HomeSpunHealers

I had a very eventful day yesterday.  It was my marathon day at work when I start at 8 a.m. with my first class, so I have to be in my office even before that, and then I have 7 1/2 hours in the classroom, with only one break from noon to 1:30 in which I eat lunch at my desk while I grade papers and get things ready for the next class, the next day, on and on.  So, today, I decided to squeeze into that 1 1/2 hour break an opportunity to donate blood since we were having a blood drive on campus.  I had already planned ahead for this, and I had made an appointment, which they seemed to have no record of when I came down, but that was okay because there were only two folks waiting in line ahead of me.  Then after I had read the required materials, I was about to go into a little cubicle and start step two of the process when a fire alarm sounded, and we had a fire drill.  Fortunately, the drill didn’t take too much time, so I rushed back in to get back in line.  Another delay happened when the nurse who was hooking me up to the needle couldn’t get the blood pressure cuff around my upper arm because I needed the “large” cuff.  She didn’t know where to get one, and another nurse offered to get it for her, but only after she finished doing what she was doing, which was taking a long time.  Now, the only thing that was keeping me calm from the fear that I would be late for my class, which might make students think I wasn’t coming, and they might escape before I got there, was the music that was playing rather loudly in the background.  It was my favorite kind of music, old school R&B. It’s hard for me to get upset when I’m listening to “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You.”  So, I just lay there on the lounge chair and waited patiently for the larger cuff.  I must admit that I did have a slight moment where I tried to feel embarrassed about the larger cuff, and one tiny little negative comment internally when I said to myself, “Self, if you didn’t have such a fat upper arm, she wouldn’t have to go get one to fit you.”  But I quickly stopped that because there is nothing wrong with having to use a larger blood pressure cuff.  They wouldn’t make a larger cuff if people (not just me) didn’t need one.  Everyone’s arm is not the same size.  Some are smaller, some are larger.  That’s all.  So, I’m glad I didn’t lie there feeling bad about something stupid.  I wanted to give the blood because I feel it’s my civic and humanitarian duty to do that once in a while.  Besides, they were begging for type O blood, and I’m a Type O Hero!  I was able to successfully give the blood, drink some water and munch some pretzels while they checked to make sure I wasn’t going to swoon, and I got to class right on time.  No escape for the students yesterday.

This just illustrates two things for me about me. If I truly and honestly want to accomplish something, in spite of excuses or circumstances, I will do it.  It’s that way every time I truly want to do something.  I do it.  I push until it’s accomplished.  I’m proud of myself for that.  The second thing this illustrates for me is that I can choose to be ashamed of myself or I can choose to be proud of myself.  I can choose negative messages or positive messages inside my own head.  And because I know how harmful negative messages can be, and because I know that the spoken word is vital to creation, I am so much more careful these days about what I say to myself.  And if something negative slips in there, I quickly squash it and send it away. 

So, I left campus this afternoon, hurrying on so I could go vote with my husband (a tradition we’ve kept since we were married) because I wanted to be there even if it was going to make me rush.  It was another thing I wanted to accomplish yesterday.  It was the first day of early voting here in North Carolina, and I wanted to make sure I voted at the very first opportunity, which happened to be 5:15.  He was there waiting for me and smiling.  And we went inside and voted in a monumental election and cast our ballots for a monumental choice:  we both voted for the very first African American candidate representing his party for the office of President of the United States of America.  We didn’t vote for him because he’s African American although that is very cool.  We voted for him because we know he is the smartest candidate, the candidate with the most vision for our time and for our country, and the candidate who has the most optimistic solutions for the majority of Americans in a time when things are bad for a lot of Americans.  We voted for him because the time has finally arrived when, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, we can “judge [him] for the content of his character” and not in spite of his skin color.  It was a powerfully moving moment for each of us.  And we discovered later when we talked, that both of us had paused and thought about the amazing thing we were about to do, and both of us were a little choked up when talking about it.  But you know, I left that polling place with the lightest heart and most jubilant, genuine smile I’ve ever had when casting my vote for President.  I had been waiting for that moment since 2004 when I first heard Senator Obama speak, and I asked myself and the group that was gathered in my home, “Why can’t he run for President?  Why can’t we have the opportunity to vote for someone like him?”  And against all odds, I finally had that pleasure yesterday.  My husband and I both agreed that going and casting that vote was as if it was our sacred honor and duty.  It was more than just voting.  It was an affirmation that we can accomplish anything if we really want to.  YES WE CAN!

So, I should just end this piece with that mighty declaration, but I want to admit that I am still not taking action to get out there and exercise and to eat healthier food that truly nourishes me instead of junk that fills me and then leaves me more damaged.  But, I did get a video this week called “Heavyweight Yoga:  Yoga for the Body You Have Right Now.”  And I intend to use it, and I intend to start walking, and I intend to start back making healthier choices in my food.  And when I report here in this journal that I did my heavyweight yoga and walked at least three times a week, then you’ll know I’ve made up my mind that I want to do it.  The Scriptures say, “you shall know them by their fruits.”  So, I guess it’s true that the proof’s in the pudding, good, juicy, fruity pudding!