I seem to be in a constant state of surprise, at this point in my blogging journey, about things I haven’t done so far. For example, I have yet to write a post with the word “Breathing” (or variations thereof, like “breath” or “breathe”) in the title.
Well, let’s fix that, right now, with some righteous randomness!
Warning: this post is likely to be even more random than my usual random writings, since I SHOULD be preparing for my trip to Panama tomorrow. So I’m a little distracted, right now.
But if I let go of the SHOULD in the previous paragraph, I can focus enough on the task at hand, which is:
Random Thoughts About Breathing
When you have a cold (as I do, right now), breathing is affected.
I just searched on “breathing common cold,” and found this image:
(this image lives here, a site that has some interesting info about colds, which affected my breakfast choices this morning)
…. and this quote, from MedLinePlus (from the U.S. National Library of Medicine1):
Common cold
The common cold usually causes a runny nose, nasal congestion, and sneezing. You may also have a sore throat, cough, headache, or other symptoms.
Causes
It is called the “common cold” for good reason. There are over one billion colds in the United States each year. You and your children will probably have more colds than any other type of illness.
Colds are the most common reason that children miss school and parents miss work. Parents often get colds from their children.
That quote caught my eye because my soon-to-be-16-year-old son had this cold first, and the evidence is that I DID catch my cold from him.
My son missed a day of school, last week, because of this cold.
This morning, as I was thinking about possible post topics for today, my son came into Blogging Central2 to say goodbye, before he left for school. We chatted a little, but mostly we made a variety of noises and expressions, indicating that neither of us was exactly bursting with enthusiasm for the (Mon)day ahead.
I said to him, “Remember to breathe.” (I said that partly because I was already playing with the idea of this Post Topic Du Jour, in my head.3)
Perhaps because the clock indicated that he had to leave then (or be late for school), my son replied, “I don’t have TIME to breathe.”
I said, “Yes, you do. You can actually breathe on the walk to school, too.”
Which leads me to another random point, about breathing:
Isn’t it weird that we need to remind ourselves — and others — to breathe? Isn’t that something we were born knowing how to do?
As a therapist, I always feel a little strange reminding somebody to breathe, although I know that’s often helpful. I wouldn’t be surprised, if some day, somebody says to me (with anger, annoyance, feeling misunderstood, or hurt feelings):
I KNOW how to BREATHE, Ann. I’m not stupid, you know.
That doesn’t stop me from saying “Breathe,” though, just as it didn’t stop me with my son, this morning. Because I know the reminder can help.
Last week, where I work, somebody who had done a fine, brief piece of therapy was saying “Goodbye.” This person chose to end therapy by talking about different things she noticed in my office, including a post-it note, very much like this one:
… although the post-it note in my office is (a) not quite as colorful and (b) in a more subtle location.
By the way, that photo, above, first appeared in my Christmas Eve, 2013 post, titled Day 358: Pressure. Pressure makes it difficult to breathe.
Also, concerns about doing a good-enough post, especially on a day when you SHOULD be preparing for a big trip tomorrow, can affect your breathing, too.
So what’s the best cure for that, right now?
Why, ending this post, letting go of anything that might get in the way of my moving on to next steps.
Okay!
Thanks to everybody, everywhere, who is able to read and breathe at the same time — including you, of course.
1 Maybe I’ll visit The U.S. National Library of Medicine on a future vacation. Or maybe not.
2 Blogging Central = The Kitchen
3 Among the random thoughts I was having and could have included in this post: (a) how Shortness of Breath, in medical records, is abbreviated to SOB, (b) how anxiety/fear/worry can affect breathing, (c) how I’ve been a little worried about how I’m going to blog and post photos while I’m away in Panama, and (d) there were other thoughts I had, for sure, but I can’t access them right now, and … it’s Post Closing Time!