Reason No. 22: Comedy Clubs
Here in L.A. we're swamped with comedy clubs. I don't know how popular they are across the country, but if you have one in your town you should go. Lupies need to laugh. We need to laugh a lot. Also, no one in L.A. ever admits to going to a comedy club, but the places are always packed. Laughter is definitely the best medicine. Going to a comedy club and laughing most of the night makes it easier to get out of bed in the morning.
Reason No. 21: Cycling
I recently received an e-mail from Geoff Thomas. He's an Aussie Lupie who is cycling across the U.S. He should be done with his "lap" by the end of the month. He has certainly been an inspiration. Let's say we support his efforts, get out of bed and cycle ourselves into a lupie day!
Reason No. 20: Magazines
I love magazines. I see magazines as tiny pieces of the person I want to be. No matter what your interest, there's a magazine out there for it. In Working Mother Magazine, I found out about Dividend Reinvestment Plans several years ago, and now I own well over two hundred shares of Disney. Prevention magazine had simple exercises that have helped tone my belly, and Working Mother helped me find a job with job search tips. What do you want to do today? Don't know. Get out of bed, go to a magazine stand and look at magazines for ideas. Have a lupie day!
Reason No. 19: Peaches
When I was a teenager, we lived on a farm, and we had a modest set of peach trees. We weren't allowed to touch a single peach until August. My brothers were greedy and inevitably ate the peaches green, but I always waited until August, and it was always worth the wait.
If you live in Wilcox, Arizona, peaches are an excellent reason to get out of bed because Apple Annie's Orchard is holding its 2007 Peach Mania Festival where you can pick your own peaches. There's also a special "All You Can Eat" Pancake breakfast with peaches. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charities, one of them the local lupus chapter. The festival runs every weekend until August 19th.
If you don't live in Wilcox, Arizona, hold your own Peach Mania Festival. Peaches are great toppers to yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, pancakes, etc., so get out of bed and have yourself a peachy lupie day!
Reason No. 18: Golf
I would normally shy away from activities that involve sun, but Salimah Mussani, the 2007 Canadian PGA Women's Golf Champion has me feeling a bit inspired today. She's a lupie and she plays golf with an umbrella. I must confess that I've never actually played a true round of golf, but I love miniature golf. So there you go. A good reason to get out of bed, so lather on the sunscreen, grab a friend to hold your umbrella while you putt, and have a lupie day!
Reason No. 17: Swimming
I went swimming myself yesterday. I thought it would be a great idea to use my apartment building pool in the early evening when the sun was behind the building. It was nice exercise. I always swim on my back because I have a problem holding my breath. Now, it's your turn. Find yourself a nice indoor pool, or swim in the morning or evening. Have a lupie time!
Reason No. 16: Poetry
Many of my friends may be wondering why it took me so long to get to this one. Poetry is actually one of my personal top ten reasons to get up in the morning. One of my favorite activities to do is what I call writing poetry for the trees. This one requires a few supplies: scissors, sturdy string, hole punch, small brown paper bags, a journal, and a marker. Find a nice place with trees, like a park or public garden. Pack yourself a nice snack and a comfortable seat, and sit in the garden and observe the things around you for inspiration. Write short poems or haikus about your surroundings. Once you have a few, transcribe them on the paper bags, punch two holes at the top, attach string, and tie them to the trees. I never sign my little poems for the trees, but I do draw a little butterfly on the bottom as a sort of signature. If poetry isn't your thing, you can draw little pictures for your trees. Whatever it takes to get you inspired and out of bed.
Reason No. 15 Jigsaw Puzzles
I know that these can be done in bed, but why not get up and find a nice big table to spread out your cool jigsaw puzzle? Find the perfect puzzle at Bitsandpieces.com
Reason No. 14: Birds
My son loves birds. When he was little, he used to drive me nuts with bird watching. "Mom, what kind of bird is that? It looks like an eagle, but maybe it's a turkey vulture. What do you think" I think I can't tell a hawk from a chicken, but birds are pretty at times. Because of this, I bought him a book on the many types of birds, and he spent many giddy days looking up birds in those books and matching what he saw with the pictures. If birdwatching sounds like it could be your thing, get up and go find some birds. If not, feeding birds seems to be a thing people love to do. Around here, we have ducks that people love to feed. Just make sure the food is bird friendly!
Reason No. 13: Berries
Berries are wonderful. They're healthy. Depending upon where you read, you can likely find that berries can do everything from fight cancer to take over the world. Me, I just think they're yummy. I love them all. I once ate at this restaurant that served blackberry stew. Delicious! So if you feel only mildly adventurous, get up, go to the store, and buy yourself a container of berries. My daughter loves mixing her berries with yogurt or whipped cream. If you're feeling very adventurous, go out and pick your own berries. As I always warn, be mindful of the sun. If you don't know where you can pick berries in your area, here's a web site that lists U-Pick farms all over the country. Pick Your Own
Reason No. 12: Yoga
First, ask your doctor if yoga is okay. Now that I've gotten that out of the way. I love yoga. It helps me to stretch those achy parts of my body that are hard to warm up in the morning. It's a great way to get out of bed and start your day.
Reason No. 11: Fresh Cut Grass
I'm not saying you should mow the lawn. That's just too lupie unfriendly. I'm thinking about that point after the lawn is mown, and you can walk barefoot in it and squish your toes. I haven't had a lawn myself in years, so I have to squish my toes at the park. Wherever you have a lawn, go to it. Get out of bed and find some grass to squish your toes into.
Reason No. 10: The Post Office
I know. I know. You're probably thinking, "The post office! Is she nuts!" Well, yeah, I am, but the post office is a great place to go to connect you with the rest of the world. For 41 cents and the cost of a few sheets of paper, you can connect with anyone in the country. I'm sure there's someone in this big wide world who would love to see a letter from you. Also, there are the most interesting stamps at the post office. Little works of art in and of themselves. Pull out some stationery, write a letter, and go to the post office and buy the most interesting stamp you can find to mail your letter. My favorite stamps are the settlement of Jamestown stamps, but the lighthouse stamps look nice too.
Reason No. 9: Fireworks
It's the 4th of July! Tons of reasons to get out of bed. Fireworks, hot dogs, parades, the Twilight Zone Marathon. A fireworks show is the perfect lupus activity. No sun. If you do go out into the sun, make sure to wear sunscreen, avoid the mid-day sun, and have a great day!
Reason No. 8: The Mall
My friend Adina loves shopping. Me, I can take it or leave it, but the mall is a great place to go if you want to get out. In most cases, it's indoors, so you don't have to worry about the sun. There are lots of people around, so you don't feel isolated like you can feel when you're cooped up in your house. It's also a great place to find a smoothie.
Reason No. 7: Exercise
Okay, this one isn't my most inspiring reason to get out of bed, but according every doctor I see, it's important. It's hard to notice the effects of exercise until you do it for a while. When I get on a good exercise schedule, I can see the difference in my muscle tone and body shape. When I don't exercise, I look like I'm carrying a beach ball in my belly, and people ask me if I'm pregnant. If I were being truly honest about reason seven, I'd say, "So people don't think I'm pregnant."
Reason No. 6: Baseball
There's nothing in the world like going to a baseball game. I love to go and eat food that I shouldn't eat, play beach ball in the stands, and yell insults at the umpires and players on the other team. Because of my sun sensitivity, I usually try to go to a night game or find seats in the shade. Also, bring cushions for the seats. If the seats still aren't comfortable, you can request a space reserved for wheelchairs and bring your own comfy chair. (Note: I'm not saying you should use the wheelchair spaces for your comfort, but if your pain is truly debilitating and you wouldn't be able to go to the event without a better seat, you should use the space.) If you can't make it to a major league game, check out the minor league teams. Many of them use future major league stars or major league players recovering from injuries. If that doesn't work, go to a little league game. The younger the league the better. If you haven't seen a little kid sitting in outfield cross-legged picking his nose as a pop fly goes over his head, you haven't seen anything. If all else fails, grab up some peanuts, call up some friends and watch the game at home. As long as it gets you out of bed!
Reason No. 5: Hot Baths
Having lupus doesn't mean just having one or two symptoms. Usually, you're managing more than a handful of symptoms and many of them painful. If you suffer from fibromyalgia with your lupus, waking up with achy muscles and joints is likely a common occurrence for you. When I wake up in pain, I long to warm up my joints with a warm shower or bath. On Saturdays when I wake up, all I can think of is getting into the tub. Can you imagine it now? The water soothing your aching joints? Your muscles relaxing as you slide into the tub? Good. Get out of bed and take a bath.
Reason No. 4: Flowers
If you read my blog then you already know that my husband bought me flowers the other night. Yesterday, when I woke up, he said, "Get up. I have something for you on the table." I got up to a big beautiful bouquet of flowers. That really brightened my mood. Sometimes, at work, I'll take a break and walk around the block. I'll see bushes with lots of little flowers on them, and I'll pick a little flower and take it back to work with me and lay it on my desk for the day. On other days, I'll be at the grocery store, and I'll buy one of those little flowery plants. Once I was in line at the grocery store with a flowery plant and a woman said, "I would buy one of those but I'd likely kill it." Odds are, I will too, but I figure that the little plant is cheaper than a ticket to the movies and the plant will last longer than a movie, so I'm ahead.
Reason No. 3: Music
No matter how bad I feel in the morning, if I hear really kickin' music, I'm going to want to get up and dance, and sometimes I actually do, so turn on the music, get out of bed, and dance, and I don't mean some depressing country music. Play something that makes you want to move, like Missy Elliott's "Lose Control" or James Brown's "I Feel Good". Just make sure it gets you out of bed.
Reason No. 2: Kids
Okay. I realize that not everyone has kids, and you're probably wondering why I put my kids at number 2 behind hot cocoa, but I really need that hot cocoa in the morning. Anyway, number 2 isn't too bad. Also, I really do love kids, all kids. Not just mine. I often feel I wouldn't have a reason to get up in the morning without them.
That said, if you don't have your own kids to get up for in the morning, get up for someone else's. I used to go to the Y and volunteer to read for the preschoolers. I'm also a volunteer at a camp for at-risk teen girls. Children are beautiful, fragile creatures who need lots of care and love, so get up for them.
Reason No. 1: Hot Cocoa
According to Science Daily, hot cocoa contains more antioxidants than either tea or red wine. These chemicals help fight cancer, heart disease and aging. So get out of bed and make yourself a cup because not only is it delicious, it's healthy!
