Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Answer


Hi! Yes, I realize I haven't posted in more than a week. And yes, I feel a bit guilty about it, especially as I have several reasons to do so.

First, I left you all hanging in suspense wondering which baby is Finn. Actually, there seemed to be little suspense. Almost everyone who commented or emailed me got it right -- except for you guys in Seattle! : ) Finn is Baby A, Aubrey is Baby B, Regan is Baby C. And the mystery baby (newly inserted exclusively for today's blog) is, of course, Jack.

Second, I have begun practicing focused breathing, guided imaging, mediation, and relaxation exercises. Practicing is probably too strong a word. I simply try to do a little each day. I am also going to try something called sound meditation and next week I've scheduled a session of Reiki, which as I understand it is essentially like getting a massage except they don't touch your body. These things may sound a bit farfetched. I simply look at them as different tools that can help me achieve a particular goal: namely, to relax my body and clear my mind so that my immune system can work at its optimum efficiency. I do the structured breathing and one or more of the other techniques before and after my afternoon nap.

Speaking of naps, I've reached the third--and undoubtedly the best--development of the last week. One of my neighbors has begun to come to our house each afternoon to take care of things while I take a nap. When I say she takes care of things, I mean she watches Finn and welcomes the kids home after school, of course. But that's not all. She also picks up the kitchen, folds the laundry, goes to the grocery store, and . . . get ready for this . . . makes us dinner! It's been a perfect match so far. She came to me last fall and asked if I, as a work-at-home individual, knew of any home-based businesses she could do to occupy her time now that her youngest was away at college. Nothing came to mind at the time. When I had my recent serendipitous moments, however, it dawned on me that maybe she would be interested in helping me get a nap each day. So far it's been a dream arrangement. Denise and her husband have four children, three of whom babysat for us and one of whom gave Aubrey guitar lessons for a while. On top of that, she's a brilliant cook! When she gets here, I just finish what I'm doing and head upstairs to my bedroom. She has free reign to do whatever she likes after that. The afternoon naps have been wonderful, Finn has had no problem making the adjustment, and Kelly has fewer items on her list of things to do each evening. Thank you, Denise! This, I think, has been another serendipitous occasion for the Dodd Squad.

This weekend, we plan to drive down to Chicago so we can tour my sister's new condo and see my baby niece, Timoree. Mom and Dad will be there as well, so it should be a fun excursion.

Jeff

3 comments:

Peggy Wilkins said...

I believe in naps and asking for help (and Reiki for that matter) - way to go Jeff!

Katie Clancy said...

Gorgeous babies all around. They all still look a lot like their baby pix. Adorable. I had an assistant who performed Reiki as a side business and it's very helpful. I have heard only raves about it. There have been all sorts of studies on medication and breathing and the stress relieving benefits. Continued good luck! K

Terri said...

Jeff, The first thing I learned about stress management was deep breathing and everyone I have talked to in the health promotion management field swears by it. You will have to let me know what you think of the Reiki thing, I'd like to hear about it since I am sorta in that field. I can't wrap my mind around how it works, anyway. On a side note of doing things to help yourself. I read that if you drink green tea with a twist of lemon that the lemon boosts the number of catechins your body can absorb to 80 %, this chemical limits cancer cell activity. Anyway, I know how you like to drink tea and it's just a side note, but sounds like you got it all under control. Take Care.