Paula is very helpful and has proven so time and time again. We share this in common. Sometimes, however, there are areas where we differ and it's so nice to have that aspect to balance me out. For example, I have this tendency to work a lot. Crazy how that happens when you love what you do! I spend a lot of time writing, reading, researching, stretching and pushing myself as I hit my goals. Then Paula jumps out and helps loosen the situation and reminds me to chill out once in a while. She is obviously still a very playful child.
And as helpful as Paula is, she likes to help others with this balance as well. I was attempting to visit a few friends and randomly stopped by Rachel, Carly and Rachael's apartment. However, Rachael was the only one home when I stopped by. Upon asking where her roommates were, she responded they were still at work. Carly has this tendency to work late, then sometimes stay there to get some homework done. Playful Paula had to voice her opinion and after ranting for a bit (I'm assuming she was upset about the loss of playtime with Carly), she yelled an emphatic, "UGH!"
Apparently, we don't let silly things like responsibilities get in the way of her playtime. So very inconsiderate of us...
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Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Sometimes I wish I was a little bit faster with catching on to hints. I think Paula has been trying to send one to me for the past week, but it just now clicked. She is incredibly smart and maybe I just don't give her enough credit. For the past week, the tic I have had most often has been this gasping sound. Sometimes repeatedly, taking away my breath and I have to take a minute or two to get back to normal after she does it. It's not a new tic by any means. I have stories from 2015 where I was doing this particular tic.
Do you ever have two completely different areas of your life suddenly connect? So for the completely separate area of my life, I'm training for this 5k, right? I've been hitting this plateau and today sent a message to a friend for advice to help me move forward. So here is my problem: I cannot breathe when I run. I don't know if I'm just being impatient wanting to be able to do it without having put in the time or if there is some kind of trick to it.
So apparently Paula knows my body and is better at listenting to what I need than I am, which isn't surprising. I'm going to be paying more attention to her and this is just another reason to love having Tourette Syndrome all the more. It's a great gauge for what is going on with my body when I get distracted.
Guess I better get this breathing thing figured out.
Do you ever have two completely different areas of your life suddenly connect? So for the completely separate area of my life, I'm training for this 5k, right? I've been hitting this plateau and today sent a message to a friend for advice to help me move forward. So here is my problem: I cannot breathe when I run. I don't know if I'm just being impatient wanting to be able to do it without having put in the time or if there is some kind of trick to it.
So apparently Paula knows my body and is better at listenting to what I need than I am, which isn't surprising. I'm going to be paying more attention to her and this is just another reason to love having Tourette Syndrome all the more. It's a great gauge for what is going on with my body when I get distracted.
Guess I better get this breathing thing figured out.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Tics are often changing, with new ones popping up every once in a while, some disappearing, only to resurface months or even years later? Apparently, Paula is into change right about now. Not only do I have a new tic, but I also brought back my original tic. When I first started making noises, I had these adorable little squeaks. They sounded like I stepped on a squeaky toy or an adorable version of a hiccup. This is great because the people I spend a lot of time with haven't really heard this. It is adorable to watch them get excited about a "new" tic when I don't have any reaction, because, well, it's not new.
It does, however, take me down memory lane when things first started. I knew so little about Tourette Syndrome and I wasn't even diagnosed until several years later. It's these little noises that shaped how I view my TS and how I can have such a good attitude about them, despite the constant changes, the occasional pain, and frustration that comes with it. I'm still a fan, despite all the things. Maybe that's why most of the new tics tend to be so awesome.
Take for example my tic of the week. It popped out of nowhere, so there is no context or echoing of any kind. Usually, that's what makes Paula so funny, but I think in this case, the absence of context made it all the better. In fact, the office was completely silent until Paula jumped up and started the first couple of seconds of the Mario Brothers theme song. At which point, the marketing and tech departments literally started a chorus continuing the song. With parts.
Paula sure brings out the best in people.
It does, however, take me down memory lane when things first started. I knew so little about Tourette Syndrome and I wasn't even diagnosed until several years later. It's these little noises that shaped how I view my TS and how I can have such a good attitude about them, despite the constant changes, the occasional pain, and frustration that comes with it. I'm still a fan, despite all the things. Maybe that's why most of the new tics tend to be so awesome.
Take for example my tic of the week. It popped out of nowhere, so there is no context or echoing of any kind. Usually, that's what makes Paula so funny, but I think in this case, the absence of context made it all the better. In fact, the office was completely silent until Paula jumped up and started the first couple of seconds of the Mario Brothers theme song. At which point, the marketing and tech departments literally started a chorus continuing the song. With parts.
Paula sure brings out the best in people.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Don't you just love when things start to all just come together at the same time? Spring is a time of growth and rebirth and I have been reading Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. Her research is all about vulnerability, which is a hard and scary topic. No one wants to be vulnerable. However, it seems the best results are always on the other side of it.
I have this habit of reading while I go for walks, I've been doing it since I learned to read in the first place. The past month on my walks while reading this book, I have also watched the tulips come out for the spring season. They are beautiful flowers. More than that, they were a perfect example of the things I had been reading about in Daring Greatly.
These flowers have zero protection. They are simply a stem and a few petals and are considered a very fragile flower. Yet they are among the first flowers to bloom after winter; when temperatures are still rising, when snow still occasionally threatens to fall, and before most flowers are willing to make an appearance the tulips still come. Not only that, but they survive and give us hope that growth and warmth are on the way.
These flowers with so little to protect them are incredibly vulnerable, but they still grow anyways. It's a big risk, given how little protection they have and the still shaky circumstances that may come with the season. For such a weak flower, they are actually incredibly strong and resilient. They are, in a way, a very trusting flower. They have no thorns, they have one or two leaves, and a few petals to protect the core of the flower. They are almost completely exposed.
Do I do that in my life? Am I trusting and open and vulnerable? Based on past experience, I shouldn't be. I've been hurt, just like everyone has. We all have reasons to put up walls and thorns and protection, especially in a world that is constantly rotating through good times and bad. We get high temperatures, then a snow storm.
I am no botanist by any means, but I wonder if the reason tulips can survive the volatile temperatures of spring is because it has less to protect. I'm seeing a parallel in my life at least. The simplicity of this flower is what I want in my life. I want to strip away the excess so I don't have to stress about it and can focus on the most important things in life. Becuase really, what more does a flower need? A leaf or two, a stem, a few petals.
There is beauty in its simplicity and vulnerability. While each type of flower has it's own unique beauty and symbolism, tulips have really touched me as of late. It's like the Universe is conspiring to get me to learn a lesson or something by putting so many of these in place at the same time I'm reading about vulnerability.
And since I can't really speak about anything without it somehow connecting back to my TS, I feel the need to mention how much Paula has helped me to become more vulnerable. For a kid that was ridiculously shy and quiet growing up and suddenly was center of attention a lot more than I wanted, I had to learn to open up. I had to talk to others. I learned to trust and love others.
Paula takes me out on a limb often. I have to talk to new people, I get put in situations most people try to avoid. Sometimes she pops up in the most awkward of places. but through all of those experiences, she has made what is hard and vulnerable for some into something I have become quite adept at. Vulnerability can lead to strength if we let it and if we use it right.
Aren't tulips just beautiful?
I have this habit of reading while I go for walks, I've been doing it since I learned to read in the first place. The past month on my walks while reading this book, I have also watched the tulips come out for the spring season. They are beautiful flowers. More than that, they were a perfect example of the things I had been reading about in Daring Greatly.
These flowers have zero protection. They are simply a stem and a few petals and are considered a very fragile flower. Yet they are among the first flowers to bloom after winter; when temperatures are still rising, when snow still occasionally threatens to fall, and before most flowers are willing to make an appearance the tulips still come. Not only that, but they survive and give us hope that growth and warmth are on the way.
These flowers with so little to protect them are incredibly vulnerable, but they still grow anyways. It's a big risk, given how little protection they have and the still shaky circumstances that may come with the season. For such a weak flower, they are actually incredibly strong and resilient. They are, in a way, a very trusting flower. They have no thorns, they have one or two leaves, and a few petals to protect the core of the flower. They are almost completely exposed.
Do I do that in my life? Am I trusting and open and vulnerable? Based on past experience, I shouldn't be. I've been hurt, just like everyone has. We all have reasons to put up walls and thorns and protection, especially in a world that is constantly rotating through good times and bad. We get high temperatures, then a snow storm.
I am no botanist by any means, but I wonder if the reason tulips can survive the volatile temperatures of spring is because it has less to protect. I'm seeing a parallel in my life at least. The simplicity of this flower is what I want in my life. I want to strip away the excess so I don't have to stress about it and can focus on the most important things in life. Becuase really, what more does a flower need? A leaf or two, a stem, a few petals.
There is beauty in its simplicity and vulnerability. While each type of flower has it's own unique beauty and symbolism, tulips have really touched me as of late. It's like the Universe is conspiring to get me to learn a lesson or something by putting so many of these in place at the same time I'm reading about vulnerability.
And since I can't really speak about anything without it somehow connecting back to my TS, I feel the need to mention how much Paula has helped me to become more vulnerable. For a kid that was ridiculously shy and quiet growing up and suddenly was center of attention a lot more than I wanted, I had to learn to open up. I had to talk to others. I learned to trust and love others.
Paula takes me out on a limb often. I have to talk to new people, I get put in situations most people try to avoid. Sometimes she pops up in the most awkward of places. but through all of those experiences, she has made what is hard and vulnerable for some into something I have become quite adept at. Vulnerability can lead to strength if we let it and if we use it right.
Aren't tulips just beautiful?
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| Photo by Ivan Gromov on Unsplash |
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