Caregiver Connections

Good morning, y'all. Happy caregiver Thursday. Do you guys have your hug in a mug with you this morning? I have my, my hug in a mug, and it says, you've got this. I love some good inspirational quotes on my coffee. My coffee mugs in the morning to start the day off right. So, you guys, we are preparing for hurricane, Hurricane Helene over here in Georgia. I'm in Savannah, Georgia, so we'll be getting some of it and just getting ready to have the kids home this afternoon. And tomorrow they're off school as well.

Good morning, Charles. Good to see you in here. And, yeah, just preparing for the storm, getting things together and getting the downstairs ready in the event that we have to camp out for the storm. So for those of you who I have not met yet, I am Steph Irwin. I am a mom of two children, and my youngest is on the autism spectrum. Professionally, I work for a nonprofit. Oh, thank you, Chelse. We will, we will. We're prepared. Professionally, I work for a nonprofit that supports children and their families, children with cancer and their families, both in the hospital and in the community.

So, you guys, this past weekend, I took some time for myself, which I don't always do. You guys understand, you caregiver friends. It is a rare commodity to do this. So I went on a retreat in the mountains that was led by doctor Charisse, actually. And I had to force myself to take the time for myself, but I'm so glad I did. And I just came back feeling restored, mind, body, spirit. So if you guys ever get a chance to just do any, any type of restorative activity over the morning. Oh, good morning, Jules.

Over the weekend or whenever you can, I urge you to do that, even if it seems like it is not convenient, anything. And it can just be little. Any little way to restore yourself is so important in our journeys. So there's something so powerful about being outside in nature. I know we've talked about this, and I'm sure you guys know this from various Cadre contributors and just, just your general knowledge, but I'm a statistics and science nerd, so I found that 20,000 people, a study of 20,000 people found that those who spend at least 120 minutes per week in nature, whether at a local park or just anywhere in a natural environment, were more likely to report better health and well being.

And then there was another study that, from scientific reports that found that a short stroll in nature improves working memory and concentration substantially more than completing the same brief walk indoors. So, you guys, I will not likely pee out in nature today or tomorrow, but once the storm passes, I will get out there, and I hope you guys will do the same this week and get a little restoration and get you some nature therapy this week. So, friends in the southeast, I am thinking of you guys, and you guys take care.

Have a good week. Get yourself some restoration and nature therapy. All right, y'all have a good.