Healthy relationships thrive on mutual trust, mutual respect, honesty, support and equality. Keeping separate identities is important, meaning no one has to change so that each person can be happy. You can remain who you are without fear of judgement or punishment.

Communication is a huge part of a healthy relationship. It is good if you can communicate with one another without judgment, like you can tell the person that you’re with anything. Another thought is you can spend time apart. Why? Because you trust each other and you can try new things apart.

The post Healthy Relationships, part 2 appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

My three-year-old sometimes has her own work to do and I try to have them to do their work together. This helps because she seems to feel involved and maybe the kindergartner will be more likely do her work. She doesn’t really like to follow what she’s supposed to do, like tracing. She feels the need to color it in.

My kindergartner’s distance learning assignments last for a week. We have been doing it for two weeks and her teacher posts it on the online virtual classroom, Dojo. She gets a shout out that she is one of the top workers for the week. I think that makes her want to do her work!

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I’ve been doing things to cope with the situation of not working. I have been going to Shasta dam and driving around. I try to social distance but it’s really hard because some people don’t listen to the guidelines. They get really close and I don’t like it. One time I was at the grocery store and I heard a guy say his kid had the virus. To be honest, I freaked out and bolted out of the store. I felt bad, but I also didn’t want the virus.

When people cough and I don’t know them I try to keep my distance as far as I can. It’s not because I want to be mean, it’s because I don’t know if it’s a smoker’s cough, asthma or something they had. I honestly feel for people who have asthma and allergies because they have to explain to everyone that they don’t have anything. I had to deal with telling people I had allergies for a while, and it sucked. I can only imagine how others feel who have things like asthma.

I haven’t been driving a lot recently as I have been mostly staying indoors. I try to go trail hiking though because I love the outside air and I can’t stand being inside for too long. Things were rough for me for a while because of personal issues, but they have gotten better when someone suggested I talk to more people. I did that and things got semi better.

But things got really good recently because I met someone who treats me the way I’ve always wanted to be treated. She says sweet things and she has goals, like to one day have a family just like I do.  I swear she was sent by gods angel. I felt I screwed up with her bad because I wasn’t getting any texts from her. I didn’t have a clue there was a problem with the phones until I got a text from her friend, saying it was her! My gosh, I swear I was crying happy tears. She went to great lengths just to talk to me and I swear this was the best day ever through this entire virus crap. Talking to this person has helped me get through this virus issue. I hope once this is all over, I get to see her.

I still get frustrated in the stores because there are so many people. What I have been doing to avoid being too close is to let them pass. There isn’t always enough room to walk honestly. At one point I also was worried if I was going to have enough money to pay bills and make it. I got really worried, but after talking to my payee I found out I was good, and it helped ease my worry a lot.

I can’t wait for things to get back to normal because then maybe people will be nicer and won’t drive crazy. Maybe that is hopeful wishing though. Doctors have been different, but I’m glad they are still able to do their job. I don’t know what I’d do if doctors couldn’t do their job during this, especially the therapist. Sometimes people only get to talk to their therapist instead of just anyone, and I could see a lot of people getting excited to talking to someone. I mean, who doesn’t? It’s a good thing.

I feel I’ve been lucky to have a lot of support to talk to, and that businesses like my mechanic have been open. I wish I could do something like a thank you card or something else to thank them for helping me and many others in this time of need. 

The post Dealing with the Shutdown appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

Emotional or Mental Abuse

Emotional or Mental Abuse happens when someone hurts your mind or makes you feel alone, controlled or afraid.

I tend to not like this type of abuse because if you believe what was said, it makes you feel empty and sad.

If you don’t understand it, you might not ever know you were mentally or emotionally abused because you can’t see it, feel it or touch it.

I want to feel that my peers and I can be strong. That we talk to each other when we are in doubt or in question of information given to us, even if it was given to us by someone we think we can trust. 

I feel that we can become a whole person if we can talk to MANY others that we trust. We can become empowered by the sense that WE are never alone in this world that we live in. 

What to do if you think you are being abused: You will feel stronger if you first tell a person that you trust about it. For me that would be my Service Coordinator or a trusted friend.

You will feel better if you don’t hold it inside. Do not assume anything that confuses you is the absolute truth.

The post Why it is Important to Understand Abuse- Part 2 appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

I have managed to fit workouts into my life at home. My home workout consists of me using a curl bar with plates of 10 pounds on each side. I curl about 2 sets. My goal is to get more strength in my arms.

Next, I move to my bench press. I have a straight bar that has 10-pound plates on each side. I lift two sets of 5 presses. My goal is to press out with my arms as well as gain chest muscle.

Now I move to the floor. I move my pull-up bar and lay it between the entrance to my kitchen. I lay on my back then I put my arms behind, grabbing on the handles. I put my legs together raising them all the way, then bend them halfway and bring my knees to my chest and straighten them out again. I repeat this process. This consists of 2 sets in 20 seconds. My goal is to lose stomach flab and bring out tighter abs.

I take a walk around my apartment to cool down. Since my body is in “pumped up mode” I grab my water, backpack, phone, card, keys, battery pack and protein bars. I make sure I have switched my shoes to my low top hiking shoes. I head out to the Nature Center in Oroville. I hike around 5 hours if I start early in the morning. If I start at 1 PM, I can only hike for about 3 hours. I would rather hike all day, but it just depends on how my bones feel. My goal is to strengthen my cardio and burn calories. It improves my mental thinking and reduces stress, plus I get to be with my Heavenly Father and spend time with him. My other goal for doing hikes is to decrease the chance of bad health issues that may come up.

Being able to find ways to better yourself is important in times of world predicaments. Also, it gets a person’s body ready for any other worldly crisis that may need them to be head strong and not stress and instead be ready by having a fast reaction and to be able to be on your toes.

The post Fitness Goals in Quarantine appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

Our options have now dwindled due to this virus, so we need to turn to each other and bounce things off one another in a different way. We can go about maintaining our relationships by talking or texting on the phone, and seeing each other in person while keeping a physical distance that suits everyone.

The post Healthy Relationships, part 1 appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

I was at work when my Do-It Leisure leader left me a message. She said, “Dinner and shopping, you in?” On my break I texted her back “fine”. She responded, “I will pick you up at your house at 5pm.”  A second phone call was made though- she phoned me to say no more going out with the group.

My life would be forever changed. The shelter in place order came over the T.V. I didn’t know at the time how my life would become so different. I was okay at first, then when I couldn’t go to church or work I became very lonely and depressed. That was about two months ago. I have people hired to come help me.

Flash Back to March: my Do-It Leisure leader said this won’t last too long. We will go out and celebrate your birthday in March or April. But that didn’t happen. I was with my caregiver on my birthday, but no party. The church people sent me about 20 cards and I received many phone calls. For a birthday dinner, I had a free curb side dinner from Denny’s. On the way home my caregiver bought me a milk shake at Wendy’s.

The above stories tell how this stay at home lifestyle has totally changed many plans I had for the spring. Many other once a year events have been canceled such as my church fundraiser and the Silver Dollar Fair.

I have been following the Government and state guidelines. I live in a big house. My family hired caregivers to take me to the store, out to dinner and other daily tasks.

I’m not able to go to work at my jobs or attend events in person. I miss all my co-workers and my church crowd. Some events I can do on the computer. I feel connected to people though different online programs. I do church, bible studies, and one of my jobs online. I talk to my family on the phone every day. I phone people for one of my jobs. I watch movies on Netflix. I go for a walk in the park. I wear a mask when at the store.

I want people to be better get well and stay safe. According to the local and nightly news there is slow and steady recovery reports happening all over California. We are in stage two of reopening our state. I want stage three to come soon. While I am waiting, I will continue to be positive and work with my caregivers.

The post My Coronavirus Story appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

When you have a disability, you get a LOT of letters from social service organizations. How can you tell if it’s real or a scam?

Before you fill out any information and send it back to them, follow these steps to make sure the letter is real.

1. Do NOT rely on any information from the letter to make sure the letter is real. This is important, because this may be a scam and they will want you to fill out the information and send it to them.

2. Go to the phone book under the government pages to try to find the organization the letter came from. If you don’t have a phone book, go to the next step.

3. I suggest you go on the internet to look them up.  When I did that, I found 3 different phone numbers to call.

4. Call the phone number to find out if that organization really sent you a letter.

5. Ask to make sure what information the organization was asking for in the letter. This is to make sure you are talking about the same letter.

6. Make sure the return address and who to send the information back to is correct.

7. If all the information matches; they are safe. Fill out the information they asked for and send it back to them.

The post How to Verify a Letter from Social Services appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

Scams are ways for people to steal your money. In the next three weeks I will be talking about some common scams, why we need to look out for them, and ways you can protect yourself. 

The scams that I will be talking about will be:

1. Fake check scams

2. Working at home scams

3. Payday loan scams  

These are some of the biggest scams we need to watch out for these days.

The post Watching Out for Scams- Part 1 of 3 appeared first on We Care A Lot Foundation.

With schools closed during this quarantine, kids are staying home. They are doing their schoolwork at home and now suddenly you’re the teacher! Being a mom with learning disabilities with two boys that are 13 and 14, it’s hard to help them with their schoolwork. For my boys, doing schoolwork at home instead of in the classroom, is very different. Then I have to balance my work from home with helping them, which makes it hard for all of us.

Here are 5 things I found that may help you work with your child at home:

1. Don’t get frustrated. Remember if you get frustrated your kids will get frustrated. If you relax, they will be more relaxed and learning will be more fun for all of you.

2. Take breaks. Every child learns differently. Some children can work for long periods of time while some can’t focus for as long. If you watch them, you will learn when they need a break.

3. Keep a normal daily routine and bedtime. Just like in school they will need breaks, outside play time, a lunch hour, and rest and sleep time.

4. School device boundaries. If your student got a device from their school, it is for school assignments and contact with teachers, only. It is not for games or social media.

5. Keep up communication with all teachers that work with your child. This is the most important thing you can do. They will help you and support you through your challenges of homeschooling your kids.

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