kiwipommysue

Feeling grateful for family

Today we are gathering to celebrate my son-in-law’s birthday and I reflect on how these simple gatherings with family continue to give me joy. Yesterday, my three grand-daughters and my daughter came to my home and picked peaches. There was much silliness and laughter while each of them tried to maneuver the telescopic fruit picker.Continue reading “Feeling grateful for family”

Resilience

What is resilience? Resilience is something I’ve talked to people about in my work. I have done a quick “Google” (not very scientific, but this isn’t an academic essay!) and found a definition of resilience as follows: ‘…the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.’ I’m not sure about the ‘quickly’ bit, but certainly IContinue reading “Resilience”

Confidence

It seems from Day 1 in some ways my confidence has been affected. Suddenly, there seemed to come upon me doubt about my abilities in a number of areas. Is my voice getting too soft? Do people notice when I lose the thread of a conversation? Can I think through a solution to problems atContinue reading “Confidence”

Being Brave

I have been described by colleagues as being ‘brave’ but what does that mean to me? To me being brave is getting up every morning and doing my job, but it can also be waking up in the morning and saying ‘today I can’t go to work, I need a break and time out toContinue reading “Being Brave”

What is ‘normal’?

I am a member of a Facebook page for people affected by Parkinson’s. The question was asked today, ‘what is your normal’? It made me think about how I have never liked the use of that term. After all, what is my normal, may be very different from everyone else’s version of normal and whatContinue reading “What is ‘normal’?”

Palpitations – Parkies Paranoia?

Recently I have had palpitations quite regularly. I have had them in the past, have had heart monitors and checks but no real concerns expressed that they were likely to cause me any harm. But suddenly over the last few weeks I have had them start up again. They are more frequent and worse thanContinue reading “Palpitations – Parkies Paranoia?”

Peer Support

I have worked in a number of jobs where there have been support groups available for people with certain health conditions in common. These groups can be invaluable as people often have similar shared experiences and knowledge of what has – or hasn’t – helped for them. It reminds me of when I was aContinue reading “Peer Support”

Exercise is Excellent

I have been guilty in recent times to coming home from a busy day at work and ‘blobbing’ on the couch. My excuses were many and varied, but basically pretty weak. My husband and I used to regularly tramp in the Port Hills in Christchurch but for one reason and another this had got lessContinue reading “Exercise is Excellent”

It’s OK to feel overwhelmed!

Today life has crept up on me and I feel overwhelmed! It’s not just the recent diagnosis – although that’s quite enough, thank you very much – but a collection of ‘life stuff’ alongside it. As I’ve said previously, I have had bouts of depression in the past and some days I would wake upContinue reading “It’s OK to feel overwhelmed!”

Legally speaking

Let’s talk Enduring Power of Attorney! Many people do the ‘adult thing’ and get life insurance and do their Will for their wishes to be known when they are no longer here to voice them. But there is another scenario that comes up all the time in my work that people often don’t think of.Continue reading “Legally speaking”