WHAT HAPPENED, I AM LOSING MY HAIR!!!

Some twenty five years ago I decided to wear my hair in it's natural state. No more relaxers or any kind of chemicals. So after years of "Jerri curls & relaxers" I was free.  Now we know as we get older they tell us certain things are just going to happen because we're getting older. For example: at forty your eye sight changes. All of a sudden your eye doctor is mentioning "bifocals ".  Extra weight seems to have a permanent place on your hips no matter what you do to lose it. So I thought, " at least I will have my hair." Well after wearing extensions for several years, I noticed my hair was thinning at the top of my head. I thought it was the braids, so I stop wearing them.  However the area just seemed to get bigger and wearing wigs seemed to make it worst. I just figured it was another sign of getting older and I prepared myself for the bald look.

About a year ago my daughter attended a presentation by a dermatologist and said I see her. Of course I didn't because I figured what could she do for me. Basically I had given up. Fortunately for me my daughter signed me up for a consultation visit. Well it seems that it wasn't old age taking my hair but Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia (CCCA). CCCA is a hair disorder that leads to the destruction of hair follicles, scarring and permanent hair loss (alopecia). This condition is seen most frequently in African-American women. It can progress very slowly with gradual hair loss with no symptoms or rapidly with tingling, burning, pain or itching of the scalp.  So it turns out that this it treatable if you catch it in time. So now,  a year later , my hair is growing back.  It's still a little thin on top but there's enough that I can put off shaving my head for a while and wearing wigs all the time. 

What I have learned is that sometimes we have to go back to the beginning and start over.  My advice from this experience is that if your hair is thinning at the top or sides go see a dermatologist. Your hair dresser, wigs or meaningful friends will not be able to help. Be proactive and you may end up keeping all your hair well into old age.  Don't be like me and wake up one day confused thinking "WHAT HAPPENED, I AM LOSING MY HAIR!!!

Shirley 

Are you ready to Change!!!

I remember when I was a child and I thought that all adults were old. They all seem to be losing their teeth, hair and walking really slow.  They always seem to be in pain.  So of course that was what I though I would be like when I grew up. I realized however, that those adults from my childhood were not really old (maybe late forties or early fifties) but were  living with a lot of health issues. Not only were they living with these issues they had come to accept them as part of life.

I know that those in the health care field will tell you that most illnesses are hereditary. If your grandmother or mother had something you will most likely have it too and therefore pass it on to your children. This may be true, but I also think this way of thinking just makes us accept whatever happens to us. 

Let's try something different. I challenge you to break the cycle with change. Change how you cook your food. You don't have to give up the old recipes but change them a little. Try some salt free seasonings, you just might like it.  Instead of sitting at lunch go out for a walk. This will stretch those muscle that have grown stiff from sitting all morning. Getting older does not mean gaining weight and living in pain. It just means "getting older".

What changes will you make to break the cycle you inherited????

Shirley

How Do You Face Fear???

How many of us let fear run our lives? Every day you can see advertisements for new medications for illnesses that (according to some statistic) one out of every five people will soon have.  If you are not diabetic now, you soon will be. Every ache, pain or headache could lead to an incurable disease.  It is no wonder that we fear going to the doctor for a checkup. Our fear of the unknown lets us live with back aches, headaches that never go away, and pains in our chest that we call indigestion. If we all looked hard enough, we would see that we let fear run many aspects of our lives from health, to relationships to our jobs.   

Fear is not an easy thing, but if we tackle it one day at time we may defeat it.  Maybe you aren't feeling well and are afraid to find out why. Remember there are people who care about you and will be there for you no matter what. Are you being passed over for someone younger with a degree at your job?  Think about going back to school one class at a time.  

I worked in the Human Service field as an Executive Administrative Assistant for twenty-five years.  I figured that my experience was as good as any degree.  However in the real world, my experience meant nothing without the degree to back it up. I lived in fear of being the first to get let go when the budget was cut and fear of losing my job to someone younger with a degree. So I faced my fear and went back to school.  At 52 I got my Associates, at 56 I received my Bachelor’s and at 61 I received my Master’s in Business Administration.  This is how I faced by fear, how will you face yours???

Shirley

Retirement - Re-Invent Yourself!!!

Are you looking at retiring within the next couple of years?  Have you make plans or are you dreading the whole process?  I am sixty -two (62) years old and I am  looking forward to retiring as early as next year.     However as I speak with persons my age around this issue I get mixed feelings on the subject.  Most of us have been working since our teens so the question becomes "What will I do when I stop working?".  Also there are issues around money and being able to maintain your present lifestyle. Some said they would be bored.

How  nice would it be to wake up and not have to worry about being late and punching that time clock? What about not having to figure out how much time you have to take that vacation you want.  Or just waking up and doing whatever pops into your head. Our generation has spent most of our lives taking care of husbands, kids, grand kids and our jobs. We work hard to make the company we work for grow. We are good employees, getting to work on time, staying late to finish that project that was due yesterday, and never using a sick day. While all of this looks good for the job, what are they doing for you? Younger people are being hired and you are training them. Those promotions elude you because you don't have a degree even though you been on the job more than twenty  years.

I say stop dreading the process and embrace it. I suggest several years before you plan to retire you do a couple of things.  First, you start with a financial plan and then a plan to reinvent yourself.  The possibilities are endless. You could write that book or turn that hobby into a business. Maybe you like gardening or painting. You could even take cooking classes to prepare that gourmet meal you always wanted.  You could travel, or just read all those books you never had time for.  With the Internet at our fingertips there is an  app for almost anything you want to do. So relax, and don't see boredom in your future but the beginning of the next chapter in your life.  Remember: Re-Invent Yourself and Enjoy !!