Always Something To Be Thankful For

When I get up in the morning, off comes the oxygen and CPAP. I check the time, then off the bathroom and I wash up. It’s now medication time, pills and inhaled. Time to brush my teeth. Boring right? I have a small bowl of cereal, then peak at Facebook. Not too serious yet. It seems that I always have the morning slows.

Scrolling often brings smiles as I see some of my friend’s morning greetings. There are some that share smiles, others a happening in their morning, others that share reasons why they are glad to be alive. Many of these are COPDers, stage 1 through stage 4. They inspire me to step out of my own head and life problems. It helps to remind me to find the blessings in my life. I even get a spring in my arthritic step. It’s amazing how looking for inspiration, motivation, gratitude and smiles can perk a person up and brighten up a day, even on a sick day, a tough breathing day, a pain day, or even a tough day coping with life issues.

I’m grateful to people who share their smiles

I can say yes, you made a difference! Look for those people. I try to grab hold of that sunshine and share my own. For those who know me, you may remember me asking for “cheese to go with my whine” or maybe you want to remind me about “garbage day” where we choose to throw away the things in our lives that are causing us pain, physically or emotionally. Sometimes it’s hard, but this is one area that we have some control over.

Now I’m ready to get on with the rest of my day. It’s time to check in on various COPD sites, diet sites, missing sites, and family member sites. This can take a lot more time than a person realizes. I make sure that I get up and walk or move around for at least 10 minutes every hour. It’s so important for circulation, oxygenation, joints and overall physical and emotional health. Then, there is time set aside for exercise. This too is so very important and can help slow the progression of COPD. I also do light housekeeping and cooking, on most days.

Every day I set aside time to work on crafts. I call that my therapy.

Even though I try to find the best of things, there are still some hard times that I work through. Sometimes I have to walk away from Facebook. I have some major things going on in my life, that are important and that I do have to deal with. I can't change the situations, but I can try to change how I deal with them and how I help others deal with them as well. I record tv shows on my DVR, to watch in my own quiet time. I enjoy the time thinking and writing the stories that are shared with you here and moderating on the COPD.net sites. You may not always see me, but I’m often lurking in the background. Time with my husband and our fur-babies are the best part of my day, as well as phone conversations with our kids, grandkids and my mom. I’m blessed with a support system.

Night time has come, medications have been taken. Ready are my CPAP and oxygen, a bottle of water is nearby. I say goodnight to my family, my Facebook family and friends. I kiss my husband goodnight. Saying goodnight to another day, I look forward to the adventures ahead.

As I begin another new day, it’s important to remember, there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.