Month: June 2011

Good Advice

Posted on by Eraina Ferguson
I get lots of advice. No matter the venue or mode of communication, people tend to give me unsolicited advice because of my situation. Though most of it is well intended and some of it even useful, there are those rare occasions where I get great advice. That was the case today. I posted on FB that today was my first day alone without Taylor in three months. I appreciated the well wishes and the positive tone from friends because most see the struggle first hand. The best advice I received on the thread was from a highschool friend that I haven’t spoken to in years (accept via FB).
We share some of the same struggles as single parents and a love for lifelong learning. She told me to breathe slowly. It was the best advice I have gotten in a long time. I have experienced two anxiety attacks in my life, ironically during times that I was not particularly stressed. The most painstaking aspect of such an attack is the realization that you cannot control your breathing. You are breathing very fast and your heart rate is accelerating. Breathing is so important and therefore today more than any day I focused on my breathing. In doing so, I was able to take in each moment rather than running anxiety about my day. The day actually went by slower and I was able to tap into other senses as well. I smelled the water from our local fountain more vividly and I felt the wind cross my path and move with me as I walked. Most importantly I was able to walk around and notice my environment. I sat still throughout the day at different moments just so I could breathe slowly. Thanks Keli!

Good Advice + Good People= a good life
Breath is Spirit. The act of breathing is Living. ~ Author unknown
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Good Memories

Posted on by Eraina Ferguson

My dad is pretty awesome. He is one of those people you like almost immediately because his personality draws you in, making you feel significant even if you are merely a stranger. He has a great sense of humor and a cool confident swag. I am honored to be his daughter. We have always had a good relationship and if there was an issue it is mostly because we are so much alike. My favorite quality that I received from him was the ability to affirm people with positive words, reminding them how important they are, highlighting their strengths rather than their weaknesses. He has always been very positive, saying just right things to help me maintain a healthy level of confidence. I always love hanging out with my dad, and as a teenager we would spend the weekends together at least twice a month. Though my parents were divorced, they always maintained a friendship which made it even easier for us to maintain a good relationship.

My most vivid memories are of us spending weekends together. He would pick me up on a Friday evening in his short body Cadillac (a Chicago thing), and we would head out to his place for dinner. Since I am the youngest, I spent more time with my dad than my other siblings which made are bond even more unique. Since he was not much of a cook he would make sloppy joes or pork chops which he mastered by the time I was a teenager. We would stay up for a bit chatting about what happened at school that week. When he went to bed I would raid my stepmother’s library for her latest novel and attempt to devour it before the night was over. On Saturday mornings he would make a great breakfast (his specialty) before we embarked on a shopping trip. Sunday we would always go to grandma’s house which was always a great time. We would spend at least nine or ten hours there but somehow it only felt like only three hours. I would be a bit sad when he dropped me off, missing him before the Cadillac could even round the corner and eagerly expecting the same fun weekend two weeks later. He is an amazing guy and love my daddy more than words can express. Despite the complexities that exist in parent/child relationships, I know based on those memories that we have a bond that will never be broken.
I am grateful for those memories that sustain me since I moved away from home almost eight years ago. Memory is that part of the brain that can sustain you and give you strength reminding you of those good times, when things were easy and simply.
good memories + good family= a good life
Happy Father’s Day Daddy!
I love my father as the stars-he is a bright shining example and a twinkling in my heart ~

Terri Guillemets