Rain, Rain Go Away Come In Moderation Another Day....

There has certainly been quite some storms, causing damage and power outages, the past couple of days just south of us in the towns of Southampton and Port Elgin, and surrounding areas.  According to my cousin Vi, who lives in Port Elgin, they were without hydro for over 20 hours.

Here on the Bruce Peninsula, we had three separate thunderstorms throughout the day, however with just short flicks of hydro outages here at our house.  It seems we have left soggy months of April and May to be going into another month of the same with June.  *Sigh*  I am almost at the point of realization I am not going to have a vegetable garden this year.  Maybe I should go purchase a few patio tomatoes and call it a day.  LOL.

I had a fantastic day yesterday with my friend, Reenie, arriving first thing in the morning for a visit.  First off, we dropped Mother off at the hairdressers for her scheduled appointment, going onto Timmie's to pickup the required refreshments, then onto Foodland to pickup some tomato plants and soil for Reenie. 

Once back home, we got situated in our "gab our heads off chairs", and had a great old visit together, as we usually do !  Of course throughout the period of our visit, Bandit and Lexus needed out for a romp.  The look on Bandit's face when he seen Reenie was here, was sure one of excitement.

The look on our faces, I am sure was something else to see as well, when he jumped right up to be as close as he could to her.

"Reenie, Reenie, you have no idea how much I miss you coming over" !

"See Mom, I told you how much she loves me; you never believe us kids".

Ha, ha, ha, let me tell you, Bandit never forgets who really, really loves him at any given time, that is for sure.

Reenie took her leave just before lunch so I had time to get myself ready to attend the first series of the Caregiver Support & Education Series meeting at Wiarton's Gateway Haven for 1:30 p.m..

I was quite surprised when I arrived at the meeting that there was only one other Caregiver in attendance, other then myself.  This education series is free to anyone, and to the best of my knowledge was advertised well in advance in local Churches, nursing homes, a pharmacy, and in the newspaper. 

I am shocked that in the whole of the  Bruce Peninsula, there aren't more then two or three people that are in need of support and/or more information on caregiving, whether it be for a parent, spouse or child?  It is unfortunate, as from just being in attendance so far to the one meeting yesterday, I found the compassion and understanding of those who were there to be of a surmountable benefit to myself.

These meetings are not public knowledge.  What happens or what is discussed at the meeting is left in that room, so there should not be any fear of private and personal information being made public by anyone in attendance.  What I share with others is my own personal experience, not that of others.

What we touched upon in the first meeting was to:

-  Learn about each other
-  Talk about what each of us hoped to gain from the sessions
-  Learn about the concept of stress and what effect it has on us
-  Learn about the importance of taking care of ourselves
-  Learn how to set goals

Our homework for the week ahead is to be able to set one goal for ourselves to reduce stress, and carry out one activity to show self care.

The biggest thing, that comes to my mind, of what I came away with from the session yesterday, was some of my thoughts and feelings were validated through others.  I believe we all need that type of support in our lives from time to time.  I walked in there unsure of what to expect, as well as having the feeling that I would be judged, to walking back out with feelings of comfort, support and relief. 

I do realize I have support for my Caregiver role with my mother from family members and friends, but somehow it is different at times to have outside validation and support.  I can not explain why, but this is the way it seems to be sometimes.  I suppose maybe part of it is that we expect family and friends to know how we feel, so when someone unrelated is understanding and supportive, it further validates the feelings we try to relay to our family and friends.

I am looking forward to tackling my homework project before the scheduled meeting rolls around next week.

I have, as always, things to be done today, however with so much sitting yesterday, along with the dampness and humidity, my Fibromyalgia is screaming in every part of my body.  I had better get myself slowly moving so my muscles, ligaments and joints get lubricated, take something for the headache and check out the weather report before I start my day.

Today:

Cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers this morning and early this afternoon. Clearing this afternoon. Risk of a thunderstorm early this afternoon. High 19. UV index 5 or moderate.

Tonight:

Clear. Low 10

Yep, just as I figured,more chance of showers and another risk of a thunderstorm.

That is alright, as I have lots of stuff to be done inside, along with a peach pie I want to bake....ummm, and maybe some muffins with the rhubarb I have in my fridge.

Oh yeah, and I had better remember to call and sing Happy Birthday to my best friend, Bob, as today is his birthday!  LOL, Bob calls my blog, a blob !  Bob, if you are reading this here Blob before I call, Happy, happy birthday dear friend!

I really do not understand the days when I am feeling bored, when there is so much always to be done, Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard.