Writings by Diane

Last week my son was so upset with the local meteorologists. They had foretold that a couple of weeks ago there could possibly be a snow storm that would mean schools would be closed in the Treasure Valley. The snow storm did arrive on Wednesday morning, but the timing was off. They had predicted the snow would arrive extremely early morning. Even though it was “storming chainsaws” (my son’s creative description of the 5 inches of snow that piled up in a matter of a couple of hours) a snow day wasn’t declared since it didn’t start until AFTER the kids were in school. When he came home that day, he asked quite indignantly why bother listening to the weather reports?  I rarely watched the weather reports until we moved to Idaho. When we lived in Las Vegas, it was either hot or cold. We only changed our windshield wipers when the sun dried them out to shreds. Here in Idaho, there is actual change in seasons. To be prepared, I started watching the weather reports religiously....

Have you read a book that affected you? I remember a few years back a co-worker had this glossy book at her desk. I looked at its cover, which I found curious. It depicted a calming beach scene with a shark fin prominently in the ocean distance. The novelty of this book was it contained sayings that at first appear positive, for instance “If at first you don’t succeed…” and end it with negative words “…don’t waste your energy trying again.” As I flipped through the pages, I found the sayings amusing, clever and stinging. She let me borrow it so I could read it cover to cover. When I took it home and read a few pages, I began to feel an emotionally heaviness fall upon me. Generally speaking, I see myself as an optimist—I try not to let too many things get me down. However,  after reading a few pages of this book, a dark cloud of depression loomed over me. I decided to quit reading the book—it wasn’t like I was under any obligation to finish it! The very next day, I gla...

A couple of weeks ago, I threw my back out. The sad part is, I wasn't doing something very strenuous. It happened when I was putting my socks on. To put this in perspective and save myself embarrassment,  I’ve always had lower back troubles my adult life. A few years ago, I decided to do something about it, and I went into physical therapy. I was given therapeutic exercises to strengthen my core. For a while, I was religious about taking a few minutes a day to perform them. Silly me, I forgot the reason I was feeling so good was completely due to these daily exercises!  Then, over the holidays, my body rebelled and my back locked up, painfully reminding me what I did wrong.  It’s terrible when your body won’t respond and in constant pain. These past two weeks, I’ve had to completely modify my usual routine in order to heal. Even a simple task like getting a glass of water was a torturous ordeal. It’s times like these when you really appreciate your family. My h...