What Really Matters, According to Me

9-26-18 If you don’t text with kids, you may not know what LOL means, or GTG or LMS. What about KYS? Do you know what that means? KYS; one of the shorthand messages that’s been in popular social media use since its inception. Trying to figure out exactly where it first began is sort of like trying to discover exactly who first used ‘OK’ to mean ‘yes.’ Regardless, it’s either a smart-aleck remark or a dangerous prod. In case you don’t know, KYS is an acronym for ‘kill yourself,’ and our kids have been seeing it and using it in texts, memes and via smartphone apps for years. What the big boys do at the high school level trickles down to the children in elementary school, and those who bring their smartphones to school (roughly half of elementary age kids have one by the time they’re 8), know what it means when someone says KYS. On top of that, “Why don’t you just kill yourself?” has become increasingly common in the school age population as a spoken put-down, of sorts, and it’s worse ...

My teenage daughters and I took a ‘break from the fake’ not long ago and fasted (so to speak), from social media for a week. At the end of the week, we all went back to normal, with a better perspective, we agreed. Another week or so passed, and my fourteen-year-old said she realized her use of social media was making her feel bad. She felt much better during the week of the break, so decided to quit social media completely. I’m impressed with her maturity and wisdom, and told her so. It’s well-documented and unrefuted that social media use (and the screen time that comes with), is linked to numerous negative health outcomes, including headaches, insomnia, obesity and even diabetes and heart disease (from sitting around and sometimes even snacking while on the screen). Just as concerning, however, are mental health issues associated particularly with social media use, such as anxiety, depression, antisocial tendencies, feelings of isolation, and social media addiction (for more inform...

I appreciate the outpouring of concern over my pain-in-the-neck. The MRI results are in and is seems there are some small missing pieces of bone, some missing cartilage, a couple of bones sitting crooked and some discs in an unhealthy condition. The resulting chronic headache, neck and shoulder pain, and numbness in my arm and hand are limiting my mobility and affecting my life. I plan to meet with a neurosurgeon, hopefully sometime sooner rather than later. I’m not getting any younger, after all. Like all of us, I’m getting older. We all know what that means. Aging can and does bring countless changes. Chronic conditions related to aging are sometimes inevitable. According to the National Council on Aging, the top five chronic conditions affecting older people, beginning with the most prevalent, are: high blood pressure (almost 2/3 of the 65+ population), high cholesterol (almost ½), arthritis (about 1/3), heart disease (about 1/3), and diabetes (more than ¼). There are other conditio...

I don’t very often, but I fainted the other day. I surprised myself. I try not to swoon, as a rule. The circumstances were uncommon, though, and that’s usually how it is when something like that takes us by surprise. I had been sitting up, awake, all night, with my mother-in-law, as she was passing beyond the veil that separates this world from the next. My good husband and I were both physically and emotionally exhausted. We stepped out for a brief respite, while the hospice workers tended to cleaning and preparing Mrs. Blackburn for final farewells. Upon reentering the room, something about the moment was overwhelming and I stumbled backward, thankful (after the fact), that a chair had been directly behind me. That physical experience eclipsed my emotions, briefly. Likely, about 1/3 of you know what I mean because you’ve experienced it, too. NMS (neurally mediated syncope), neurocardiogenic syncope, and vasovagal syncope are all terms for what we call fainting. This, generally benig...

A treasured friend told me today that I’ve left my handprint upon her heart (she quoted a line from a song she heard on the way to SWEAT with me, and said it spoke to her of me). Of course, I felt a welling of emotion. She’s left her handprint upon mine, too. That’s what we do in this life, isn’t it (if we do it right)? We leave our marks upon each other, upon the rising generation, upon the land, upon whatever it may be that will remember us when we’re gone… As I write, I’m sitting in the room with my mother-in-law, as her breathing grows increasingly shallow by the hour and her feeble heart grows tired of beating. Her body is aged and failing. She’s lived a long and wonderful life. Not only did she bring six boys and a daughter into this world, but she raised them in the hills, on a farm, in a little two-room cabin, with no modern utilities. She raised happy children and happy grandchildren who were, and ever will be honored to call her mother. She did it right. This fine lady has le...

Grandma-Blackburns-Poems.pdf First Things First This is the day I was going to see you But I don't have time to visit. My onion hot bed is peeping through And I don't want to miss it. I'll be here on my knees all day Prayerfully watching this birthing. Tiny green shoots will find their way Row by row unearthing. Happiness A mocking bird stood on the perch The wind his feathers ruffled, Music came forth from the chimes His little feet he shuffled. Last Week The super bright October sunlight Brought me to my feet I saw at a glance, and what a sight Dirt I had left in the summer heat So I went for my Windex and Purex and top And a bucket with Spic and Spani . I scrubbed everything from bottom to top Find proof of it if you can. Don't Tell? Keep it right with God and it don't hurt who knows 10 When the path is trod, you're the one who chose i tre Forgotten Lunch East mountain range with sunrise spreading Oat field of green, fresh garden bedding Young tender plants a...

If I hadn’t before, I’ve recently come to appreciate these words: “I’m tired of the way that things have been…you break me down, you build me up…Pain, you make me a believer.” (Believer, Imagine Dragons 2017) It speaks of rising above pain and realizing (as I often say), it’s the struggle that makes us stronger. Pain: It makes us believers in many ways. We might have a ‘come to Jesus’ because of pain and suffering (sorrow is painful but can be motivating). We realize something needs to change. Pain means something is happening or needs to. Tears over a young-adult-child leaving home, tears over a spouse leaving home, problems at work, the way it feels when we dress ourselves, how it feels when we look in the mirror, or how we feel after sleeping; all of these can be painful. Everything from a headache after reading to a painful left foot because of the way we sit while driving; pain indicates change. The question: Is the pain a good sign (think growing pains), or a red flag that somet...