challenges – Page 3

August 19, 2011August 25, 2011

Family Fridays…Life Transitions or “Moving Our World”

Wednesday was move-in day at the local university, as well as the first day of class for the public schools.

Watching parents of college freshman sit in long lines of traffic to reach the dorms and overhearing parents of young children discuss taking their children to their first day of school were reminders of some of the transitions that families face during their lifecourse.

I often ponder the idea of transitions, or changes, required in our own individual, as well as our family’s, lifetime. Sometimes this involves an actual move from one location to another, though at other times it is a life change that moves our worlds–or life as we have known it. For example, going to college, getting married, starting a career, having a baby, children growing up and leaving home, or aging parents becoming ill. While some people change and adjust more easily, many seem to resist and have difficulty making the changes smoothly without first thinking, questioning, and finally resolving the challenges that are inherent even with changes we actually want!

According to Froma Walsh, flexibility and the ability to adapt are key factors in individual and family resilience. Resilience is the ability to meet challenges and stress in ways that not only allow us to cope but even gain something positive from the experience. Not that we tend to seek out these experiences but life just seems to naturally contain them!

So why the resistance? I believe it depends, at least in part, on the timing of the transitions. When we are rested, healthy, and ready to take on the world, it seems easier to be flexible and adapt. When we are in need of rest, recuperation, and renewal, the extra challenges require of us strengths we may feel we do not have at the moment.

While helping a friend move from their apartment, I was reminded of all of the times I have moved and how much energy it required to sort, pack, and change the organization of my daily life. Things I normally had in a specific place and knew automatically where they were was disrupted and everything took more time to accomplish. Things like, Where is the soap?, …the stamps to mail a letter?–or even, Where is the post office itself?! Of course, with time we learn these things, reorganize our living spaces, and return to some sense of normalcy… but good or bad, some things remain different and a transition has been made… our worlds have been moved.

*What have you found is helpful in making transitions?

Keys to Resilience: Transformation Through Adversity (www.winebago.uwex.edu)
Family Fridays – “Look For the Helpers” (jonibeach.com)
Empty Nest (psychologytoday.com)
How to Survive Back-to-School and Other Life Transitions-cnbnews.net (gloucestercitynews.net)

July 29, 2011August 3, 2011

Family Fridays–“Challenges…Creative Solutions”

Families are being challenged these days in many ways. On virtually every level, we are being affected in ways that require creative solutions. For example, I think of buying groceries sometimes as a treasure hunt or an investment…some of the once inexpensive staples, such as shortening or powdered milk, have become expensive.

Returning home to NC in the summer thrills me, in part, because I can find fresh vegetables and fruits earlier than where we live…and at good prices! Near my mother’s home is a garden/pick-your-own strawberries business. It was great getting to pick beautiful fruit to freeze now and eat in the cold of December! We also pick blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries at a farm near our home here in Virginia. Finding ways to gather and put up food for later in the year, reminds me of how people used to prepare for winter by harvesting, preserving, and storing foods. This website talks about How to get the most bang for your buck at a pick-your-own farm.

Many of us live where large home gardens and growing our own food is no longer possible. Finding local sources is not always easy or affordable but good quality food is important to the health of our families. Shopping the weekly specials and comparing prices at several stores helps me lower the overall cost of food. Weekly farmer’s markets are available in many towns and cities. Many local communities also share resources with people through programs such as community gardens, food banks, and churches. An example of this type of program can be seen at http://feedingamerica.org/.

On-line recipes and information about food, nutrition, and health inspire me. At no time before have we had such instant access to information, including educational material on nutritious foods to help guide our food choices. For example, the American Cancer Society’s guidelines for health and nutrition can be found at http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/news/News/new-dietary-guidelinesfocus-on-balance-better-food-choices. The Mayo Clinic posts these guidelines to consider for healthy eating at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dietary-guidelines/MY01594.

Finding different ways of gathering and preparing food requires extra time that may create an additional challenge to an already hectic family schedule. But, I believe using creative solutions to obtain food for myself and my family to eat well is worth the investment of my time and one way to meet life’s challenges…

*Do you have any favorite creative solutions for families to share?!?* [I’d love for you to leave a comment!]

Image Credit: Foods via Wikipedia, Public Domain, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.] http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vegetarian_diet.jpg

Watermelon and Sweet Iced Tea… (jonibeach.com)
How to get the most bang for your buck at a pick-your-own farm (mint.com)
Food Bank in America at http://feedingamerica.org/

June 9, 2011June 15, 2011

Be Inventive!

The other day an article in our local newspaper, entitled “3 THINGS you should do today”, caught my eye. Number 2 was “Be inventive”. On May 22^nd, 1906, the Wright brother’s US patent was issued for their invention, the “Flying Machine”.

First_flight2 via Wikipedia Image Citation — First Flight, John T. Daniels via Wikipedia Commons

Reading the article made me think about how the brothers had to dream of flying, imagine what it would take to soar above the ground, and experiment with many different ideas to make it happen…The brothers’ invention of the flying machine is a perfect example of human creativity and the design process necessary to not only imagine but actually succeed in inventing something new.

Bela Banathy (1991), an educator, systems design scientist, and author, writes that we create the future by the process of designing what we can envision…This is a skill each of us are called upon to use everyday in our families, our work—as artists as well as other occupations, and the communities where we live. Our survival and quality of life is hinged upon our ability as individuals, and collectively as a society, to use our imaginations. Imagination leads to new, novel ideas and inventions that meet the challenges we and our children will face in the coming years.

Technology is one field where change is happening rapidly. The world has had to realize the changes this industry brings and envision ways its benefits can be used for the good, negating any negative effects. Living @ a research university with its questioning environment inspires me to think of the possibilities–considering new answers to complex problems. Whether it be… at home… in the studio… or in our communities…