but sometimes we put them off or think that missing that stretching routine just once or twice won’t really hurt. NOT!

Something very important for me is to remember to be kind and good to myself. Stop for a cup of coffee and sit out on the patio to drink it. Enjoy the day. Arrange your budget so you can go out for lunch or dinner once in a while. I know it gives me that much needed boost. Take a few minutes to phone or write to a friend. Tell your family you love them. That’s being kind to everyone. Give your husband/wife an extra hug and let him know how much you appreciate his/her support. Say thanks to the grocery store clerk for carrying your bags out to the car and say thanks to yourself for hanging in there and doing the best you can.

Give yourself a little hug and a pat on the back. You deserve it.