Welcome to my blog!
Hello,
My name is James and I currently live in North Idaho with my wife and 2 children. I retired from the Army in 2012 after 20 years of service and I am now a full time student at Kaplan University and I work at the local elementary school as a custodian in the evenings. I have really learned a lot over the past couple of years about taking care of my health, the mind-body connection, and how to achieve a sense of balance in my health and my life. My hobbies include snowboarding and hunting in the winter and motorcycles and fishing in the summer.
The experience I had with a Journey on Relaxation exercise turned out to be quite comical to me. I was getting ready to put on my headphones and listen to the exercise but decided to use the bathroom first. When I flushed I saw that the toilet was plugged so I knocked on my 12 year old daughter's bedroom door and asked if she clogged it. She told me she did clog the toilet so I told her I wanted her to get a plunger and unclog the toilet. She went downstairs and told my wife that she "couldn't" unclog a toilet and for whatever reason my wife decided to defend her decision and tell me that unclogging a toilet was something an adult should do and it would be demeaning to have a 12 year old girl do it. ....WHAT!...I grabbed the plunger from the bathroom and gave my almost teenage daughter a class on how to unclog a toilet and I will tell you that I was not pleased that I was the "bad guy" in this scenario for wanting my daughter to take responsibility for something that she messed up. I finally get back upstairs and close the bedroom door to listen to the Journey on Relaxation and I can feel my heart beating rapidly, my blood pressure was up, and all I can concentrate on is the fact that I became the bad guy because my daughter clogged the toilet. GRRRRRRR!!!! So I listened to the exercise and by the end of it I was nice and calm and had a good laugh about the fact that I was very upset because my daughter clogs toilets.
Hello James from Idaho again! Angie from Idaho again! :) Your post was hilarious! I can totally relate as I have a 16 year old son and a 5 year old daughter. My son basically just eats, sleeps and plays video games. So I can relate. Using this exercise really does help when we, (as parents) have to deal with teenagers!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you!
Angie H.
My daughter eats, sleeps and the rest of the time she is staring at her cell phone so I know how you feel. I did start her on a regular work schedule taking care of our chickens every day so that will hopefully build on a work ethic and sense of responsibility. I do have a feeling that dealing with my daughter is going to require a lot more than this exercise to keep me relaxed :-) She turned 13 yesterday and I think she is going to be a handful for the next 5 years...time will tell.
DeleteHi James,
ReplyDeleteI can understand how frustrating that must've been to be seen as the "bad guy" when you were just trying to teach her to take responsibility. I bet most young kids think the parents should still do everything. It seems like the meditation helped, I bet with all that blood rushing to your heart you really were able to think of it moving somewhere else. Would you do this meditation again or try other meditations?
Heather,
DeleteI think I would do this exercise again as it was pretty relaxing. The narrator seemed to fumble for the right words a few times like it was unscripted but he does a good job of putting you in a calm mood. I think any mind calming exercise is better than none at all.
That is so funny. I can relate, It seems like no matter what we plan, life has other plans. I was in a surgery waiting area with earbuds in listening to it,,, thinking about anything but relaxation. Now, I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open! Maybe we will have better luck next time!
ReplyDeleteOh no, listening to it waiting for surgery would not be the ideal environment. I hope everything is OK !
DeleteJames,
ReplyDeleteI just love the start of your blog. I also have a teenage daughter and am a single parent. I can remember not to long ago she did the same thing, but this went everywhere because it over-flowed. :) She also got a quick lesson with the plunger and of course the clean up. I have taught her how to do simple repairs and even a dryer belt and so on.
On the relaxation exercise, I just think I am too skeptical about many things like this. I know sometimes, certain things works for relaxation. I am just not a big fan of the whole meditation nor yoga experiences. I think I will have to train my mind to get the full effect of the exercises. Have you tried anything else to calm your nerves especially with a teenage daughter?
Donna
Donna,
DeleteI think it's great that you are teaching her those basic skills. I was in the Army for most of my girl's childhood and away a lot so most of those skills were taught to her by my wife or not ata ll. I think I have some catching up to do :-) Like you I am not a big Yoga fan as I find it to be uncomfortable and not relaxing at all. I do however love massage therapy and try to do that at least once or twice a week.