#ShredtheSchedule
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July 3, 2023: Piper
I have a confession to make.
When there is no clear best choice, I have a difficult time making a decision. When there is a best choice, I'm a honey badger with a bone. My husband, Brian, calls me "Tenacious P."
What color will I paint the campaign chest at my front door? I've debated for weeks (maybe even months) before settling on Urbane Bronze. And, even though I've made the decision, once it's done, I'll continue to look at it, possibly for years to come, wondering if I picked the right color.
Things are even more difficult when planning a family vacation, especially with one teen in epilepsy relapse and another teen who proclaims, "I don't care," when asked what he wants to do on vacation.
Choosing our nation's capitol was an easy choice. My first visit to D.C. was for a recent Americans for Safe Access Advocacy Academy and Hill Day. Arriving a day early gave me opportunity to experience a taste of what D.C. has to offer. I was lucky to find myself a wonderful sight-seeing companion and new friend for the day! We visited the National Museum of American History together and became teary eyed at some of the displays.
Seeing artifacts from the revolutionary period and civil rights era was a powerful preamble for my own advocacy days to follow. Knowing that those involved in these movements didn't just see the need for change but took the action needed to bring it, was a resounding reminder that individuals working together is what we need to bring change!
The following two days were even more inspiring - a day of interacting with fellow cannabis activists and exercises to hone our advocacy skills followed by a day of visiting legislative offices. My 3 day trip left me invigorated and longing for more. I came home with the idea that our summer vacation destination should be D.C.!
Don't get me wrong, this trip isn't all about advocacy. Zach is an avid rock and fossil collector and constantly talks about megalodons, so the National Museum of Natural History is a natural choice! I'm also looking forward to seeing the bug collection and the Spy Museum. We are all looking forward to some fun foodie stops and have tickets for a beginner home cultivation course hosted by Unprescribed.
We are hoping for family visits with Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Rep. Troy Nehls, and other epilepsy/cannabis warriors from Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland!
Vacations for us can't come with much more planned. Seizures are a constant saboteur, striking while on the Teacups at Disneyworld, in the parking lot of Garden of the Gods, skipping rocks at Lake Greeson...
July 4, 2023: Piper
Being aware of how stiff traveling can make one feel, Brian and I have also decided to do a yoga challenge for the month of July. We like to do Shapeshift: Exploring Movement and Emotion with Ashley Sargeant on Gaia. She works through the different chakras, starting with root, and ending with third eye, with a total of 6 routines. For the 7th day, we typically do crown as a day of rest and meditation. I like to start the routine on a Sunday, with the rest day on Saturday, but July 1 was a Saturday, so we are going with the flow. The routine is based on the book, "Yoga of the Subtle Body," by Tias Little. It's a pretty incredible practice, allowing for a lot of rest and observation after some difficult asanas. One of the most difficult asanas for me is tadasana, mountain pose, with a focus on the root chakra. Who knew standing straight up could be so difficult?!
Yesterday was Fear to Power: Balance Your Core. We worked on our kidney and adrenal points, psoas release, and diaphragm work to improve breath.
I also felt the need to finish my campaign chests and more things from our to-do list before our trip. Somehow, writing about my indecisiveness may have helped me to work through it. I was struggling a lot with the AirBNB that we booked, fearful that it was going to be too far for parking. I decided that it didn't really fit with yesterday's blog, to let it rest until today. So, I worked on the campaign chests, distracting myself from the fear that came with the AirBNB decision. I am so happy with the way they turned out! Once they were finished, I felt foolish about my indecision, and decided to enjoy the moments that the decisions bring. So, I'm hopeful that the AirBNB will turn out as wonderful as the campaign chest.
Another decision that we are facing is in our approach to Zach's medicine. He's on some pharmaceuticals, which we recently increased a bit since he's growing. He also takes Goodblend's Tranquil, CBG, CBC, and CBDV. Since I used to make THCA from Chemdawg, and was recently gifted some beautiful Chemdawg, I'm considering adding Chemdawg THCA back into his routine. So, that's on the agenda for the day, along with a few more things on the to-do, along with some family relaxation and fireworks!
July 5, 2023
Yesterday was a long day with some emotions. It doesn't seem relevant to our advocacy road trip, but it needed to be done before our travels.
About 6 months ago, we decided to make some modifications to our huge backyard playscape. We were going to turn it into a bike shed and workout course, with a deck (to be called "the redneck deck") above to watch sunsets. Our plan was to take it apart a little at a time, giving close inspection to things for replacement, and modifying as we progressed. After beginning the project, we lost the long swingset extension when several young teens went on the swings at the same time. One of the support beams cracked. Luckily, the swings extension was also monkey bars, and the crack in one beam didn't cause it to come crashing down, injuring those kids!
After watching this, and seeing the damage to many of the wood that we had already removed, lead us...scratch that...me to feel that there wasn't going to be much to salvage. My husband, who really loves woodworking, felt that he could save lots of it for building other things. He was sentimental about it, telling me that he would make Adirondack chairs for our redneck decks. We could watch the sunsets together on the salvaged playscape. I didn't understand the sentimentalism. So, we've had a huge wood pile in the backyard for months. He would work on planing pieces in his spare time (check out his Air Shred for ASA planing video on YouTube). After barely making a dent, he came to the conclusion that this was an effort in sentimentalism rather than sensible conservation.
Last week, we decided to just get rid of it. We attempted posting to marketplace and recycling sites, with no takers. So, over the weekend, he loaded it all into our older son's truck. Yesterday was the day to bring it to the dump!
As we were putting a last few pieces into the truck, my husband sensed something wrong, of which I had no clue. He asked, "What's bothering you?"
I was busy with my work, and stopped for a second, with emotion hitting me like a ton of bricks, "I think I'm sad that we're getting rid of the playscape." How does getting rid of a playscape cause that much emotion??? I mean, I'm crying as I write this!
Some of the emotions were guilt. All of that wood going into the trash. Somebody could've used some of it, right?
Most of the emotions are probably obvious to some, but weren't to me. I thought my husband was crazy for wanting to make sentimental furniture from it! Somehow, I managed to detach myself completely from the feelings. So many memories were centered around that massive playscape. Swingsets full of kids, having a blast, homemade ninja warrior courses, picnics on the decks, birthday parties,... Sometimes after kids went to bed, my husband and I would go out and chat on the deck or the swings, listening to the night sky. Riding on the swings was one of the quickest ways to transform a foul mood for me or my kids. I remember sending my son outside for a swing when he was being difficult to manage and watching him relax and grow a smile with every pass of the swing!
It's not just memories, though, it's kids growing up and moving on. It's being a parent and letting go. This emotion for me, and for many other parents of kids with health issues, is complicated. My son with epilepsy is 15. Epilepsy creates cognitive issues in lots of patients. It can also cause death from injury or SUDEP (sudden unexplained death in epilepsy patients). These things make it hard to imagine my child growing up and becoming independent. I have big dreams of being able to resolve ALL of his seizures before his brain stops developing, so that he has a good chance at becoming the coder for NBA2K that he hopes to become. But every time he relapses, he loses some of what he has learned. I have envied parents talking about their own emotions around their children gaining independence. I want Zach to be independent, too. I vow that I will celebrate it! But, right now, getting rid of the swingset means that I'm losing my older son, Quinn, to his independence, and that we are getting closer to running out of time for growth with Zach.
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