Take a Walk

I really enjoyed this article from NPR. I think that with everything we have going on (and I need to know this as well), we forget sometimes to step out and truly enjoy the amazing intricacy of the world around us. I did not grow up hiking, but once or twice a year, my dad would take us children to a small, electricity-free cabin in the woods, where we would go exploring and I loved seeing the different animals, terrain, and flora, and it was one of the best parts of my childhood. As an adult, I get nervous about things like deer ticks and black bears, but I need to put on my bug spray and sunscreen, don my big girl pants and sturdy running shoes (just in case), and head out into the wild!

Nature as a Rejuvenator

How quickly time flies! The challenges of moving (yet again, and, I hope, the last for a while) and learning a new job have been fully occupying my time. I am a person who takes a while to adjust to a new setting, and I know that it's important for me to spend time quiet and not engaged with others. I found myself spending much of my time curled up on my couch watching television, until a revelation -- occupying myself in such a way was filling up my free time, but was not really giving me a chance to truly recuperate.

So I started making a point of taking a time a few days a week to disengage from electronic stimulation - television, phone, and music - and step out (usually onto my screened porch, which looks out out on a stream, trees, and a number of birds, but keeps me bug-free) and listen to the breeze in the trees and the birds singing while just relaxing or reading. I have to admit, making time to do this makes me so much more at peace for days.

I also quickly realized that my life had been missing the comfort that comes from having plants around, so I went out one weekend and POOF:

My apartment felt infinitely more like home. I'm planning on starting on vermicomposting soon for all of my produce scraps, and when I do, I'll let you know.

I've begun working as a pediatric occupational therapist - a longtime dream finally come to fruition. I work at an outpatient clinic and have been starting to incorporate some more natural activities into my treatment sessions to practice what I preach -- it should not be too difficult, I have an endless list of activities! I do have a client that I have made responsible for caring for the few plants currently in the clinic; it has given him the opportunity to be responsible and also to share his unending knowledge of plants, to be successful in ways that he hasn't acheived in other areas of his life. The plants were on their last legs before we stepped in, and they seem to be thriving now!

So, just adding a little bit more nature to your life can make a big difference for yourself or your clients -- buy some plants, have a few therapy sessions outside, or just take some time away from the noise and of modern life (I say as I type on my computer, sorry!).

Winter Wonderland

 I realized, in the midst of chaos that my life has been the past two months that I never actually posted about my article (which was the original basis for this blog) being published! It is available digitally here: Into the Wild: Using Nature in Occupational Therapy Practice. Seeing my name in print was definitely one of my biggest thrills. I hope you enjoy the article as well.

If snow was a person, it would be my arch-nemesis. It started in the days when I would have to daily scrape off my car in the dark so I could drive the icy roads to my high school and worsened when I started at a big university that made it necessary to tramp what seemed like miles from my dorm to my classes through the knee-high piles. I've spent much of the time since then trying to escape from places where snow is a common occurrence. Since I've spent most of the past two months in my home state of Michigan, I've actually been quite fortunate in the snow and cold department. I think that this week (one of my last few here, before the next big adventure), my fortune is about to change, which is alright, since it is winter in the north.

Winter brings a lot of different aspects for different populations. For children, snow is yet another great sensory activity. It also provides options for heavy work with shoveling and rolling large snowballs to make snowpeople. For older adults, there's greater risk of falling with icy sidewalks and injury with trying to shovel snowy sidewalks. Winter can be risky venture for children too: sledding and skiing can definitely venture into "extreme sport" territory. So, as you venture forth in this winter weather, be sure to pay attention to slippery weather and dangerous situations. And take advantage of the time for fun in the cold and try to avoid the temptation to put rocks in the center of your snowballs!

If you're not one to venture out into the cold, there are a number of picture books that cover winter, too. And they're some of my favorites: like Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, The Mitten by Jan Brett, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, and Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. What are some of your favorite winter weather books?