The Importance of Laughter

I know we’ve all heard the expression, “laughter is the best medicine.” I happen to believe that is true. Almost. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the VERY best medicine, because I would not have wanted to rid my body of cancer by laughing hysterically. Believe me, there was nothing funny about that experience.

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My Bounce Back Is Broken

It’s been about 8 months now since my last chemo treatment. I’ve had several follow-up medical appointments, including a mammogram, all of which went well. It seems I’m on the road to recovery. The problem is, nobody knows just how long this road is. The road is longer for some than others.

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Can We All Just Sit Down A Minute?

 

Do you ever have one of those days – maybe every day – where it seems like you go and go and go and finally at 8 or 9 or 10 o’clock at night you realize that you haven’t sat down, except maybe to go to the bathroom or in the car for a few minutes to run a quick errand? It seems to me like I’ve been having a lot of those days lately.  (Yes, I did just get back from vacation and yes, I was on my feet all day – going, doing, seeing. It was exhausting.)

I don’t know where the time goes every day, but it seems like every time I look at the clock an hour or six have gone by and I’m still on my feet doing this or that. Now I didn’t think running an inn was going to be a walk in the park, but neither did I expect that there’d be more days than not that I rarely have a chance to actually sit down. I even have help now and it still seems like I’m on my feet all day long. Always something to do.

I have an awesome front porch complete with swing, a cozy back porch with comfy furniture, a front balcony with a gorgeous view of the sunset and a back veranda that’s peaceful and private, yet I rarely sit in any of those places. It’s a tragedy really with cooler weather creeping in, too. Those spaces are wasted on me.

Well, not any more. We all need a little more front porch sitting if you ask me. And I for one intend to utilize those places more in the future.

I’ve decided that from now until the end of the year, I’m going to try to take a few minutes every single day to simply sit. Sitting has great benefits (in my opinion). A forced slowing of movement accompanied by some deep breaths to purge the hurry out of my system. I may even close my eyes and just listen to, feel, smell my surroundings. A new perspective for a few minutes.

Some of my cyber (and real) friends, blog about great places they go and visit, hikes they take, sunsets at the lake, wildflowers in bloom, which I always enjoy reading about. I’m always envious that they have found the time to go out and do what they love. I’ve decided to be more like them and I’m starting by simply slowing down. By slowing down I’ll be able to focus on peace and beautiful places and enriching my life more with the free gift called nature. Perhaps I don’t need to rush about all the time. Hmmmm.

So, who’s with me? Who’s going to carve out a few minutes every day to slow down and just enjoy being alive? Let’s all try to remind ourselves to sit (or get up and move around if you sit all day), relax, take a few quiet moments to reflect on your day or simply enjoy being alive okay? Come on gang! We can do this.

Word of the day: Felucca

Fun fact about me: My feet hurt all the time. A result of being on my feet all the time no doubt.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, September 2017. Photos courtesy of Google Images.

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Front Porch Sitting – It’s All It’s Cracked Up To Be

There’s something special about a front porch. Front porches come in all shapes and sizes; there’s one for every taste. I’ve always loved porches, front or back. I’m blessed here at the Baer House to have a front porch, 2 back porches (first and second level) and a balcony on the second floor in the front of the house. 

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