Thursday, March 29, 2018

Holy Week & Communion

For our family and Christians all over, this is Holy Week.  This week commemorates the last week on Earth for our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I have been a Christian for lots of years.  I actually can't remember not walking with Jesus.  I also can't remember not being upset during Holy Week. It's absolutely gut wrenching for me.  The frustration with disciples who didn't get it.  The agony of betrayal.  The humiliation of the accusations.  The pain of the cross. 

All for me.  All for you.

Let that sink in.  You weren't even a thought.  Neither were a long line of your ancestors.  Yet, God desired a personal relationship with you. He wanted you to have a way to be with Him in Heaven.  Wow!

I'd like to think I wouldn't have denied Jesus like Peter or betrayed Jesus like Judas but who knows.  I'm sure I've denied Jesus at some point in my life.  My actions at times have certainly betrayed the fact that He's my Savior and He's called me to love. 

There is a part of the week I know for sure I'd be guilty of...

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Matthew 26:40-46 ESV

Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and he's asked the disciples stay awake and they can't do it.  I'm such a sleeper, I know I would have messed this up too.

Earlier in Matthew 26, Jesus institutes the LORD'S Supper or Communion.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.” Matthew 26:26-29 ESV

Our church is hosting a Communion tonight on Facebook Live at 8 pm EST.  I would love to have you join our celebration. Communion is a time for Christians to remember what Christ did for us on the cross.  Even if you're not a Christian, I'd love for you to listen in and learn more about my magnificent Savior.

If you have any questions about Jesus, Easter, Christianity, Salvation or anything please ask in the comments, on FB or Twitter. I'd love to tell you more about what I believe and what the Bible says! Here's the link for live Communion tonight:  www.facebook.com/clifec



Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Rain & Renewal

It rained most of the day yesterday.  I love the rain.  Well, I love the rain when I don't have to get out in it.  I plan my outfits around the rain. For example, I hate wet socks so I wear sandals whenever possible.  I am not a fan of rain boots - they are too heavy.  So yesterday I wore sandals and a skirt (a rarity) because I also hate wet pant legs.

I love being at work in the rain.  Our library has a wall of floor to ceiling windows.  Yesterday worked out well because it didn't start raining until school started.  Of course, I couldn't spend a great deal of time staring out the windows. I had work to do but it did get me thinking. Why do I love the rain so much?

When it rains, the sky is overcast.  You could see overcast as gloomy but I see it as comforting.  It's dark and cozy.  When I'm at home, it's perfect nap weather.

As a little girl, I always liked the little rhyme: "April showers bring May flowers". {Also, it's accompanying riddle: "What do May flowers bring?" "Pilgrims"} Rain signals renewal and new growth.

It reminds me that I am still a work in progress.  I still have room to grow.  I'm not finished.  God is teaching me things every day.  I am being renewed. I am reminded of one of my favorite Psalms.



And, of course, the Shane and Shane song that goes with it...

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Nerf Night

Our church does two events annually to connect parents and kids - Daddy Daughter Dance and Mother Son Nerf Night.  Our Children's Ministers work so hard to make each event perfect! I was never able to go with The Bigs so I was so excited to take B last year. 

Ohhhh, last year.  I'm wincing.  That did not end well.  Suffice it to say that B got overwhelmed, then got mad. 

When I asked him if he wanted to go this year he said, "Don't you remember last year?"  I told him that I did but that he's another year old and he knows what happens at Nerf Night so I thought he might want to try again.  He tentatively said yes.

I actually did not think he was going to go.  As late as Saturday afternoon, he wasn't sure.  But when it was time to go, he was ready! 

We've spent a lot of time lately talking about the things he needs to help him.  He's seeing the benefit of using his calming strategies.  He chose to bring his Pokeball pillow to help him if he got upset.  As we walked in he started to stress. He was afraid that he should have brought his Nerf gun.  He gripped his pillow while I explained that there would be plenty of guns. 

B-man had a great time! We played Moms vs. Sons Capture the Flag - twice!  Moms won both times, thank you very much.  Which he also handled well. The thing I was worried about was the Free For All room, it's actually what you think it is.  No rules, just shoot whoever you want. B thought it would be fine, in we went and it was fine.  He had some setbacks in the Target Shooting room but he handled them well.  At some point, we put the pillow to the side and didn't get back until we were ready to leave.  We ate and even took pictures (a point of contention last year)! 

I let him direct our photo booth photos.  As you can see from the pizza to my face, my mask and the pizza in general.  I requested one 'normal' picture.  He decided on the rest. 

Obviously, I didn't get to choose which picture would be the big one

I love that we tried again.  I love that he was able to try again.  I love that he was able to bring his pillow as an aide.  I love that our Kid's Min staff sought us out to check on B. 

Life is about facing our challenges.  Ryan and I have to walk a fine line with B.  We want to push him to do things he initially thinks he can't do.  We do not push him into a meltdown. With each new challenge, B learns and we learn.  We're learning to talk through things in detail.  He's learning to use his strategies.  Life is AUsome!


Thursday, March 22, 2018

The Culture Code

I recently finished my first book from the Next Big Idea Book Club - The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle.  I had this book on my Amazon wish list before I joined the book club so I was excited to start reading. 

Coyle researched high performing groups to discover what makes their culture great.  He came up with three components of excellent culture: build safety, share vulnerability, and establish purpose. In each section Coyle tells stories, share principals, offers detailed how tos and ends with ideas for action. 

In the building safety section, Coyle talks about the importance of belonging cues. When we feel that we belong, we feel safe.  "Belonging cues are behaviors that create safe connections in groups." These cues are nonverbal body language things - eye contact, proximity and like.  They aren't isolated events, the cues are given off constantly. 

A common misconception is that you have to trust some one before they can be vulnerable with you.  Coyle debunks this and offers that vulnerability can lead to trust.  Vulnerability loops are opportunities for group members to share weaknesses with each other.  A leader can built a strong culture by being vulnerable enough to say "I screwed that up". Coyle believes it's the most important thing a leader can say. 

Crafting purpose is the final portion of Coyle's book.  As a leader, you are responsible for helping group members understand what they are working for.  Coyle cited a survey that said that only 2% of employees could name the top three priorities of their company. That was surprising to me. 

My favorite part of the book was the Ideas of Action chapters at the end of each section.  I would review my highlights from the section and the action items offered and make a list of things I could do in my organizations to improve the culture.  I really loved the benefits of being in the book club.  There is a Facebook group to discuss ideas as we read and a Facebook live with the author.  The book also came with a study guide.  And there's a member's only section of the website with additional materials.  I haven't had a chance to watch all the videos but I'm excited to see them and deeper my understanding of the concepts. 

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Petting Sitting

Over spring break, B started his pet sitting business.  He had two customers: Susan the hedgehog and Buckets the dog. 

Susan is the classroom pet for a teacher at my school.  Susan is young and Dr. Stovall needed help socializing her.  Hedgehogs are nocturnal and hiss when they are disrupted during the day. This is not great for a class pet since the kids want to interact with her during the day. So B was to take her out and play with her to get her used to people.  B really loved this, and the fact that she didn't nip like Peppermint. 
Bringing Susan home - she's all buckled in!

Dr. Stovall gave B a list of directions and a time table for playing with Susan.  He was very diligent about turning on her lamp, scooping her litter and getting her fresh water each morning.  Her running wheel also needed to be cleaned each morning but that job feel to me.  Every evening he shut his bedroom door and took Susan out to play.  I even got to join in a few days.
Playtime with Susan

Monday morning we took Susan back to school.  B got to stay and talk to Dr. Stovall's 1st period class about playing with Susan.  He was super psyched about that!

Dr Stovall & B

Buckets is B's cousin's dog.  B's job was to go to Bucket's house everyday and play with him. B also took this very seriously.  At the appointed time each day, he'd come running up and remind me it was time to go play with Buckets.  He also watered the plants at Bucket's house.  

Buckets is tired!


I'm very pleased with B's first foray into business.  He took it very seriously and did a great job! I enjoyed being his assistant.  My job was to clean Susan's wheel and drive him to Bucket's.  I'll be honest, cleaning the wheel was not fun but I loved spending time with B.  My boy wants to run a business and now I know he means business!

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Leprechaun Trap

B-man is a fan of setting leprechaun traps.  The trouble is that he likes to make them when it's not St. Patrick's day.  As you might imagine, this causes a lot of consternation. This year I decided to be proactive about reminding him that St. Patrick's Day was coming and making a plan. 

I found a recipe for leprechaun bait on facebook and gathered the ingredients while he was with Nene last week.  This way I could get just what was needed for the recipe with no debate AND he'd be happy.  And I was so right! He was so excited to make the bait.  

 


He was so excited that he set up the trap super early.  Like Friday afternoon early.  He was not thrilled when I told him he had to take it down.  It involved chewed gum on my kitchen island.  He did remember to set the trap Friday night.



Unfortunately, he didn't catch a leprechaun.  Which is sad because he was going to ask the leprechaun for super powers with his wish.  I could use some super powers around here.  However, the bait was gone, green and chocolate coins were left in it's place.  That's closer than B's ever gotten!


Maybe next year!

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Time with the Bigs

It's Spring Break, y'all.  It's been nice and sunny.  We haven't done much of anything.  Perfection.  I didn't have big plans but I did want to make sure I did get some time alone with the big boys.  

Sam had a baseball game Tuesday afternoon.  My momma took B-man home with her after the game.  The Bigs and I planned to go to see Black Panther then they wanted to set up their video games in the living room.  

As usual, things did not go as planned.  

I didn't pre-purchase tickets because I wasn't sure what time Sam's game would be over and I didn't think I needed to.  Wrong.  There were not three seats together.  We were starving so we decided to go eat at Cheddars and make a plan.  

After we downed some yummy Cheddar cheese fries, I wanted to take this selfie.  It took a while because I was trying to make sure Zac didn't look like he was glowing.  This prompted some "don't be that mom" comments.  I responded with more selfies.

 
Zac was cooperative. Sam not so much.  He tried to keep me from even getting into his side of the booth.  Of course, that made me try harder and act cheesier.  We stuffed ourselves and decided to just go home.  

We stopped at the grocery store for brownie mix and cookie dough on the way home, though.  

The boys did set up their video games in the living room.  Their favorite game right now is Fortnight.  Because the creators are evil geniuses, only one person can play per console.  They could not play together.  They did end up playing a WWII game together, against each other.  

 


What I really loved about spending time with my big boys, was listening to them.  I love listening to them talk to each other about football, video games and a ton of other ridiculous things.  I loved listening to them to talk to the random people on their video games.  I loved talking to them about goofy things.  I learned they are more like Ryan and I than I realized.  Given the opportunity, we'd much rather hang at home.  The boys too.  We're big fans of naps, the boys too.  We took a nap break between eating and video gaming.  

I worked really hard to stay present during my time with the Bigs.  Even when I wasn't in the conversation, I listened and watch them. I'm super aware that my time with them at home is fleeting.  But, I'm not going to think about that.  I'm going to think about our fun, goofy time together.  

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Long Way Down

how awesome is that cover?
I read a lot of nonfiction.  And I love it.  I'm a total geek so I love to learn from nonfiction and see what I can apply to my life. 

I'm also a librarian at a middle school so I process all the books coming into the library.  I also follow authors on Twitter so I can keep up with trends and new releases.  So, I've known about Jason Reynolds for a few months now.  When I first started following him on Twitter, I loved (and still love) that his bio says he loves his mama.  Then I saw his interview with Trevor Noah for the Daily Show and I loved him even more. 

He read his first novel at age 17 and has become a very prolific writer.  He writes for middle school kids and high school kids.  At the middle school we have his track series - Ghost, Patina, and Sunny.  These book tell the stories of kids on an elite track team. 

When I saw that our high school got Long Way Down, I took it home to read it for myself. 

Wow! Can I just say Wow!?

First of all, the book is written in verse.  Free verse.  It doesn't rhyme.  But it flows.  It flows beautifully.  And it flows quickly.  I read it one day.  Two sittings just because I left to go to the musicals. 

Long Way Down tells the story of Will, who's brother Shawn has been killed the day before.  Will follows "the rules" and decides that he needs to take care of the person he thinks killed his brother. He gets the elevator and gets another shock all together. The long elevator ride mirrors the long trail of violence that has led to this moment.  Will meets people he's known and loved who are a part of this string of violence.  Will must confront the question: will he perpetuate the violence?

Long Way Down has won a number of awards. 


The biggest award in my book is that I recommended it to my 14 year old.  And he read it in 1 day as well.  And we got to discuss it.  He even noticed that the author bio on the back flap is also written in free verse.  My momma-librarian heart fluttered.

And I did learn. I learned about a boy who is grappling with himself in the face of violence.  I'm a white 40-something woman in a suburban bubble.  I need to learn abut people outside of my bubble.  So do my boys and so do my students.  The more we learn about other people, the more empathic we can be.  Empathy leads to understanding.  And maybe the gap closes a little more.  

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Dallas Summer Musicals

Once a month, I put on make up and an actual outfit on a Saturday.  My momma comes over and we drive down to Fair Park.  I plan around these Saturdays.  Nothing else gets planned on those days.  I really love these days.  I guess I should slow down, we've only done this twice.  But still, I love them.

You see, Momma and I got season tickets to the Dallas Summer Musicals.  For years I thought I'd be a real grown up when I had DSM summer musicals.  I'd finally feel cultured and refined. I'd be fancy. 

So far we've seen The Color Purple and On Your Feet.  They were not on my top musicals to see bucket list.  But gracious, they were good!

In both musicals I have been fascinated by the setting and scene changes.  The Color Purple had a multi-tiered platform and 3 tall panels with chairs on them.  The actors used small props to transport us to their world and different locations.  On Your Feet was more elaborate.  They also had 3 tall panels but they utilized computer graphics projected onto the panels to tell their story.  The backdrop was changed digitally as well. On Your Feet also had a slider (I'm sure that's not the official name) on each side of the stage.  The slider would bring out furniture to help tell their story. 

I am a fan of creativity and creative people.  Musicals highlight so many creative people.  Writers, musicians, performers, costume designers, set designers...I could go on an on.  It's so cool to spend an afternoon with my momma celebrating their creativity. 

I will confess, there have been moments that I felt a little like the country mouse coming to the city.  After The Color Purple, I thought I'd find a better way out of Fair Park.  Nope, I ended up driving around for 10 minutes then had to get right in the long line I'd been trying to avoid. 

This past Saturday, I really struggled.  I had received an email about the dining choices at the theatre a couple of weeks ago.  I decided to try pre-ordering food for intermission.  I went back to the email Thursday and visited the website.  I was looking for a way to pre-order through the website. I couldn't find it so I sent an email.  I didn't understand the answer I received so I had to ask more questions.  Turns out I needed to pre-order at the theatre before the show started. 

We got to the theatre early this week. We wandered around looking for the pre-order spot.  When I finally asked, I realized we had walked right based it.  We ordered then headed to our seats.  At intermission, Momma stayed in her seat and I ran down the get the food.  I was shown to a set table.  Oops! For some reason I thought I'd be picking up food and taking it back to our seats.  Nope, you go down to the restaurant to sit and eat.  So, I ran back up to our balcony seats to get Momma. We ate our fancy snack and had plenty of time to get back to our seats. 

I'm not feeling super fancy so far but I am loving spending time with Momma and seeing some awesome musicals! 

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Next Big Idea Book Club

I think we can all agree on 3 things:
1. I love to read
2. I'm a huge nerd
3. 1 & 2 are super awesome

And maybe #4 - I do love to follow authors on Twitter and can fangirl from time to time.  Such a thing happened in December.  Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, posted about a new book club on Twitter.  The Next Big Idea Book club would be curated by her, Dan Pink, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Grant. 

You know from yesterday's post of my admiration for Dan Pink. Malcolm Gladwell is in that same category.  I have all his books.  I also love to relisten to his audiobooks - he reads them.  I had just finished reading Adam Grant's book Give and Take when I saw Susan's tweet.

The club is a subscription box of sorts.  You get 2 hardcover books every 3 months, access to video content and e-courses and 2 books are given to students for each subscription.  Needless to say, this seemed right up my alley.

But, I didn't immediately sign up.  Honestly, I did not want to spend the money.  But I kept seeing tweets and getting emails about it.  When I saw that I could pay quarterly (as opposed to all at once), I was in.

A few weeks ago, I got my first box.  The first two books are The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle - a book that was on my amazon wish list - and Endurance by Alex Hutchinson.  The box also included instructions to access the bonus materials and Facebook group. 

I was very impressed with the box itself.  I love attention the attention to detail.  If they designed such a great box, I'm confident that they'll pick excellent books.  So far so good in that area, I'm really liking The Culture Code. The Facebook group is awesome too, fellow nerds talking about books.  What's not to like!?!

You can learn more about The Next Big Idea Book Club here.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

When

I am a big Dan Pink fan.  I like his work and his outlook.  He seems very down to Earth and real.  In his book Drive he talks about what motivates us.  It really helped me think about how I interact with my students and the kind of work they do.

His latest book is called When - The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. The whole thing is super fascinating to me.  The book is divided into three sections - The Day; Beginnings, Endings and In Between; and Synching and Thinking.

In The Day section, Pink presents data about the rhythm of our days.  Wow, that sentence sounds boring! But Pink presents it in a much more interesting way.  He's skilled at during data into stories.  Pink shows that we definitely have a lull in our day.  Our moods generally rise through the morning, dip in the afternoon and then rise again in the evening.  Pink also introduced me the idea of being a "third bird". Larks are extreme morning people, owls are extreme night people and third birds are neither, they are the middle of the bell curve.  Most of us are third birds.  At the end of each section, Pink offers Time Hackers Handbook - practical ways to use the information he's presented.  I used that section to help me find my most productive times of the day.  He also offers suggestions of what to do if you can't control your productivity schedule.

In this section Pink also talks about resting during the day.  I am a napper. I love to sleep so this was particularly interesting to me.  He introduced me to a 'napaccino'.  This is when you drink a coffee then take a 25 minute nap and wake up refreshed and ready to go.  25 minutes is the key because that's how long it takes to get the coffee into your system.  Assuming, of course, you don't constantly drink coffee and it stays in your system....

This section also reiterates the need for recess in schools.  When kids get restorative breaks their achievement goes way up!

Interesting Tidbit from The Day Section - our chronotype (lark, owl or third bird) changes with our age.

The second section is Beginnings, Endings and In Between.  Again, lots of great information here about when and how to start things.  He also talks about the idea starting things in the right way.  A fascinating portion was about starting together.  Pink talked about college graduates who graduate into a sluggish economy and the effect on their long term earnings.  Hospitals see a July effect - when new residents start and errors increase.  To solve this problem hospitals have new residents start their work with seasoned doctors and nurses and the error rate falls.  One of the Time Hacker's  Handbook give advice for when to go first and when not to go first. 

The In Between data was very interesting as well.  We all know we tend to lull in the middle.  We start strong, loss steam then gear up for the end.  Pink shares so fascinating information about how teams work in this section.  He says that teams usually experience a burst of work at exactly the midpoint of their time together.  This is helpful to me as a teacher to know when my students are working in groups.  They are going to mess around a bit but then get serious at the halfway point. 

Interesting Tidbit from the Beginnings, Endings and In Between Section - people in mid-career could benefit from mentoring as much as people who are new to their career. 

The last section of the book is called Synching and Thinking.  This section deals with our timing together, how our groups come together.  Pink uses a fascinating case study of the dabbawalas in India.  Dabbawalas collect lunches from homes and deliver those lunches to office buildings each day with an extraordinary accuracy rate.  And they do it without technology.  I'd love to go see it in person! 

The most interesting part of this section is the portions on belonging.  When we feel like we belong to a group, things tend to run smoother and the group is more productive.  Pink outlines three things groups need to have to promote a sense of belonging: codes, garb and touch.  This really made me think about the sports teams my boys are on as well as how I can help kids feel like they belong at school. 

Interesting Tidbit from the Synching and Thinking section - NBA teams who touch each other more often (high fives, fist bumps, chest bumps...) win more often even when the talent level is accounted for. 

When is a fast paced read.  I didn't feel like any portion of it dragged.  I learned so much that I can apply to all areas of my life - family, school, church.  I highly recommend When!

You can learn more about Dan Pink and his work at his website www.danpink.com.  You can follow him on Twitter at @danielpink


Tuesday, March 6, 2018

I AM WHO I AM

I'm studying Exodus right now.  Exodus is my favorite book in the Bible.  I can so relate to Moses and the Israelites.  They are constantly messing up and God is constantly pulling their fat out of the fire.  

At the beginning of Exodus, we find that Pharaoh is oppressing the Israelites.  Besides enslaving them he wanted Hebrew boys killed immediately after birth.  The midwives let the Hebrew boys live.  One of these was Moses and his mother hid him as long as she could. Then she put him in the Nile.  Moses' sister 'helps' Pharaoh's daughter find him.  She even brings her mother to the princess to nurse Moses.  

Moses grows up in Pharaoh's palace but runs when he kills an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew.  Moses thought that no one saw him murder the Egyptian but when he finds out that people know, he flees.  Moses makes a nice life for himself Midian.  He has a wife.  He works for his father in law, Jethro as a shepherd.  

During this same time, we learn that God has heard the cries of the Israelites and He plans to use Moses to free them.  The Angel of the LORD appears to Moses in a burning bush.  God identifies himself as “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Then God tells Moses that He will send Moses to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh to free the Israelites.  God even gives him a script. A script! How many times have I wished God would tell me exactly what to say and exactly when to say it?

And Moses responds just like I would, like I have: "who me? Not me.  I'm not good enough."  Actually, he asks God "What if they ask for your name?"

And God tells him: I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.’” 

{I like to project things onto people.  When I read this, I project sassiness on to God.  "I am who I am" might as well be "I'm the momma, that's why".}

But God isn't sassy.  He's love.  In Exodus, He wants to deliver His people from slavery. He has a plan that He intends Moses to carry out.  He knew He would be with Moses.  He knew He would guide Moses, help him at every step and help him be the leader Israel needed.

Now, He wants to deliver us from the slavery of our sin.  He wants what's best for us.  He wants us to grow in the process.  We don't get to wake up tomorrow better people and in the exact place He wants us.  He has many things to teach us so we have to walk through the process. 

Moses learns this through out Exodus.  He forgets and God reminds him.  We forget and God reminds us. He's the one with the plan.  He is the great I AM.  



Thursday, March 1, 2018

After?

When I had my allergic reaction in the fall, I definitely felt like life was a before and after.  It turns out I was right.

After October 7th, I had a headache almost every day.  I'm not even exaggerating.  I think between October and February I had a TOTAL of 10 days without a headache.

Do you know what a literal and figurative pain that is?

There were lots of days that I came home from work, slept for two hours then got up to have dinner with my boys.  There were days that I went to work and don't remember what I did there.  My memory was definitely not great during this time.  I had trouble remembering everything. I went places without a coat.  I sometimes had to pause mid-sentence to remember the word I wanted to say next. 

My doctor put me on some medication and I started tracking the headaches.  One was three times a day "maintenance" medicine and the other was a pain reliever.  I found that I could go the longest between headaches if I took them both at the same time.  That's a lot of medicine.  At my follow up, the doctor was not happy about that.  Plus it didn't really help anyway, I was still getting the headaches. 

My doctor decided that we would try Botox therapy.  She had to fill out a bunch of paperwork to send into the insurance company.  Together we went through my entire medical history as a grown up.  Neither of us realized that she's been treating me for headaches since 1996.  Of course, none of them lasted from October to February but still, it's been a long time since 1996. 

I had my first therapy last Tuesday.  It was strange, something like 30 injections - in my shoulders, the base of my neck, my scalp, in my scalp on each side of my head and along my forehead.  I felt a little weird afterward. My face felt heavy.  But that could have been in my head because they told me not to lay down or keep my head down.

Wednesday and Thursday I still felt a little off.  I had headaches but not as bad as usual. 

Friday was the day, though! I had no headache at all on Friday.  It was awesome! And I haven't had one since.  I still feel like I'm coming out of a fog.  My memory is still not great but hopefully it will improve the more pain free days I can string together.

I'll have it again in 11 weeks then again 12 weeks after that before we decide if it's a successful therapy.  I'm praying that the Botox will work.  I'm not a big fan of taking medicine everyday so this could really be an answered prayer!