By Patrick McNerthney
About a year ago my wife bought me a gym membership. I tried not to read anything into it as I finished my bag of Chili Cheese Fritos and washed it down with my second beer of the afternoon. But then I thought to myself, “Maybe our dryer ISN’T too hot and that’s why my clothes are shrinking…Nah–I can’t be (horror music screeching here): putting on weight?!?!”
Two weeks later my wife came home from work more than a little upset at the fact that, as of yet, I had not even crossed the threshold of thinking about entering that sweat emporium. She said something along the lines of “I bought that for you because you said you wanted it …” (okay, that’s what you call, a bald face lie!) “…and now you don’t even go near the place and you’re still eating wheelbarrows of Fritos…” (great idea–I hadn’t even thought of filling the wheel barrow with my curly yellow friends). At that point I think I stopped listening and remembered that the thing that goes best with my frito fondness is SPORTS!
(What? Oh yeah, I’m listening…AND MY GLASS IS LIKE A TINY WHEELBARROW…)
Eventually I mosied over to the gym. Now I go at least three days a week. And I love it. I amble in–say hi to just about everybody (turns out I’m what you call, “Hail fellow well met”). I listen to my tunes, do my reps, get a slight endorphin rush, and then get on with my day.
Of course now I’m old so the weights I used to lift in my 20’s would easily kill me (as I quickly found out, just by looking at them). I’m not even close. But each time I go, I do my reps, and slowly get a teensy bit stronger. To be very specific, for each exercise I perform, I do sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6, increasing the weight each time. I can tell you’re impressed!
Then I look in the mirror a lot, and walk around asking people if they need a spot, but whatever. See how nice I am? Who knew?
But the point is this: putting in reps is secretly how EVERYTHING works. Mowing the lawn is a rep. Mopping is a rep. Listening to my wife talk is a big rep. Sitting down and writing something is a rep. Doing a household budget once a month is a rep…you get the idea.
(Building this thing took many reps.)
Each rep is part of a symphony we’re composing. Our impact on anything comes because of the music we make with these repetitions. So whether we like it or not, we have to simply show up and get to work—because someone out there is waiting to hear our song.
The good news is, we get to choose the tune we sing.
Over to you. Undoubtedly your work as a caregiver of your residents and loved ones can feel overwhelming at times. Maybe you wonder if you make a difference at all, or how to make a bigger impact. There’s more good news—you do, and you can, one rep at a time—and Fine Art Miracles (FAM) can help.
FAM champions creative expression as the perfect tool to help the elderly, children with challenges, and anyone needing assistance with daily life overcome the ravages of social isolation: looking at you, anxiety and depression!
Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Drama Therapy, Multi-Sensory Sessions, Art2Go packages (and so, so much more) reconnect your residents or loved ones with what they need most: confidence, self-worth, a sense of mastery, joy, hope, and the understanding that they matter to their friends, families, community, and the outside world. In other words, with FAM’s help, you can both confirm you make a difference TODAY, and know you’ll make a bigger impact for TOMORROW.
So what are you waiting for? Now’s the time for you to start those reps: give FAM a call or write ‘em a note, they’re happy to help!
Oh, another thing. When I go to the gym my goal is 40 minutes. But lately I’ve been so busy I can only squeeze in about 20-25 minutes. It sounds absurd, but I’ve found A FEW REPS is better than NO REPS. So get to it–no excuses!
Now where did I put that wheelbarrow…?
