As I opened the paper today, I saw that a former co-worker's husband had died at the age of 62. Quickly you look to see if anyone else your age has passed and you realize that you are looking for friends and peers and realizing that life is quickly passing you by. We are the middle generation that takes care of parents and kids and they all may be home living with you. Or in my case, they are all living all over the world and have established themselves in the world and my parents are gone. I long for the days when you had neighbors and you talked at the clothes line and you shared your special ups and downs with each other. Now days, we are all running out the door to do our next thing. I feel that we (my husband and myself) live in two worlds, here and our place in the woods. We have casual friends from both and yet, the connections we used to have are not as strong as we are always divided by the two. We actually haven't taken a true vacation with just the two of us to breathe although we did have a vacation and I love it but Grandma's camp is alot of coordination and yes, work. We wouldn't change that for the world but yet we need a step out of our routine and take a non working vacation. I leave today for Harrisburg and get back on Wednesday. I will be attending the Pa Breast Cancer Coalition so I am hoping to bring more news and information. The drive down and back alone will give me plenty of time for reflection and the foliage should be beautiful. Is our world changing too rapidly before our eyes and is that what our parents thought too? I am trying to co-ordinate Thanksgiving to get our families together and already there are too many commitments and road blocks in the way and so this year may turn into something entirely different. I called my sister to check in when I got home yesterday and she said she would call me right back. Since I hadn't heard from her and it was now bedtime I called her to make sure she was ok. She said yes, she was just busy watching a movie and had started another one. Where have those connections gone and the priority? How many times have you gone to visit someone and they left the TV on the whole time you were there. Are we so inundated with the stimulus of everything around us that we don't know how to shut down. We watch tv and surf other channels on the breaks or we have the input from the top of the screen and the bottom of the screen scrolling words along and yet did we hear anything or read anything? When do we get back to making others more important and turn off the tv's, the cell's (especially at meals), and even church- yes I have seen people texting in church. No wonder we are struggling... we don't take care of ourselves and we don't take care of others including listening which is a big thing. TURN OFF the NOISE, as it is only NOISE and lets get back to listening...even the quiet has something to give us. I may drive the whole way to Harrisburg with my phone and radio. I let you know how that works. Making it a great day!S
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AuthorMy name is Sue Kilburn and I am a clinical nurse breast cancer educator at the Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Archives
March 2015
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