Friends,   

I loved it last week when Linda said “I’m going to ice my cheeks” because they hurt from laughing so much. 

We were blessed to have my sister Michelle and her friend Nancy to do laughter yoga with us.  I hope your cheeks are ok Linda . 

It sure was fun wasn’t it, Rick and Marlene?

Laughter really can be an exercise and it’s scientifically proven that it’s very beneficial to our mental and physical health.  Go ahead, cut loose and laugh often .  We all had fun!

Linda will be doing another alcohol ink program again this Friday @ 11:30.  Here’s a note from Linda:  Last chance to make holiday cards, gift tags and festive earrings before Christmas. Meet in the breakroom around 11:30. Newcomers welcome! 

We’ll be getting together again Wednesday @ 11:30 for our prayer group.  We’ll be giving thanks to God for our blessings and praying however God leads us.  Wow! I’m hearing some powerful comments about this time together.  Feel free to join us.  If you need to come in a little early to get your exercise in before this starts, feel free to do so.

We all need to “Just Keep Moving”!  It doesn’t matter where we start.  We can start with laughing which is great exercise in itself.  Other than that, we start with the body parts that will move and keep moving them as much as we can.  Let them rest and then move them again.

I know there are still many of us going through other life challenges in addition to our challenges with MS.  Let’s stick together, keep our chins up and keep sharing our journey.  Better days are ahead.  For those of you who haven’t been able to make it by us on Wednesdays and Fridays lately, please know you are missed and in my thoughts and prayers.  I hope you’re able to make it back soon!

I hope you’ll join us both Wednesday and Friday again this week.   Remember…consistency is key.  With MS, it takes a lot of consistent effort every day to make small improvements.  Yes, it’s frustrating so be patient and consistent and you’ll be amazed how your quality of life will continue to improve.  It’s been about 17 years of exercising just about every day for me and I’m still making improvements (encouragement, love, support, nutrition and proper rest help immensely too).  It takes time so please be patient.  It sure is better than MS getting worse.  I really don’t know what my life would be like if I didn’t do this (nor do I want to find out).  I’m so thankful you are all joining me on this journey of making progress with our MS and quality of life…THANK YOU!  We’ll continue to learn together…there’s so much power in the love and support we all share with each other.

In the past, I’ve been telling you to bring a friend.  Unfortunately, we’re going to need to start a waiting list for new people.  Please feel free to continue to share your experience and what we’re doing together.  Let me know of anyone who would like to join us.  I’ll communicate with these people through e-mail or phone and help them any way I can.  When we have room for them to join us, I’ll encourage them to do that.  If you’ve joined us in the past, please continue to join us.

We are here to help you and anyone with MS…no strings attached (well maybe an occasional story about the progress you’re making, smile, high five or a hug).  I remember how challenging life used to be when my MS was bad.  I get great joy sharing what I’ve learned and feel blessed with the progress I’ve made.  I hope you make progress in some way too!