Thank you all for your prs- I heard from my contact that P was able to contact his wife around 7:30pm last night!!!
He was in prison, being held by X country's equivalent of the sheriff's department. His wife contacted the UN straightaway, since P was given refugee status by the UN just a few weeks ago. That means that the UN will work to protect him and free him in times like this. P was released this morning, but he is still a wanted man (simply for telling others about his fth) in the many countries surrounding X country.
Keep pring for P, whose fth is still strong despite all that he's been through, and who is really not breaking any official laws in what he's doing. He is in danger simply for telling people around him what he believes in. Many others like him are in danger all over the world- we don't often hear of them in the West, but whenever you think of them lift them up.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Friday, 30 May 2008
Photos of the leak
Here are some photos from the leak. It's cleaned up now, but the bathroom floor is still wet (and stinky) and the ceiling needs to be repainted downstairs. An electrician, Steven, came today to replace the light fixture. There's a funny story related to that. :) He comes in, sets up his ladder, and we're chatting and stuff. He says "I'll need to turn off the lights." And I'm thinking, "Uh, that one's already turned off. Maybe he means he'll need to turn off the power?" And then he says, "Do you have a lamp?" And I just said, "Umm..." And he looked at me, and then he says, "A bulb?" And I laughed so hard- I told him that in the US we use the word lamp for this (and pointed at my lamp), and that I figured he meant something else since he just said he was going to turn the power off but I couldn't figure out what he meant! He was a very nice guy and he laughed too- that sort of thing happens to us here all the time. :)
It turns out the leak was caused by a bad leather washer- they use leather washers in the plumbing here. Well the washer got dried out. The plumber showed us how to turn off the valve to the toilet, and I think we'll be doing that from now on when we go on a trip. I think we'll turn off the electricity too, just to be sure.
We had a great chance to sit and chat with Trisha, our landlady- she offered us some tea while we were waiting for the plumber, (we turned the electricity off because the light fixture started hissing) so we sat at her house and had tea. I learned from her that our neighbors are moving, the ones right next door who rarely talk to us and whom we never see. I'm curious to see what sorts of people will move in next- we're pring that they'll be hospitable.
We also found our biggest house spider to date- she was trying to escape the water and was hiding on the curtain that we use to keep out the draft. As you can see, G has 2 fingers against the glass and she's way bigger than that. We've gotten to where we can recognize the males from the females- pretty soon we'll be experts at where they live and what they eat too. :) Given that someday we might live in a country where the pests are poisonous, I'm thankful that these ones aren't.
It turns out the leak was caused by a bad leather washer- they use leather washers in the plumbing here. Well the washer got dried out. The plumber showed us how to turn off the valve to the toilet, and I think we'll be doing that from now on when we go on a trip. I think we'll turn off the electricity too, just to be sure.
We had a great chance to sit and chat with Trisha, our landlady- she offered us some tea while we were waiting for the plumber, (we turned the electricity off because the light fixture started hissing) so we sat at her house and had tea. I learned from her that our neighbors are moving, the ones right next door who rarely talk to us and whom we never see. I'm curious to see what sorts of people will move in next- we're pring that they'll be hospitable.
We set our suitcases down and got right to work.
The ceiling in our hallway. We now have a new light fixture.
The real source of all this mess!!!
We also found our biggest house spider to date- she was trying to escape the water and was hiding on the curtain that we use to keep out the draft. As you can see, G has 2 fingers against the glass and she's way bigger than that. We've gotten to where we can recognize the males from the females- pretty soon we'll be experts at where they live and what they eat too. :) Given that someday we might live in a country where the pests are poisonous, I'm thankful that these ones aren't.
May 16-23, 2008 Kansas
People frequently ask us, "What were you doing in Kansas?" The fact that we go every year also seems strange to people- I guess Kansas isn't exactly a tourist hot spot. :) We go to Kansas every year to assist with a training week that Focus International sponsors each year for the teams of students which are going overseas to do language study, language teaching, and cultural exchange. If they have the opportunity, they also share about their fth with their new friends. I went overseas with Focus 3 summers, and those summers impacted the rest of my life. We're happy to serve Focus by assisting with their training week.
Besides training students, the week we spend in Kansas is a refreshing and grounding week for us. Others who are there are also interested in living overseas are a part of the training week, and maybe 30 of our friends are regularly there. Many of them are living in Wichita, KS, where there is a Training Center for people in their 20s and 30s who are preparing to go overseas longer term. Many of them are interested in starting businesses like we are, so we enjoy having the week to chat with them, pick their brains, hear their stories, encourage them, and be encouraged. We're also reminded that we still have a lot to learn, and a few years to go before we can be successfully placed overseas- starting businesses is no small thing, and there are a number of competencies that we need work on. That's why we are still intending to move to Wichita as soon as the Ld allows it. We make new friends during the week as well- many of the students become friends as the week ends, and we track with their summer team's progress throughout the summer.
I thought you might be interested to see some photos of Kansas- it's a very interesting place, and people there are so nice and friendly that it always catches me off guard. :)
A grain silo, with a train in front of it. We saw lots of these, some up close, some on the horizon.
The teeny village of Morill. This silo and a brick building were just about all there was. :) But it seemed like a peaceful little town, and it reminded me of some of the benefits of living in a small town.
The post office. :)
Some friends helping to set things up for the training week.
A funny advertisement I saw in a gas station in Kansas. You can count the typos for yourself. :)
Besides training students, the week we spend in Kansas is a refreshing and grounding week for us. Others who are there are also interested in living overseas are a part of the training week, and maybe 30 of our friends are regularly there. Many of them are living in Wichita, KS, where there is a Training Center for people in their 20s and 30s who are preparing to go overseas longer term. Many of them are interested in starting businesses like we are, so we enjoy having the week to chat with them, pick their brains, hear their stories, encourage them, and be encouraged. We're also reminded that we still have a lot to learn, and a few years to go before we can be successfully placed overseas- starting businesses is no small thing, and there are a number of competencies that we need work on. That's why we are still intending to move to Wichita as soon as the Ld allows it. We make new friends during the week as well- many of the students become friends as the week ends, and we track with their summer team's progress throughout the summer.
I thought you might be interested to see some photos of Kansas- it's a very interesting place, and people there are so nice and friendly that it always catches me off guard. :)
A grain silo, with a train in front of it. We saw lots of these, some up close, some on the horizon.
The teeny village of Morill. This silo and a brick building were just about all there was. :) But it seemed like a peaceful little town, and it reminded me of some of the benefits of living in a small town.
The post office. :)
Some friends helping to set things up for the training week.
A funny advertisement I saw in a gas station in Kansas. You can count the typos for yourself. :)
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Please pr for an imprisoned brother overseas
Hi all-a few minutes ago I received a very urgent pr request from a friend of mine who is serving in a high security country (a country where people of many fths are persecuted, especially followers of JC). A man (I'll call him P) from Y country near there was persecuted for his fth and for starting chs, and he fled to X country where my friend lives. This man's life has been very much like the story of Paul. He escaped from prison and fled to X. He was recently arrested in X, and his whereabouts is now unknown. The local police claim that they don't know where he is, and he might actually have been arrested by a secret security organization, something like X country's version of the Secret Service. His wife and children just moved to X, and of course are desperately worried about him and are themselves in danger now too.
Please lift P up, that he would be able to share his fth with his captors, and that they would be supernaturally encouraged to release him.
I have friends who live all over the world, most in closed countries where freedoms are severely restricted. They live there because they hope to share their lives with people there. This sort of persecution is very very real, and although we don't experience it in the West, we have no idea just how many people are suffering for their fth. Thanks for lifting P and his family up. I'll pass word on as soon as I hear anything more.
Please lift P up, that he would be able to share his fth with his captors, and that they would be supernaturally encouraged to release him.
I have friends who live all over the world, most in closed countries where freedoms are severely restricted. They live there because they hope to share their lives with people there. This sort of persecution is very very real, and although we don't experience it in the West, we have no idea just how many people are suffering for their fth. Thanks for lifting P and his family up. I'll pass word on as soon as I hear anything more.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
May 28, 2008
Whew- we have finally made it back to Swavesey after an awesome O week, a great drive back from Kansas, and a whirlwind 2 days visiting family and friends. We made it back home in record time- our flight out was on time, and we arrived just in time for both our trains, putting us in Cambridge at 1:15pm, which is amazing since our flight arrived at 9:40am.
It's good that we made such good time, because we had a little surprise waiting for us when we got here. We opened the door, and both of us were like, "Wow, it feels really damp in here!" It's rained the past 3 days here, very hard, so we thought that was it. Well after we got everything in we discovered that our little hallway between the living room and the kitchen was 3 inches deep in water. Fortunately we have stone floors, and the hallway is lower than the other 2 rooms, so it was like a little lake. :) It was dripping from the ceiling, and we ran upstairs to the bathroom but couldn't find the leak, although the floor up there was quite wet too. Anyway we had to call the landlady, who called a plumber, who came and declared that our toilet had been dripping. Fortunately for us it was only dripping for a short time- praise the Ld because there wasn't much damage. Apparently they use leather gaskets- that's right, leather! And the gasket shrank because we'd been gone, and it started leaking. Anyway we got that all cleaned up. I'll be getting photos up here shortly from the past 2 weeks.
We haven't been back 4 hours and I already found a giant house spider- the biggest one to date. I feel like I say that every time, but I have photo proof that the bigger ones seem to be appearing. Anyway this one was a female and was HUGE. She was hiding on my door curtain which we use to keep out the draft- the curtain got wet, and I think she may have had a web in the corner that was under water, so she fled for safety.
We just picked Nelly up and although the cattery tells me she had a very good time, she's still happy to be home. It's raining again here, and it's the busy time at Tesco so we're holding off getting food until later. I really wish there was a Whole Foods or Trader Joes or somewhere like that here. :) I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend!
It's good that we made such good time, because we had a little surprise waiting for us when we got here. We opened the door, and both of us were like, "Wow, it feels really damp in here!" It's rained the past 3 days here, very hard, so we thought that was it. Well after we got everything in we discovered that our little hallway between the living room and the kitchen was 3 inches deep in water. Fortunately we have stone floors, and the hallway is lower than the other 2 rooms, so it was like a little lake. :) It was dripping from the ceiling, and we ran upstairs to the bathroom but couldn't find the leak, although the floor up there was quite wet too. Anyway we had to call the landlady, who called a plumber, who came and declared that our toilet had been dripping. Fortunately for us it was only dripping for a short time- praise the Ld because there wasn't much damage. Apparently they use leather gaskets- that's right, leather! And the gasket shrank because we'd been gone, and it started leaking. Anyway we got that all cleaned up. I'll be getting photos up here shortly from the past 2 weeks.
We haven't been back 4 hours and I already found a giant house spider- the biggest one to date. I feel like I say that every time, but I have photo proof that the bigger ones seem to be appearing. Anyway this one was a female and was HUGE. She was hiding on my door curtain which we use to keep out the draft- the curtain got wet, and I think she may have had a web in the corner that was under water, so she fled for safety.
We just picked Nelly up and although the cattery tells me she had a very good time, she's still happy to be home. It's raining again here, and it's the busy time at Tesco so we're holding off getting food until later. I really wish there was a Whole Foods or Trader Joes or somewhere like that here. :) I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend!
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
May 13, 2008
I just got back from an emergency trip to the vet- Nelly is perfectly fine, the problem was that she has not been vaccinated against Feline Influenza or Enteritis, both of which are required for the cattery where she is going Thursday! Everyone assumes that she's had them because she came over to the UK on the PET scheme, but the fact is that the only vaccine they check is rabies, and they give them some flea stuff. It's not as rigorous as it sounds. Anyway when I realized this at 2pm I had to call our local vet, get her in at 3:45, drive over, get her vaccinated, and now I'm back less than an hour later. Whew. :) Nelly is not worse for wear and is recommencing her nap now 5 minutes after we came through the door. :D I'm just glad that I checked today instead of assuming and then having a last minute panic of what to do with her when they wouldn't take her- I just wish I'd had a little more notice. :) In any case flexibility is a value of ours- exercising it is good for us. If you're curious to know how we chose flexibility as a value, the idea came from Focus actually- they ask all summer teams to memorize the 8 Focus values, and beyond just Focus, they are really life values. Here they are:
Loyalty (to your "team" in whatever form that may take)
Integrity
Flexibility
Trust in Gd
Initiative
Servant's Heart
Team Player
Attitude of wrship
These values are essential for life overseas, no matter how long you intend to be there. :)
Things have been a bit crazy here, as you can imagine. We don't need to pack much since during our week in Kansas we essentially wear the same thing everyday. And we're heading back here just a few days after that, so it's all good. The CE course went well this week, and our ladies study went well, and I have packed my stuff already- 2 days early! :)
Loyalty (to your "team" in whatever form that may take)
Integrity
Flexibility
Trust in Gd
Initiative
Servant's Heart
Team Player
Attitude of wrship
These values are essential for life overseas, no matter how long you intend to be there. :)
Things have been a bit crazy here, as you can imagine. We don't need to pack much since during our week in Kansas we essentially wear the same thing everyday. And we're heading back here just a few days after that, so it's all good. The CE course went well this week, and our ladies study went well, and I have packed my stuff already- 2 days early! :)
Sunday, 11 May 2008
May 11, 2008- Mother's Day!!!
Happy Mothers Day to all of you moms, grandmas, and great-grandmas (I think a few Living Proof friends might be great-grandmas now). You might be interested to know that Mothering Sunday, the UK equivalent to Mother's Day, happened back in March. :) Anyway I'm thankful for all the women older than me who have through their lives, actions, and words, helped to shape my life. I really appreciate your love and care. :)
I'm still a bit under the weather or I'm sure I could go on forever about Mother's Day- forgive me if I keep it short this year. I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!
I'm still a bit under the weather or I'm sure I could go on forever about Mother's Day- forgive me if I keep it short this year. I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!
Saturday, 10 May 2008
May 10, 2008
I've been under the weather for a few days- I seem to have caught a sore throat from one of our iBASE girls, and although I'm feeling better I'm still not totally 100%. Better this week than next, since Thursday we're heading back to Ann Arbor, and starting the long 15 hour drive to Salina early Friday morning. Which is of course fine with us as it'll be basically noon our time. :) Anyway O week takes a lot out of you as it is without being sick at the same time. We'll be in Kansas May 16-23 (possibly the 24th if we can't convince our crew to leave Friday am early instead of Sat am early. Just so you all know we will be completely out of contact with the world for the entire week- no internet, and our cell phones don't get reception either. If it's an emergency you'll have to call my parents, since I'm giving them the contact info for where we'll be.
G is still grinding away at our taxes....we get an auto extension due to living overseas, which works out well because the IRS lady on the phone recommended we file when we've lived 330days out of 365 in the UK, and to extend until July if we had to. :) Ick- I'd rather be done with it to be honest. Groans of "arg.....ergg....arrr...." are wafting over from G as he wrestles with the US tax code. :)
We found a great cattery for Nelly, praise the Ld which is very nice, very clean, very quiet, and very close to our house. I think she'll like it better than being here alone- which in fact is not even an option now because cat fiend in his determination to get in and eat our chocolate muffins has just about demolished our cat flap. He managed to force his way through, despite their being a big shield blocking his way, and then couldn't get back out. This of course happened in the middle of the night. Well G scared him badly enough for him to rip his way back out the flap, but not enough to keep him from coming back- every morning around 7am he pounds on the cat flap trying to get in. And 2 days ago he even tried to jump in my window! Nelly tore off after him, and to her credit was smarter than he was since he ran out in front of a car, whereas she stopped at the fence and watched him almost get hit. I don't want him to get hit, I just want him to quit house breaking. :) In any case Nelly can hold her own- I still have his blood stain on a couch where Nelly caught him by surprise house breaking awhile back ( you may remember that saga.) Ick. The last thing I need is to come back to someone else's dead cat in my house because he got in and couldn't get out, while we're away.
A few days ago a big dog put his paws on the window, and Nelly jumped out and chased him too- she actually really likes dogs. If we can convince our landlords I think we might get one (that has a proven record of liking cats) because it would be great company for her, especially at a kennel place where they can stay together. And at some point on the long flight home, having a dog friend would be nice for her. We'll see. G's office is considering moving, in fact will be moving for sure in the fall, and we've had to consider moving as well. If they move to the other side of Cambridge we will have a horrible traffic bound commute of over 30 minutes to go 10 miles. We'd rather not move since we just got things how we like them though. :)
The website is coming along- I'm still getting my galleries up how I want them, and I'm working on an entirely separate frontpage for my personal and family photos, which I hope to have working by Thursday. My phanfare account will end in June, and I'll send you the new address as soon as I get it working. :) I'm essentially teaching myself to code, with some big help from G who already speaks computer programming languages. :)
G is still grinding away at our taxes....we get an auto extension due to living overseas, which works out well because the IRS lady on the phone recommended we file when we've lived 330days out of 365 in the UK, and to extend until July if we had to. :) Ick- I'd rather be done with it to be honest. Groans of "arg.....ergg....arrr...." are wafting over from G as he wrestles with the US tax code. :)
We found a great cattery for Nelly, praise the Ld which is very nice, very clean, very quiet, and very close to our house. I think she'll like it better than being here alone- which in fact is not even an option now because cat fiend in his determination to get in and eat our chocolate muffins has just about demolished our cat flap. He managed to force his way through, despite their being a big shield blocking his way, and then couldn't get back out. This of course happened in the middle of the night. Well G scared him badly enough for him to rip his way back out the flap, but not enough to keep him from coming back- every morning around 7am he pounds on the cat flap trying to get in. And 2 days ago he even tried to jump in my window! Nelly tore off after him, and to her credit was smarter than he was since he ran out in front of a car, whereas she stopped at the fence and watched him almost get hit. I don't want him to get hit, I just want him to quit house breaking. :) In any case Nelly can hold her own- I still have his blood stain on a couch where Nelly caught him by surprise house breaking awhile back ( you may remember that saga.) Ick. The last thing I need is to come back to someone else's dead cat in my house because he got in and couldn't get out, while we're away.
A few days ago a big dog put his paws on the window, and Nelly jumped out and chased him too- she actually really likes dogs. If we can convince our landlords I think we might get one (that has a proven record of liking cats) because it would be great company for her, especially at a kennel place where they can stay together. And at some point on the long flight home, having a dog friend would be nice for her. We'll see. G's office is considering moving, in fact will be moving for sure in the fall, and we've had to consider moving as well. If they move to the other side of Cambridge we will have a horrible traffic bound commute of over 30 minutes to go 10 miles. We'd rather not move since we just got things how we like them though. :)
The website is coming along- I'm still getting my galleries up how I want them, and I'm working on an entirely separate frontpage for my personal and family photos, which I hope to have working by Thursday. My phanfare account will end in June, and I'll send you the new address as soon as I get it working. :) I'm essentially teaching myself to code, with some big help from G who already speaks computer programming languages. :)
Monday, 5 May 2008
May 5, 2008
It has been amazingly warm here in Cambridge the past 4 days- warm AND sunny, a combination we don't often get. G even got a bit sunburned today, sitting on our patio for a few hours. Even Nelly came out to enjoy the nice weather, although it was too hot for her to sit on us, and she resorted to sitting on the mulch under a plant instead. :) I have clothes hanging out on the line, and believe it or not I'm sitting here on the patio outside my house this instant! I was one of the few 5 year olds to have a computer in their house (in 1984!), so I basically grew up with it, but I still really appreciate technology. :)
Our first ladies' daytime CE course was this morning, and it went very well. We had 2 ladies from Japan, and one from Korea, and we're missing 2 who will come next week. The ladies were all very genuinely interested in hearing about JC, and were very curious abt the bbl overall. I learned a lot about Japanese and Korean rlgns as well- they were happy to share with us about them. My co-leader is from Singapore, so we all learned a lot about each other. I'm excited to have some new Japanese and Korean friends!
I have another update on E- I haven't forgotten about her. :) I can't remember what I said last- briefly, it turns out that her depression was in part triggered by some serious physical abuse by one of her housemates- the woman beat her, punched her, and generally harassed her. Well finally she went to the police about it, moved to a new house, and that helped a lot. At the same time this was happening, she was fired from her job at Borders because of her depression, which is 100% loudly illegal here. So now she is involved in 2 court cases- Borders has to either rehire her, or settle out of court for a large sum of money. They aren't likely to hire her back because the problem was with her boss, and E worked in a specialised section of Borders, so only the one in Cambridge had it. Court case #2 is against this former housemate for physical assault, and she's also very likely to win that one, which will involve a cash settlement as well. E doesn't understand yet why Gd let all this happen, but her fth is growing, and she's feeling much better and is back to her normal self now. She also decided to leave the Polish ch where she was attending, because it turns out they were making her depression issues worse by telling her that she didn't believe hard enough or properly- if she did she'd be healed. That of course is not true, and it seems like that ch may in fact be more of a cult. Anyway E thanks everyone for the prs and I'll let you know when I hear from her about the settlements.
Some of you know that we have O week in less than 2 weeks- we're riding down with the Michigan crew Friday May 16th. If you could pr for us that we'd be both focused here on our work here and also preparing for O week (which is a large task) at the same time we'd appreciate it. Also pr for us to be able to adjust back to life here when we get back- after an intense week we'll be visiting with folks for a few days and then more travel, and more adjusting. It's all worth it, but we'd appreciate the prs.
We're also looking into catteries for Nelly, because she isn't happy at home and also doesn't really like it when a stranger comes in to feed her- she's just scared of them. At a cattery her day would be more interesting, and she'd have regular interaction with people everyday. The cats all seem to be fine with cohabiting at a cattery- I guess since it's no one's territory they're happy to coexist. :) She seemed to like it last time, although she clung to my neck when we picked her up. :)
If any of you have been following the cyclone disaster in Myanmar, you know how bad it is there- please pr for relief agencies to get food and clean water to people quickly.
Our first ladies' daytime CE course was this morning, and it went very well. We had 2 ladies from Japan, and one from Korea, and we're missing 2 who will come next week. The ladies were all very genuinely interested in hearing about JC, and were very curious abt the bbl overall. I learned a lot about Japanese and Korean rlgns as well- they were happy to share with us about them. My co-leader is from Singapore, so we all learned a lot about each other. I'm excited to have some new Japanese and Korean friends!
I have another update on E- I haven't forgotten about her. :) I can't remember what I said last- briefly, it turns out that her depression was in part triggered by some serious physical abuse by one of her housemates- the woman beat her, punched her, and generally harassed her. Well finally she went to the police about it, moved to a new house, and that helped a lot. At the same time this was happening, she was fired from her job at Borders because of her depression, which is 100% loudly illegal here. So now she is involved in 2 court cases- Borders has to either rehire her, or settle out of court for a large sum of money. They aren't likely to hire her back because the problem was with her boss, and E worked in a specialised section of Borders, so only the one in Cambridge had it. Court case #2 is against this former housemate for physical assault, and she's also very likely to win that one, which will involve a cash settlement as well. E doesn't understand yet why Gd let all this happen, but her fth is growing, and she's feeling much better and is back to her normal self now. She also decided to leave the Polish ch where she was attending, because it turns out they were making her depression issues worse by telling her that she didn't believe hard enough or properly- if she did she'd be healed. That of course is not true, and it seems like that ch may in fact be more of a cult. Anyway E thanks everyone for the prs and I'll let you know when I hear from her about the settlements.
Some of you know that we have O week in less than 2 weeks- we're riding down with the Michigan crew Friday May 16th. If you could pr for us that we'd be both focused here on our work here and also preparing for O week (which is a large task) at the same time we'd appreciate it. Also pr for us to be able to adjust back to life here when we get back- after an intense week we'll be visiting with folks for a few days and then more travel, and more adjusting. It's all worth it, but we'd appreciate the prs.
We're also looking into catteries for Nelly, because she isn't happy at home and also doesn't really like it when a stranger comes in to feed her- she's just scared of them. At a cattery her day would be more interesting, and she'd have regular interaction with people everyday. The cats all seem to be fine with cohabiting at a cattery- I guess since it's no one's territory they're happy to coexist. :) She seemed to like it last time, although she clung to my neck when we picked her up. :)
If any of you have been following the cyclone disaster in Myanmar, you know how bad it is there- please pr for relief agencies to get food and clean water to people quickly.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
May 4, 2008 28 and just a baby yet :)
This whole "elderly" concept has been mulling around in the back of my mind for years now. But reading Mrs. Hughes blog about being "elderly" has very much solidified what has been around into a solid reasoning. I was looking at the responses to
http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2008/04/are-you-elderly.html
And I was happy to see bloggers responding to her post who were in their 70s and 80s. I also saw quite a few bloggers in their 60s, and I said outloud to G "They're only in their 60s! Who would ever think of them as elderly anyway?" But the fact is that for many young people not only is 60 elderly- so is 50! I just saw an ad today called "Elderly Travel- age targeted travel for the 50+". Ok, 50 is just not even old- not in our time, or in our country at the very least.
I think my viewpoint on the whole age thing is different for 2 reasons:
1. I grew up having a great-grandmother. When I was young, she was already over 80. She passed away last year at the age of 92. Because my family has short spaces between generations (my grandma got married at 15 and had her first child, my mom, at 18- my mom had me (I'm the oldest) when she was 20). My grandmother is only 38 years older than me. At 92, my great-grandmother was old, but still taking walks, laughing at jokes, and having a meaningful life despite some memory loss and reduced mobility. When I think of old though, I think over 90. :)
2. We were blessed to have the opportunity to join an elder Sunday school class before we even got engaged. Can I just say that I really heard an audible voice on this one- it sounds strange, but it's true. It was Sunday school month at CCBC and since we weren't in a class yet we decided to go to one that morning. A woman we knew invited us to come along to hers, which met in the building next door, and I even had my hand on the door when I heard that still small voice say "Why don't you go to the class at the bottom of the stairs?" At first, I was surprised, because I knew that they were all considerably older than us, but that small voice persisted, so I turned to G and said "I think we need to go to class at the bottom of the stairs." I'll never forget the very surprised faces when we opened the door and asked if we could join their class! :) But they were so welcoming to us, they made us part of their class family, and over the past 5 years shared their lives with us, their experiences, and their wisdom, and as we got to know them I saw just how much we all had in common. And through them we came to understand what growing older is REALLY like, what older people are really like, and those stereotypes that our culture promotes simply vanished.
Can I just share one of my favorite stories with you all? One year near my birthday, our good friend Claude (who is a WWII veteran who has lived in a wheelchair probably longer than I've been alive, due to a bus accident) wished me happy birthday, and he asked how old I was. I think I was turning 25- maybe 26. He just laughed so hard- his eyes lit up, and he said "Well I have SOCKS older than you!" We both just laughed and laughed so hard! Whenever I put on socks I think of Claude's socks. :D
What's the point of this blog? Well, just to say that 60 isn't old. :) And to say that at 28, when I start feeling sorry for myself about something, I think of my elder friends, and my great-grandma, and I remind myself that I'm really just a baby yet. :)
http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2008/04/are-you-elderly.html
And I was happy to see bloggers responding to her post who were in their 70s and 80s. I also saw quite a few bloggers in their 60s, and I said outloud to G "They're only in their 60s! Who would ever think of them as elderly anyway?" But the fact is that for many young people not only is 60 elderly- so is 50! I just saw an ad today called "Elderly Travel- age targeted travel for the 50+". Ok, 50 is just not even old- not in our time, or in our country at the very least.
I think my viewpoint on the whole age thing is different for 2 reasons:
1. I grew up having a great-grandmother. When I was young, she was already over 80. She passed away last year at the age of 92. Because my family has short spaces between generations (my grandma got married at 15 and had her first child, my mom, at 18- my mom had me (I'm the oldest) when she was 20). My grandmother is only 38 years older than me. At 92, my great-grandmother was old, but still taking walks, laughing at jokes, and having a meaningful life despite some memory loss and reduced mobility. When I think of old though, I think over 90. :)
2. We were blessed to have the opportunity to join an elder Sunday school class before we even got engaged. Can I just say that I really heard an audible voice on this one- it sounds strange, but it's true. It was Sunday school month at CCBC and since we weren't in a class yet we decided to go to one that morning. A woman we knew invited us to come along to hers, which met in the building next door, and I even had my hand on the door when I heard that still small voice say "Why don't you go to the class at the bottom of the stairs?" At first, I was surprised, because I knew that they were all considerably older than us, but that small voice persisted, so I turned to G and said "I think we need to go to class at the bottom of the stairs." I'll never forget the very surprised faces when we opened the door and asked if we could join their class! :) But they were so welcoming to us, they made us part of their class family, and over the past 5 years shared their lives with us, their experiences, and their wisdom, and as we got to know them I saw just how much we all had in common. And through them we came to understand what growing older is REALLY like, what older people are really like, and those stereotypes that our culture promotes simply vanished.
Can I just share one of my favorite stories with you all? One year near my birthday, our good friend Claude (who is a WWII veteran who has lived in a wheelchair probably longer than I've been alive, due to a bus accident) wished me happy birthday, and he asked how old I was. I think I was turning 25- maybe 26. He just laughed so hard- his eyes lit up, and he said "Well I have SOCKS older than you!" We both just laughed and laughed so hard! Whenever I put on socks I think of Claude's socks. :D
What's the point of this blog? Well, just to say that 60 isn't old. :) And to say that at 28, when I start feeling sorry for myself about something, I think of my elder friends, and my great-grandma, and I remind myself that I'm really just a baby yet. :)
May 3, 2008 Common drugs hasten decline in elders
Hey everyone- this topic seems to be getting more press these days, but the truth is that we don't always hear about it because it's brought up in places where we don't see it. Everyone should be aware that side effects from medication for elders has become a sort of epidemic. Many elders are given medication to help with things like incontinence, and the medication, while helping with the issue, in fact decreases their ability to live their own lives, reducing walking speed, memory, ability to make decisions, etc. This article mentions that it's as if 4 years are added onto a person's life.
I just can't urge you enough that if you have older parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, please pass this information on to them, and urge them to be talking with their doctors about their medication, and whether it's really necessary. If you can you might volunteer to go with them on a doctor's visit, to help them address any concerns that they might have. It's sad, but often times elders are over medicated because doctors don't want to hear them complaining about what they consider are "old age" symptoms. No person should be told that, especially when the symptoms are often caused by drug interactions which should have been checked by the doctor before new meds were prescribed!
I personally know of 2 incidents where over medication and drug interactions grossly impaired a person's ability to function. My Living Proof friends told me that a year or 2 ago there was an article in the AARP (I think it was there) about this issue, warning people about the problem and asking people to check on their older relatives. There is even a special sort of task force that goes around nursing homes and elder care places checking people's meds, and a large number of the people they see are way over medicated and experiencing side effects from drug interactions.
Sadly, we who are younger don't experience this ourselves, and would probably never think that elders would either. But if you know someone who seems to be declining more quickly after they started a medication, don't just assume that it's old age- it could just be medication. It's a good lesson for us too that what we might view as "old age" might not really be that. And for my dear elder friends reading this- don't forget to check your meds too. :D
Here's the article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN0230858220080503?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
To quote in a few places:
"Elderly people who took commonly prescribed drugs for incontinence, allergy or high blood pressure walked more slowly and were less able to take care of themselves than others not taking the drugs, U.S. researchers said on Saturday. They said people who took drugs that block acetylcholine -- a chemical messenger in the nervous system critical for memory -- functioned less well than their peers."
Can I just add to this an article that I read on the heels of the medication article, about how the media has started grossly misusing the world "elderly"? When I read the title of the article "Common drugs hasten decline in the elderly" and then I read the article, I thought to myself "Who are they describing? I have friends who are in their 70s and 80s, and I would never think to call them elderly!" Why? Because they are not! Elderly implies frail, fragile, unable to care for themselves, and in our culture it tends to imply that they are not contributing to society. None of my friends are in that state. Being older they do have to deal with various issues that none of us can really understand. But I wouldn't describe them as frail- they all have sharp minds, and even though their bodies may not work like they did when they were 20 they still contribute heavily to our society.
I'm including a quote from a self styled Elder Comedian from the article that I just read (sorry all, this blog will be a long one. :) ) She comments on this "elderly" issue, and on how elders are subtly discriminated against in what is just blatant age-ism. You might be interested to know that there are TONS of elderbloggers- Mrs. Hughes isn't the only one. Some blog about current events, some blog about their experiences during times of war or social upheaval, some blog about their opinions on the world. There was a wonderful elder who was blogging about what it was like living during WWII, and his blog had an ENORMOUS following- there was a major outpouring of grief when he died. You are never too old to blog!!!!! All of you Living Proof folks reading this should blog- there are young people out there who just can't wait to hear about your lives, your experiences, your thoughts, everything (me and G included.) If you can't type anymore, there are ways around that and we can help you figure those out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2008/04/are-you-elderly.html
Mrs. Hughes, elder commedian
Are you elderly?
I ask that question in the headline because the media think you are. Reporters consistently and continually refer to old people as “elderly” even though the newsletter of the Journalists Exchange on Aging [pdf] (an organization for reporters who cover the age beat) wisely advises the following:
I just can't urge you enough that if you have older parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, please pass this information on to them, and urge them to be talking with their doctors about their medication, and whether it's really necessary. If you can you might volunteer to go with them on a doctor's visit, to help them address any concerns that they might have. It's sad, but often times elders are over medicated because doctors don't want to hear them complaining about what they consider are "old age" symptoms. No person should be told that, especially when the symptoms are often caused by drug interactions which should have been checked by the doctor before new meds were prescribed!
I personally know of 2 incidents where over medication and drug interactions grossly impaired a person's ability to function. My Living Proof friends told me that a year or 2 ago there was an article in the AARP (I think it was there) about this issue, warning people about the problem and asking people to check on their older relatives. There is even a special sort of task force that goes around nursing homes and elder care places checking people's meds, and a large number of the people they see are way over medicated and experiencing side effects from drug interactions.
Sadly, we who are younger don't experience this ourselves, and would probably never think that elders would either. But if you know someone who seems to be declining more quickly after they started a medication, don't just assume that it's old age- it could just be medication. It's a good lesson for us too that what we might view as "old age" might not really be that. And for my dear elder friends reading this- don't forget to check your meds too. :D
Here's the article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN0230858220080503?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
To quote in a few places:
"Elderly people who took commonly prescribed drugs for incontinence, allergy or high blood pressure walked more slowly and were less able to take care of themselves than others not taking the drugs, U.S. researchers said on Saturday. They said people who took drugs that block acetylcholine -- a chemical messenger in the nervous system critical for memory -- functioned less well than their peers."
"Sink's findings, presented at American Geriatrics Society Meeting in Washington, add to a growing body of research that suggests these so-called anticholinergic medications can hasten functional and cognitive declines in elderly people.
Some of the most common such drugs in the study included the blood pressure drug nifedipine (sold as Adalat or Procardia), the stomach antacid ranitidine or Zantac, both with mild or moderate anticholinergic properties, and Pfizer Inc's incontinence drug tolterodine or Detrol, which is highly anticholinergic.
"The tricky part ... is that many useful drugs from many different classes of medications have anticholinergic properties," Sink said. She said in many cases newer drugs are available that do not have these effects and said doctors should look out for them for elderly patients. "
Can I just add to this an article that I read on the heels of the medication article, about how the media has started grossly misusing the world "elderly"? When I read the title of the article "Common drugs hasten decline in the elderly" and then I read the article, I thought to myself "Who are they describing? I have friends who are in their 70s and 80s, and I would never think to call them elderly!" Why? Because they are not! Elderly implies frail, fragile, unable to care for themselves, and in our culture it tends to imply that they are not contributing to society. None of my friends are in that state. Being older they do have to deal with various issues that none of us can really understand. But I wouldn't describe them as frail- they all have sharp minds, and even though their bodies may not work like they did when they were 20 they still contribute heavily to our society.
I'm including a quote from a self styled Elder Comedian from the article that I just read (sorry all, this blog will be a long one. :) ) She comments on this "elderly" issue, and on how elders are subtly discriminated against in what is just blatant age-ism. You might be interested to know that there are TONS of elderbloggers- Mrs. Hughes isn't the only one. Some blog about current events, some blog about their experiences during times of war or social upheaval, some blog about their opinions on the world. There was a wonderful elder who was blogging about what it was like living during WWII, and his blog had an ENORMOUS following- there was a major outpouring of grief when he died. You are never too old to blog!!!!! All of you Living Proof folks reading this should blog- there are young people out there who just can't wait to hear about your lives, your experiences, your thoughts, everything (me and G included.) If you can't type anymore, there are ways around that and we can help you figure those out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2008/04/are-you-elderly.html
Mrs. Hughes, elder commedian
Are you elderly?
I ask that question in the headline because the media think you are. Reporters consistently and continually refer to old people as “elderly” even though the newsletter of the Journalists Exchange on Aging [pdf] (an organization for reporters who cover the age beat) wisely advises the following:
“Use only as a modifier (e.g., elderly people, elderly patients) in referring to people who are discernibly old and frail.” [emphasis added]
The meaning of elderly has alway included lacking in or declining strength, and when the word is used as a synonym for old people in general, it implies that everyone whose appearance is old-looking is no longer capable of caring for themselves, helpless or near death. The citations below were collected during the month of March 2008, without my having made more than a casual effort to notice them. There are undoubtedly many others.
The New York Times:
“You need not be elderly to remember when we had no choice…” (about our too-busy lives)
The New York Time again:
“Addiction specialists and organizations for the elderly anticipate a tidal wave of baby boomers…” (about aging addicts)
A subhead in the Washington Post:
“Officials, Schools Prod Doctors to Focus on Elderly Care” (about the dwindling supply of geriatricians)
alternet.org:
“And in Japan…more than 40 percent of the population will be elderly by the middle of this century.” (about global aging)
Headline on a medical news website:
“Baltimore Sun Examines Medicine Mismanagement Among Elderly U.S. Residents” (about prescription drug safety)
Even a professional medical writer at the Washington Post:
“Merck…wanted a broader market than just elderly fracture patients” (about causes of health anxiety)
And, The New York Times again:
“…one of three storefront hubs for the elderly here…” (about new kinds of senior centers)
All the reporters responsible for these stories were writing about old people in general, not those who are frail. Apparently, they and their editors did not get the Journalists Exchange on Aging memo.
It is not only reporters who consign all old people to the category of frail. That kind of disrespect infects departments of transportation too, as these signs indicate:
Just as near schoolyards we remind motorists there are children around who might chase a ball into the street, it’s a good idea to warn drivers to watch for slow-moving adults. More old people than young do move slowly, but slow doesn’t necessarily mean frail and the word “elder” would do the traffic alert job while preserving elders’ dignity.
When we consistently identify a group of people with prejudicial descriptions, it not only demeans them, but gives other people permission to do so and reinforces pre-conceived, negative notions picked up from all the other cultural cues to the old-is-bad school of thought.
Surveys show that most old people don’t like the phrase “senior citizen” and I agree. It has a dusty, institutional feel. Some old folks are fine with “senior,” but it too feels inadequate and for several years Time Goes By has been promoting “elder” as a replacement.
Elderlaw has been the word for that career specialty for many years. Elderblogging and elderblogger are becoming so common now, that they flow trippingly off the tongue of every journalist, television and radio producer who contacts me leaving me to wonder why they don't make the linguistic leap to elder.
Elderly is a good and useful word for describing frail elders. But the majority of old people lead healthy lives, contributing to their communities into their seventies, eighties and even nineties. Most of us are not frail and therefore, not elderly."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thursday, 1 May 2008
May 1, 2008
It's finally May! Years of living in Michigan taught me to look forward to May as the real start of the warmer season, and the excitement of baby leaves, flowers, and sunshine. Although it's been warmer here in Cambridge and the flowers started blooming months ago, I still think of May 1st as the harbinger of exciting summers. :)
We made it back to Cambridge yesterday, and believe it or not I slept 14 hours last night! I usually sleep well on the plane, but this time I got put next to a foreign gentleman who kept encroaching onto my seat space. He consistently stuck out his elbows so that I had to push him back over onto his own side. That was a bit annoying, but I did at least sleep some. Alas for British Airways ending their Detroit flights- Northwest doesn't have very good service both on plane and off. It took them ages to serve food, and ages more to clear off the trays, all of which disrupts the sleeping process. But praise Gd we made it safely, and the direct flight makes all the difference.
The line getting through the passport control at Gatwick was very long. But amazingly, when we got nearer the front of the line a man was going through and sending some people off to the shorter line. I couldn't figure out why, until he came close and I heard him asking which passports we had. He was looking at the outside of passports, and when he saw that we had US passports he said "American passports, go to Line 2." Which was the shorter line, and was moving very quickly. I was surprised to be sent to the faster line simply because I was American, but it was very nice to get through so fast. :)
The weather here is chillier than it had been in Michigan- it's sunny now, but an hour ago we had hail. Weird. :) We enjoyed our time in Michigan- yesterday afternoon we went out to Nan Weston Nature Preserve to walk in the quiet forest and take photos of wildflowers- it seems strange to be in Cambridge now, such a short time later. I recommend Nan Weston- right now there are almot 15 varieties of native Michigan wildflowers blooming, in addition to the various trees that have little tree flowers, and the baby leaves poking their heads out of teeny buds. It's a great time for photography.
We have a few days to get adjusted before things start back up for us- Monday is the first CE course, so pr that things would go well and that the ladies would be open to hearing. The term lasts until the first week of July, and it'll be difficult to keep focused on things here when we have FOCUS coming up in 3 weeks, which we're flying back for, and then returning from that another month of our routine here until the summer holidays begin. Most events basically end at the end of June, and people start to leave for 2 months of holiday here there and everywhere. Our various responsibilities will start back up in mid September.
We enjoyed seeing people, and hope to catch more people over Memorial Day weekend.
We made it back to Cambridge yesterday, and believe it or not I slept 14 hours last night! I usually sleep well on the plane, but this time I got put next to a foreign gentleman who kept encroaching onto my seat space. He consistently stuck out his elbows so that I had to push him back over onto his own side. That was a bit annoying, but I did at least sleep some. Alas for British Airways ending their Detroit flights- Northwest doesn't have very good service both on plane and off. It took them ages to serve food, and ages more to clear off the trays, all of which disrupts the sleeping process. But praise Gd we made it safely, and the direct flight makes all the difference.
The line getting through the passport control at Gatwick was very long. But amazingly, when we got nearer the front of the line a man was going through and sending some people off to the shorter line. I couldn't figure out why, until he came close and I heard him asking which passports we had. He was looking at the outside of passports, and when he saw that we had US passports he said "American passports, go to Line 2." Which was the shorter line, and was moving very quickly. I was surprised to be sent to the faster line simply because I was American, but it was very nice to get through so fast. :)
The weather here is chillier than it had been in Michigan- it's sunny now, but an hour ago we had hail. Weird. :) We enjoyed our time in Michigan- yesterday afternoon we went out to Nan Weston Nature Preserve to walk in the quiet forest and take photos of wildflowers- it seems strange to be in Cambridge now, such a short time later. I recommend Nan Weston- right now there are almot 15 varieties of native Michigan wildflowers blooming, in addition to the various trees that have little tree flowers, and the baby leaves poking their heads out of teeny buds. It's a great time for photography.
We have a few days to get adjusted before things start back up for us- Monday is the first CE course, so pr that things would go well and that the ladies would be open to hearing. The term lasts until the first week of July, and it'll be difficult to keep focused on things here when we have FOCUS coming up in 3 weeks, which we're flying back for, and then returning from that another month of our routine here until the summer holidays begin. Most events basically end at the end of June, and people start to leave for 2 months of holiday here there and everywhere. Our various responsibilities will start back up in mid September.
We enjoyed seeing people, and hope to catch more people over Memorial Day weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)