His birthday this year brought about the same hurtle. We try to make the trip to visit him as much as possible, but, timing can always be a bit tricky. Since we live in Florida and he resides in California, we knew that he would never make the trip here, so we decided to collect a bit of Florida and send it to him, with a Digital Frame.
The first thing that we did was to go to our local beach, famed for the beautiful baby powder white sand. We collected sand and sea shells as well as some shark’s teeth. We placed those in a sealed plastic container to emulate the beach environment. Next, we took a trip around our town and, using our digital camera, snapped some of the highlights of the area: the beach (of course), but also the island shops, the local animal sanctuary, the tropical birds in the estuaries, the raccoons in our back yard and the ocean sunsets.
What started out as just a gift for my father-in-law, ended up as a family project, each one of us giving our input for the favorite ‘spot’ to take a picture. By the end of our photo-shoot, we had way more than we needed, so we sat down and voted on what to include for the Digital Frame. We narrowed everything down so that the pictures told a ‘story’. With images of our son surfing and even added a few from when he was still a little boy.
By the end of our family journey, we finally had everything we wanted to include and loaded it on a USB, sending the entire package to him. My husband’s brother told us that when my father-in-law sat down and viewed everything, it was the first time in years that he saw tears in his eyes. This was, by far, the best ever, as both a gift and a way to bring us all together.
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Most people have a semblance of a routine, however it typically resembles more like a ‘triage’ in an emergency room than an established (yet flexible) mode of living. It may sound simplistic, but creating a calendar that includes everything that needs to be done, who is involved, times and dates is a visual way to establish clarity. In this way you can ‘see’ when there are conflicts in days and times and make the decision to change those to accommodate. Post the calendar in an available area so that all of the family can contribute the information that is needed.
Plan some down time: Sometimes this is easier said than done, but it is an absolute must. The down time can consist of separating you, your loved ones, your significant other or all of the above so that you are completely away from the environment that causes stress. It can be a country drive, a trip to the park or zoo or just a get-away.
Take yourself off the grid: This is easier for adults than the kids of today. Let everyone involved know that you will not be on the computer and you will have your phone turned off. Take a quick shopping trip, drive, your errands or tool around the house and don’t be involved in any of the technology communication.
Remove the stimulant stressors early and turn down the lights. If you eat or drink any of the caffeinated products, set a time early in the day to reduce or eliminate them. This will allow your body the time it needs to begin winding down. Pick a time in early evening to begin turning the lights down and instead, light candles. Reduced lighting gives your body the chance to prepare for the sleep cycle to come and you will find that you will have deeper and less interrupted sleep.
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