We're live. Hello, cadre. It's great to see you. And my dog is right on cue little. Gracie my feisty corgi. Likes to bark when I'm trying to do stuff. He seems to know when I go live, come here, Gracie. Come here. Come here. Oh, come here. Little girl. Here, let the people see you. Grace. See Gracie (laugh). Hello seriously. Ah, in the cadre, I am known as speak. Wonder why? Because I'm a poet, a writer. An author, a communicator. And I love to speak, wonder into the lives of the people in my world.
And you're in my world by virtue of being a cadre consumer. I'm also a speaker or a contributor in the cadre on care. Caregiver day, every Thursday. And it's a delight to be with you. Last week. I have to admit, I forgot. I completely spaced it, I was called into. A situation where my grandchildren needed to be, um, taken care of while my daughter. Uh, tended to some things. Nothing urgent, but the schedule. Dictated that I needed to be there. And I only had about 10 minutes to get ready. Um, and start driving out there and I.
It was all during what would normally be my cadre. Uh, livestream. Oh, and so I was driving. When I would normally be sitting here or on my patio. Or in my car parked (laugh). Uh, to talk to you. So I, I must out last week and here I am. Are you liking the new things in TheraSphere? The tech team has been working double time to make things better, to make your experience better. Uh, if you could send me some hearts. Hearts or say something. So I know you're here. If you're catching me on the replay.
Thank you. Appreciate you. I've had a few things rolling around. Uh, in my awareness to see what I might share with you. Today, uh, I have three. Things written in green. Magic marker. (laugh) to talk to you about today. Uh, being creative while caregiving. Uh, how to steer a parked car. Can't be done. And only a paper moon. Being creative. Well, caregiving. Well, here's a real world example. Can you tell that's a, can you tell that's a moon? It's a full moon. And I was visiting my mom, her name's June.
And when I was there at the nursing home. The activity leader came through. Her name is Becca and Becca said. Judy bog. Ah, hello, hazard. Thank you for being here. Uh, the activity lady Becca said, Juni bug. We're gonna do a. Craft it's a full moon, which it was. Uh, last week when we did this. Craft. And so we're going to. Do an art rendering of a moon of the full moon. It was super easy. You guys, uh, we dipped. Uh, mom didn't wanna do it. So I did hers as well. But she attended and she got some good conversation in while we were doing this.
You take a wadded up piece of aluminum foil and dip it in. Um, acrylic paint and then just tap. Over the template and you leave some spaces, you know, like a moon face. Uh, so there you go. We all found out what faces of moon we were born under. I was born under the waning. Gibbs moon, which is about three quarters of a moon or three quarters. Quarters pushing into the Crescent. Well, anyway, you could look up waning Gibbs. Us literally in that time space. I was being creative. Well, caregiving.
Fuck. Was painting something. While being a attentive to mom. Engaging her in conversation. Um, enjoying a beautiful day. And anticipating a full moon. Are you a creative people who are creatives, who. Are not necessarily artsy, but you express yourself through words. Maybe through art. Through, um, interesting and unique ideas. Ideas. I think in that template, we are all creatives. Creatives and yes, we can be creative while caregiving. Here's the deeper question. Can you. Steer a parked car. No, you cannot.
You have to apply gas. You have to put it in drive. And then you can steer it. Where I'm getting with this is. If you're at all like me, perhaps you've been stuck in a loop. About a year ago. I had this burst of creativity and I wrote the first chapter. Of my book. Now, my book had been germinating. In my soul and spirit, my heart. In my mind, it had been. Resting there and starting to emerge. And I had this burst. Where I began writing and I have almost a full chapter. Nothing terribly organized yet.
But plenty to work with. And enough. Ideas jotted down and then. Written in my, uh, Microsoft Microsoft word document. That I do believe I have the beginnings. Beginnings of my novel. And see I'm putting it out there. So that there's a bit of accountability, cuz now I've said it to you that I have a project I'm. I'm working on. It was a year ago that I wrote that I shared it with some writer, friends. I tapped into a lady who is somewhat of a mentor to me. As a writer and she gave me some good feedback and some good ideas.
Ideas and then began the next step. In what many writers will share, and that is the loop. Of intention, but no results. I have been in a loop of intention for about a year. And I've been assigning the blame, if you will. Or the excuse for not working on my book. To caregiving. After all I drive an hour and a half each way to go see mom. And then I spend the day with her. And then I'm tired. I also have grandbabies that I care. Give. And they are. Five and two very busy little human beings. (laugh).
Yesterday, we were playing freeze tag or as my five-year-old. Uh, little girl says freezer tag (laugh) freezer tag. And oh, we had a great time. She calls me OMA. OMA is grandma. In, uh, for, for German. Descent. Anyway. I allow life to pull me in that loop and around we go. And I have this project sitting in my computer. Waiting for more. Development and I have ideas. Ideas. I jot down some of them. I talk about my book with my circle of writer, friends. But nothing's happening. And it's been a loop and I don't know if that's some sort of a safety place.
Not sure from hiding. I don't know the depth of it or why it's not getting off the ground. But even if yours is not a book or a creative project or a painting, or a work of poetry. Your creative juices might feel. A bit dried up during the caregiving season. Which truly is not a season, but a lifetime. Because aren't we all just walking each other home. Taking care of one another. Let's bring the creativity into that. And I'm challenging myself. While reminding you that we can do that. And that your car, if you're, if you will, if it's parked.
You're sitting in it, but you haven't, uh, started it up, applied the gas. Uh, you know, put it in the drive mode. You're not going anywhere. Here's creativity while caregiving, my granddaughter made this for me. With, uh, watercolor paints. Paints, I don't know which way is right side up and which way is upside down and which way is sideway? Sideways, but it's delightful. It's absolutely precious to me. This looks like a hamster. If you ask me. There are all kinds of ways to be creative. What's yours.
Yours are you a baker? Are you a dreamer. Are you a daydreamer? Are you a Beachcomber? Do you collect. Beach glass. Do you live near a shoreline? There is some part of you that begs for creativity. I think particularly when you are caregiving. It takes different shapes and forms. Forms. And if we are not careful. It may loop around. To become less of a priority. So I challenge myself and I challenge you to. Do something creative. It could be a one-off. It could be. Uh, the first chapter of your new book.
It could be that letter that you've been meaning to write. The intention that gets completed. In your own way, doesn't have to be epic. But truly following your creative self. Has its own kind of. Magical quality. And when you are stepping out of that loop. You're actually. Getting in the car going and moving. You feel that surge and you feel that momentum. And you actually go places. I can't drive a parked car. You can't steer it. It's going nowhere. And so is there a conclusion to this. Not really.
It's simply a reminder. That if there's something unique about you and you alone. And there may be something wobbling around in your mind and your heart. They've been. Wanting to do, and you've been. On this loop and it's it's time to push it forward. Maybe you're already doing stuff. And that's wonderful. Feed your artist's soul, your hippie spirit. (laugh) your creative self. Well, caregiving. It is, I believe. Part of what makes it all worthwhile. Uh, not that it isn't worthwhile I'll by itself, the dignity.
And the grace the perseverance that goes with caring for another soul. Cannot even be measured in words. It can be practiced in the doing of it day by day. And I'm asking that you not lose yourself in the loop. That you move that energy that creative. Force, uh, forward. And, uh, do it while scared. Do it while unprepared. Because truly who is prepared. To produce. Uh, a van go or a Picasso. You have to draw a lot before you come up with that. Do it scared do it UN. Unprepared do it spontaneously.
And do it for the sheer joy of it. You're the best. I'm glad you. You're here. I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad cadre is our community where. We can safely talk about. The things that are in our hearts and minds. Minds in many different layers. Layers. I love that today is caregiver day. Every Thursday. But in the cadre sphere. There are so many things we can talk about on any given day. It's part of mental health and awareness. And thriving. Hearing each other's voices. Is another creative. Endeavor.
Just putting the app on seeing who's there, who has posted something. Looking at the conversation stream. Uh, replaying other people's lives. It's simply life giving. I'm glad I joined the stream today. And then I could go live. Again, my name is speak wonder in the cadre. My actual name is Cathy. Kathy joy and my favorite symbol. For my talks here. Is Harbor's and boats. Boats. I mean, when you see my next live, I'll remind you why I love harbors and. Boats and how they play into. The picture of caregiving.
Have a great week. I know today at three Eastern. We have Ms. Shannon, Paul. And comedy and the chaos. There's so many. Ways that you can interact with the cadre. I invite you to go exploring. And especially enjoy some of the new bells and whistles that are in the app. That make your experience. Even better than it already was. Remember you are you heard somebody's true north. You heard somebody's sense of direction. And you are important. In the work you're doing much of it behind the scenes. As a caregiver, whether it's hands-on.
Whether it's on the phone, whether it's being an advocate. There's so many. Ways that are all worthy and worthwhile. So give yourself some credit. And stay creative. My friend. I'll see you next week right here. In the cadres sphere.
