Hello my dawlinks! I know, I know, it's been quite a while but your Yenta was in transit with Moisha and now we're back in New York. We took the scenic route, you should only from it! So I didn't have a computer to schlepp with me, one of those little things you can just flip open and get online with, so I had to wait until I got back to the apartment and fire up this contraption. Oy! The dust in here, fargesn (forget it) I'll deal with it tomorrow.
So Let me tell you what took so long, kindeleh. Getting out of Florida is no small task. That alone takes five hours and being alter kakers (old people) we drive a little slower and have to make a few more stops if you know what I mean. So since we're making the stops, we might as well enjoy ourselves. I'd show you pictures but Moishe packed the camera away in one of the boxes and neither one of us thought to ask Rubin (Ellen's son) how to take pictures on these cell phone things. Someone told us that's called CRAFT. Can't Remember A Freaking Thing. Please forgive me, liblings but I like that saying.
We stopped in St. Augustine, FL and schlepped our old bones around there for a bit. We saw the first Shul (Synagogue) built in Florida and then made our way over to the wax museum. Very lifelike. Then we went back to the hotel for a nap and a nosh (snack). The next day...What? You think we have energy like you? The next day we went to some Fort (I didn't care about it), The Believe or Not Museum and then back to the car and into Georgia. Very historical, very interesting. Lots of walking; not for your Yenta!
We stopped in every state and of course at "South Of The Border" where I picked up a few tsatkes (knick-knacks). Virginia was interesting but then there was Washington DC. Of course we had to see the Holocaust Museum. We both left there crying; next was the Newseum, the Smithsoniam (don't ask which one, I haven't any idea) and we ate to our hearts content. The food is so much better in the North than in Florida! But what REALLY caught my attention was a little boy. You know me and children.
He had noticed an odd symbol on the side of one of the buildings and asked his parents what it was. The Dad said it was for a fall out shelter and it was left over from the cold war. He tried to explain it to the child but let's face it, the sheygets (boy) lost interest easily. Guess who stepped in?
"Allow me. Little boy, this is part of your history. It wouldn't surprise me if someone in your family helped to build this."
"My family isn't from here. We come from England."
"Ah ha! Then your family probably had a great deal to do with the building of this whole city!" And with that his eyes lit up and I directed his family to the Newseum and points there after.
I then felt a tug at my shorts. "Can I ask you something? Did you know George Washington?"
His parents tried to correct him but I held my hand up and answered the young man. "Of course I did. I used to change his diapers."
You can't go to DC without learning something, my dawlinks, even if it's your first lie.
So there's almost always something at the end of each of my little stories and here it is. Dive into history. You might be surprised what you find. It could be your own history or the history of a breed of dog, the history of your favorite composer, the history of the barbeque or the history of the universe but learn something new. It couldn't hurt.
Your
Yenta
Yenta Tellabenta is truly a 'creation' for outreach and education with Lumigrate.com through storytelling and reinforcement of key concepts related to body, mind, spirit. Written by a very talented and somewhat mysterious younger wise woman who found her way to Lumigrate the summer of 2009, we hope you enjoy having your own Yenta with us at Lumigrate! Yenta (meaning 'town gossip' or 'connector') has a dedicated Forum at Lumigrate at http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibro... [1] and can also be found on facebook.
Links:
[1] http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibromyalgia-chronic-pain-and-chronic-fatigueexhaustion/it-cant-hurt-o
[2] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/home-again-and-again#comment-643
[3] http://twitter.com/lumigrate
[4] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/home-again-and-again#top
[5] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/login?destination=node/501%23comment-form
[6] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/register?destination=node/501%23comment-form
[7] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/home-again-and-again#comment-644
[8] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/home-again-and-again#comment-645
[9] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/home-again-and-again#comment-650
[10] http://www.stillsdisease.org
[11] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/home-again-and-again#comment-652
Comments
Yenta, I hate changing diapers so I am so glad you were there to change George Washington's. I bet that little boy will never forget you.
I look forward to seeing DC... I've never been but my (adoptive) grandfather is in the Smithsonian and I have just always very much looked forward to going and learning so very much about our country. I know that when I grew up and started traveling by motorcycle and truck, I started realzing how helpful it is to get out of your neighborhood to start appreciating how what we learn in history books or on the movies or TV is REAL in the real world when you get out and start learning what the world is all about.
Thank you for sharing this with us and I am glad you got away from the computer. And influenced the young man AND us here today. ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [3] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!
Mardy, bubbeleh, Washington, D.C. was one of the most incredible cities! There are so many things to see and experience that, of course, I didn't mention. And yes, the sheygets (boy) was adorable and quite surprised that this old lady changed the first President's diapers and is STILL around! Oy! The stories I could probably tell.
History is a wonderful thing to learn and to learn from. At times, perhaps, history is something that shouldn't be repeated. Our personal history, our health history, all needs to be recorded for our future families for when there's a cure (G-d willing) for what ails you. Your family can look back and say, "Wow! Our family came from great stock. Such and such put up with a lot of pain, they were brave!"
Hey! A Bubbe could dream. It couldn't hurt!
Your
Yenta
Yenta Tellabenta is truly a 'creation' for outreach and education with Lumigrate.com through storytelling and reinforcement of key concepts related to body, mind, spirit. Written by a very talented and somewhat mysterious younger wise woman who found her way to Lumigrate the summer of 2009, we hope you enjoy having your own Yenta with us at Lumigrate! Yenta (meaning 'town gossip' or 'connector') has a dedicated Forum at Lumigrate at http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibro... [1] and can also be found on facebook.
You know, my father was adopted and when I was in my late 30s and had these baffling medical things going on I was trying to figure out is when we were contacted by someone and found out his biologic family. I recall seeing something in his mother's history that gave me a little clue into what was going on with me, and in the years since then it applies to my dad's medical history now, so I definitely agree with you on that, Yenta. Very good point!
Even as important as having something written up related to what a person has been diagnosed and goes through so their family will know in the future, in my opinion it serves to not only be an outlet for the person writing it, but instead of telling the story over and over, you can stop keeping yourself 'there'. Since integrative medicine such as Lumigrate is about is 'body, mind and spirit', it is believed within integrative medicine that what you think affects your health and body directly and indirectly. We all have 24 hours in a day and 7 days a week and every minute you spend thinking about something affects you by reinforcing THAT.
I (and the owner of the company, who trained me) saw this with driving rehabilitation. Frequently my/our clients were working with the owner or managers or therapist/ driving reahab specialist after a crash and often times they were fearful of driving and to have your best performance you need to have a good state of mind, whether behind the wheel of a car or a podium speaking. With crashes involving severe injuries, by the time a person has told the law enforcement, paramedics, ER staff, hospital staff, rehab unit staff, outpatient therapy staff and all their friends and family ... and if there are visible signs of the incident then anyone in the public who asks, you've worn a pretty deep groove about the incident. Particularly if the airbag went off (loud and the smell and have a burn/hot smell which our brains are wired to fear I believe) and if they were conscious and had a long wait and extrication. Jaws of Life are wonderful tools but they are scary to listen to, so people are quite affected by such things as you can imagine.
I had one woman who was middle aged, a mom, who been hit from behind in her vehicle when turning into her driveway so someone in the family was right there with a camera and took photos of the vehicles and scene (which was very smart to do for legal things potentially). I appreciated understanding the crash and we looked at them as much as we needed to, and it was a significant crash but on a scale of what I worked with it was relatively an easy case and her injuries physically had been minimal. I respectfully suggested she put the photos away while we were working together in the weeks to come as part of her treatment plan, and then when she was completed and successfully driving again she could go back to referring to her she felt it was necessary and desirable.
I had the sense at the time she was only saying 'okay' and didn't mean it. She seemed pleasant enough and we certainly found things to work on with her brain connectivity and she seemed to enjoy the session, and in those days automobile insurance would cover my charges. But she didn't come back. I have always thought it was because she didn't want to quit telling the fabulous story she had come her way when someone rear ended her and causing ALL this 'stuff' in her life. Later when I saw the way the independent film What the @#$% (Bleep) Do We Know depicted the chemicals in the brain being formed and then reinforced by different addictions I thought it was one of the most helpful scenes in any movie EVER, and I suggest people rent it from NetFlix, Blockbuster or wherever you get your rentals. (Gosh, Yenta, are things like Hulu doing such movies yet? We need a technology expert advisor for us old gals here on Lumigrate, and I'm only 50!)
It's very very complicated what makes people 'tick', and I very much appreciate talking with you about it here. I hope these conversations help many. That is why I asked Alice to write a Forum on Lumigrate, after she talked about how she was going to integrate her spiritual beliefs with lent (spirit), with what she was learning about food allergies and sensitivities and health (body and mind), after I'd seen how wonderfully effective your writings are at such things with the public. ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [3] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!
Mardy bubbeleh,
I'm so glad you found out about your father's background and it all clicked for you. Not everyone is that lucky, dawlink and they have to start from whence they came. Example? Of course I have an example, I'm your Yenta!
Case in point: Ellen has Adult On-set Still's Disease. It's an auto immune disease with no known family connection, at least none that's been connected as yet. Yes, there are people in her mishpokhe (family) with FMS, even a distant cousin (3 times removed) on her mame (mother) side that lives in Canada that had JRA as a kinder (child) (treated with gold shots I believe Ellen said), but other than that, no one presented with AOSD (Adult On-set Still's Disease). For those that want to know more about this rare illness here's a website:
www.stillsdisease.org [10]
Oy vey! There's a website for everything! I'm sure there's a website for broken fingernails and if not there will be soon.
But here in lies the problem with any illness, Mardy, especially those illnesses that are, and please forgive me for this, forever. They change the chemistry in the brain. So it doesn't surprise me that your client(s) became fearful, or felt the need to tell their story over and over and over and over, farshteyn (understand)?.... We all have a tendency to want to be the center of attention somehow, negative or positive. Think of reward and punishment. A stretch, no? But the princepal is the same.
So the nice woman that kept saying "ok" and sounded as though she was doing well and then didn't come back, may have been afraid to hurt your feelings or perhaps was afraid to get well and have "nothing" to get attention over. It's a "drug" to some without taking a pill. Which reminds me, I have to go back to Karen's post. I had written something, went to post it and hit the wrong the button. Getting used to this farkaktah (I'm too much of a lady to tell you what that really means) machine is going to drive me even more batty than I am now!
Your
Yenta
Yenta Tellabenta is truly a 'creation' for outreach and education with Lumigrate.com through storytelling and reinforcement of key concepts related to body, mind, spirit. Written by a very talented and somewhat mysterious younger wise woman who found her way to Lumigrate the summer of 2009, we hope you enjoy having your own Yenta with us at Lumigrate! Yenta (meaning 'town gossip' or 'connector') has a dedicated Forum at Lumigrate at http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibro... [1] and can also be found on facebook.
Yup -- you'd make an excellent therapist, Yenta.... It's called Secondary Gain when someone's getting something 'else' for whatever it is they are doing. And so sometimes people either hold onto their 'things' and don't move forward, or you refer them to someone who can help them with what they need BEFORE you can work with them on what you could do for them. And in reality, there are more than enough people out there who ARE READY for the work that a professional can provide and so the best we can do at times is connect people up OR just know that where they are is where they are making their bed to be for the moment.
I find psychology just so interesting .. it has so much to do with what people do and not. ... it really Is what makes people go round at so many levels. And you know we have not a whole website, but a FORUM about fingernails on Lumigrate, so you're right about that. Too Funny!
Thanks for writing about Karen's Korner stuff, Yenta... you're like the town glue....
And Thanks for the connection for people about Stills.... good to know!
Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [3] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!