January 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

What's New at Guardian Nurses?

Choose Joy!

What's New at
Guardian Nurses

You Made These Smiles Possible!

Our annual Toy Giving Extravaganza happened again on December 23rd at The Willard School. Kindergartners entered the auditorium to see a stage filled with toys--all for them! And thanks to your support of Guardian Nurses, you helped make their smiles happen!

Ladies first

So many toys to choose from!

Someone's happy with her selection.

You can never have enough toy soldiers!

That's What We're Here For!

On occasion, our patients write to express how grateful they are for our help. This past week, we got this email:

"Alison, you have no idea how much of a help this is... I can't begin to thank you enough. I am utterly impressed with the quality of service you have provided. You have saved me and my family thousands of dollars which we don't have."

For me, there's nothing quite like being sidelined with bronchitis right after New Year's to make you realize just how much better it feels to be healthy!

And though I do not officially make New Year's resolutions, this past week, in between frequent and sustained periods of coughing, I did spend some time reflecting on the previous twelve months. What worked, what didn't work, what would I like to change, all questions up for more musing. And I also thought about the coming year and about what I'd like to accomplish--again both personally and professionally.

Rest assured, giving my recent blur of pharmacological intervention, staying healthy is on top of the list! But along with that lofty goal, I am also going to strive (not resolve, strive) to choose joy. Obviously that means different things to different people, but even through sinuses and lungs clouded by an infection, I think I can figure it out.

This month's issue of The Flame encourages you to choose joy. I hope you can take that in as you begin your new year.

Best Wishes for a Happy AND

HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!

Betty

Betty Long, RN, MHA

President/CEO

Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates

Choose Joy

It won't take long. Look around. We are surrounded by cultures and environments whose message---day after day, week after week----is that you are not good enough. If you could just be smarter, prettier, thinner, funnier, your life would be happier, more fulfilled, better. Ah yes, as if it was THAT simple!

But, some of us realize that no matter what, it's not what is on the outside that counts. (One more example of mom being right...). Give some thought and energy to what's on the inside.

As we start another year, thinking about what we'd like to be different, consider trying a new habit. Consider choosing joy. After all, what's the alternative? Studies show that it can take 60 days to 'learn a new habit,' so what are you waiting for?

Be content with who you are. Read that again. Be content with who you are. This is not to be confused with complacent, as there is always room for becoming a better you. But work instead to do just that...become a better YOU. Do NOT strive to be someone else. (One of my favorite quotes is from Oscar Wilde: "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken").

Quit comparing yourself to others. Try not to allow someone else's life or achievements to minimize the significance of yours. The only person in control of that is you and, as Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." Don't steal your own joy.

Feed and support the relationships that bring you happiness, that support you and love you, and walk away from the ones that don't.

Remember the serenity prayer? "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." Let go of the things you cannot control.

If you are a parent, stop punishing yourself for the times you "fail" at parenting. Friends will occasionally share with me that there are days that they've yelled, or that they've allowed their kids to watch television for 4 hours straight. Or maybe it's that they've spent too much time on their computer while their kids were home. Take those days for what they are, accept that these days happen. Focus on the other days----the days when you have a bunch of 'wins.' The days when you make dinner and play at the park and read bedtime stories. And regardless of which kind of parenting day you have, know that each night you'll probably be tucking your kids into bed with a kiss and a hug and they will have no question as to how immeasurably they are loved.

Be mindful of your health and your body and PLEASE, stop worrying so much about what society says your "outer self" should look like. Be okay with the fact that you may no longer be the size that you were in high school. Those days are behind you.

Finally, consider spending more time working toward becoming an extraordinary person in what most would consider an ordinary body rather than the other way around!

Remember that striving to choose joy is a journey.
It doesn't happen in a week. Check in with yourself in another 60 days and see how you're doing with your new habit.

Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates
215-836-0260 | Toll Free 888-836-0260 | info@guardiannurses.com | GuardianNurses.com