Household Management

In the past I have thought and written about hobbies (play/leisure) and work activities. These are all complex ADLs Occupational Therapists analyze specifically to assist individuals with disabilities/injuries with improving their independence in all areas of life.

There are so many different things that life has to offer in our society. Education that can last 13 (+) years, working to earn money (40-60 years). Household maintenance is also one component of life which consumes a major part of our lives. To some extent we all want a clean bathroom, clean sheets and need to rearrange furniture or the other items we buy for our home. What happens when a chronic or acute disability decreases the ability to complete these tasks? Are these tasks causing stress or taking away from an individual's family life or work productivity?  How does maintaining a household independently improve someone's self esteem?

There are varying levels of this complex ADL (which is true for any area OTs look at). Young adults are living with their parents longer or renting houses/apartments long after college with roommates for various different reasons. However, at some point many individuals in our society hope to own a home. Beyond cleaning and keeping a sanitary living space comes home repairs and maintenance of the physical structure. A certain amount of planning, organization as well as physical output is required to complete these types of tasks.

I have a sense of pride in owning my own home. I am happy I am able to make my own decisions and choices regarding my house.  My house represents a major level of comfort, security, success (I worked and waited for this home) and independence. My scent mark is all over this place - it's mine! I also realize I could have chosen an easier path.....remained a renter or paid the same amount for a condo overlooking a parking lot. Truthfully, for a single woman with a physical disability it would have been okay to shack up in my parents basement.  Which makes my pride and passion towards my home that much stronger. I chose the harder path and the work that goes along with it. I have learned about a lot of little mundane things that I never thought I'd care about like planting a lawn, staining a deck and purchasing a water softener.  Not to mention my personality and attention to detail doesn't quite add up to my physical capabilities when it comes to cleaning and sprucing things up. There are many other things I have learned about home ownership but these are the most bizarre. Having a home has taught me when you make a commitment there are a million little things that go wrong on a daily basis and everything seems like a series of small tasks which is viewed as hard work. But in the end it's important to look back and reflect on the bigger picture. The bigger picture gives us the positive components of a situation.

What does it mean to own a home to you? What if someone told you owning a home wasn't a good idea because of who you were?

Time Is On My Side?

Most people view time as something that is against them. We all wish we had more time with a loved one who left too soon, or more time in our youth when things were easier and innocent. All of these things seem to escape us too quickly. We all wish we had one more hour to get things accomplished or sleep.

The other night a rush of gratitude flushed over me. Time has been very good to me! I believe this is because I'm a slow mindful turtle allowing lots of "stimuli" into my mind, body, soul.

I have memories of college when I had to lock myself in a quiet room to study and memorize neuroanatomy and theories for several weeks at a time. As a 18-22 year old I thought visiting a sports bar at the end of every semester to celebrate was the extent of "setting my hair on fire!" Time, proved me wrong! I had lots of nights on the town after college that were incorporated with line dancing, piano

bars, tail gating and vacations on the beach.

Then I began to think about this some more. I remembered a specific semester while I was still at LCC. It was convenient for me to stop at my Grandma's in between a class and work at the movie theater in the evening on Thursday's. I would eat, nap and change into my work uniform and talk to my Grandma. Just the 2 of us. At the time she was still lucid enough to have a conversation with. She ended up making me homemade macaroni and cheese every week! Someone had mentioned to me how special these moments would be. They were - time was on my side! I thought about the time I have had with other family members the past few years and I know I will not regret the time I have been offered to be with them.

What have I missed thus far? Oh, yes....there are some obvious gaps to my American Dream story with the white picket fence. However, when I realized how these gaps have been filled, it's pretty darn cool! Everything ranging from trying new foods/beverages, meeting a wide range of acquaintances/friends and mini adventures that I never thought I'd try to signing an offer alone to purchase a hole in the ground for my future house.

And I have to add.....a white picket fence would look strange in my cute front yard. So, that probably means any other pieces that seem to be currently missing, just don't belong at this point in time.

I am aware that I currently have the time.........to do anything I desire. Which is an exciting thought to experience! As long as I clock in and out of work, pay my bills and check in on my parents and pets.......I get to choose where I go, where I spend my tiny bit of extra money. It's my job to make the most of it!

Time and the world awaits me!

The Top 10 Things I've Learned About Stress

1. Wasting time and energy on things not important to me make the physical symptoms of my disability worse. This is okay. It's my gauge to seek out the happier things in life.
2. It's an effort to avoid stress like the plague but also very well worth it!
3. Hard work and difficult times will occur however my resilience and ability to bounce back will increase as I learn to take care of my mind and body.
4. Taking care of my whole self can be done by practicing gratuity, maintaining a positive attitude and taking care of my body physically.
5. If I had to treat my energy like money, I would spend it much differently on a daily basis.
6. Effort and energy spent should have a positive end result.
7. If effort and energy is spent and I know there's going to be no satisfaction.....letting go is okay.
8. Letting go means to: Say no. Walk away. This is very hard for me. But it's also essential that I pick and choose what's important to me.
9.  To avoid negativity/depression - my passion and drive for something must be stronger than the physical effort I put forth.
10. I would really like the next phase of my career to focus on helping people with this.