TMI Tuesday: Blasting The Baby Monitor

When we first starting putting the baby registry together last year one of the things that we made sure to put on there was a monitor. Rather than going with the usual ones, we wanted to upgrade a little bit and get the video monitor for no other reason than we felt more comfortable being able to see our son and not just hear him. So far, that has been the primary use of the camera (especially when he is eerily quiet in his sleep) but it has also been a great source of entertainment at times.

There have been many nights when our son has had trouble sleeping or getting to sleep. Being able to see him has allowed us to take preemptive action during those times. While he may not be screaming yet, we know the restlessness that comes before the ear piercing. We both hate to hear our son cry and preventing that from happening by calming his flailing legs has been a great way to avoid those moments.

Sometimes there are moments, especially after a long and/or tiring day, when we just want to see him. It is calming to watch our son sleep but sometimes we don’t want to risk stepping on that one squeaking floorboard and waking him up. The camera has afforded us the best of both worlds by watching him dreaming peacefully without the risk of disturbing those restful moments for him.

And then there are the entertaining times. Whenever we hear him rustling in his crib we turn on the video. Sometimes, as mentioned above, we need to climb up the stairs and settle him. Other times we know what is about to happen. It can be just as loud as those aforementioned screams and they are much stinker as well. Those are the times when we know he is about to let his colon calm him.

It usually starts with the legs high in the air as if he is practicing some odd form of flatulent yoga. Keep in mind that we are watching this from the foot of the crib (maybe the funniest of all the possible angles). This is followed by a little shimmy. This can happen several times depending on the intensity of the end result. Once everything is primed the fuse is lit and the explosion vibrates the crib. I guess you could say that it is a brief moment of satisfying wakefulness for our baby. Once the dust settles he turns his head to the side and falls right back into a deep and restful sleep. At this point we just hope our laughing isn’t so loud that it will wake him up.

So there are many uses that we have gotten out of the video monitor. Some are very practical and have been beneficial since we brought our son home in the winter. Of course, there are also the other times when it has just been a great source of laughter.  

WTF = Winter’s Tenacious February

I woke up this morning to the sound of a heavy rain slamming into the ground. The kind of rain that has a purpose. We knew it was coming from watching the news the night before but we didn’t expect the echoes that the weighted water would cause just outside our bedroom window. I don’t know if it was the expectation of what I would inevitably find on the other side of our apartment door or the rhythm of the rain, but I had a hard time getting out of bed.

After a quick shower, I poured a cold cup of coffee from the day before and cracked open the door. The giant drops were a change from the frozen flakes that have plagued us for the past month but as soon as my shoe splashed onto the sidewalk, I was wishing that it was snow. Carefully I placed my other foot on the concrete and before long my feet began to slide as I walked toward my car.

I have always found that the best way to determine the condition of the road is to walk on it. With this thought in mind, I walked across the parking lot and found that while there were slick spots, the asphalt wasn’t too bad. The trees however looked like they decided to take up yoga during the night. With branches bent in an unnatural fashion, it was inevitable that there was going to be limbs, if not entire trees, along, on, and across the roads this morning.

It was with this thought that I began my journey to the office and it wasn’t long before the traction control began flashing on the dashboard and the brakes were pumping at the end of the driveway. Within a quarter mile of the apartment building the slalom began as I joined a line of cars weaving back and forth around trees on our way to the highway. The important thing is that the tires retained their grip and people kept their distance so we all managed to make it through the inoperable traffic lights, down the road, and onto the Schuylkill Expressway.

With few cars on the road, the ride to the office was pretty quick. While there was nothing eventful across the three lanes heading eastbound, my peripheral vision was overloaded with the constant motion of bending, breaking, and falling branches all along the highway. Nothing impacted the commute and I pulled into the office in about the same amount of time that it usually takes in the morning. The only difference in my arrival was second guessing my usual parking spot under one of the trees. I wasn’t about to take the risk when there were plenty of spots out in the open.

And this is how the long day of power outages and failed internet connections started. What seemed uneventful in the beginning of the day and was pretty safe, has been a bigger PITA than a foot of snow on the ground. And this is, by no means, an end to the winter weather for the week.

Presenting Members With Alternatives

Time and again I read about proponents making grandiose claims about alternative medicine whether it is a miracle pill/supplement, a bracelet that can cure you from pain, or a drastic diet that can turn you into an Adonis. Every time I find myself changing the channel, turning the page, or leaving the room. But there are other times when I sit back, listen, and once they are done preaching I ask them a very simple question. I never ask anything tricky or that is an attempt to catch them in a trap. Every time I have done this my question has been either dismissed or I am given a general that their snake oil can cure anything.

Given my past experiences, I went into yesterday’s Rotary meeting with some underlying consternation but, to be fair, I sat back and I listened. Our guest speaker’s background was so diversified that I couldn’t help but give her my attention and see what her view is on her chosen profession. It was also in the best interest of the club that I remain neutral as I was acting President yesterday and I didn’t want to interfere or have a negative impact on the club.

After opening the meeting in both the traditional and in our own unique manner, I was honored to be a part of a long overdue occasion… the official welcoming of a new member. I recall that day fondly and, I can now say, it is just as special when you are the one welcoming someone in to the club. With all the Rotary business taken care of for the day, we moved on to having a lively lunch before welcoming our guest speaker to the podium.

Dr. Joanna Carmichael is the Founder & CEO of the Kalyana Centre (formerly The Center for Oneness) in Narberth, Pennsylvania. Her background includes 26 years in the nursing field (including psychiatric nursing) along with over 20 years of clinical experience in the pharmaceutical research industry. During that time she committed herself to simultaneous studies in Holistic Health, Metaphysics, Divinity, Yoga, and Ayurveda resulting in two doctoral degrees which has given her a well-rounded perspective on health and healing and its intimate relationship to spirituality.

Her desire to create a place of beauty, healing and transformation where people can come to experience a variety of modalities in Alternative Medicine resulted from an intention that began when she left the pharmaceutical industry permanently in 2008 and opened the centre in September 2009. “Starting this Centre has been a dream come true,” said Carmichael. “My intention to do this at a time where we need healing on all levels became manifest… I had the vision and now the vision has me.” It is here where she educates people with regard to meditation, yoga, and ayurveda to help people primarily with the one thing that plagues us all… stress.

Carmichael’s belief in the interconnectedness between physiology, psychology and spirituality and the need for conventional as well as complementary modalities provides a vast array of choices by which the individual can begin their journey into healing. Her background in both the hard sciences and in alternative medicine is a combination that allows for a much more holistic approach to the problems of individuals. Being able to seamlessly combine the two is something that few have been able to accomplish and understanding the limitations of both is a powerful tool to apply to the care of her clients.

Also of note is that this is not just all business and profit for Carmichael. This is a deeply help passion and something that she offers, in part, as a service to the community through a free community meditation program which she offers every Monday and Wednesday (Thursday with another practitioner) from 6:00 – 6:30 pm at the Centre. During these open sessions, attendees are invited to decompress from the day's activities and connect with like-minded people for a half hour of meditation with the overall objective being that “through meditation we are also tapping into the wisdom of our soul, where we can experience the field of infinite potential, creativity, health and wisdom.”

It is because of people like Dr. Carmichael that I do my best to keep an open mind and listen to the perspectives that may be radically different from my own. Sometimes my views don’t change while other time, such as yesterday, I am willing to accept the merits of some alternatives. This also demonstrates the importance of Rotary in exposing people to ideas, professions, and individuals that they wouldn’t normally come across during the normal course of their day.

What have been some of topics covered during a Rotary meeting that you wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to? Who have been some of the more memorable speakers? Has your overall perspective been changed through Rotary? Please note that all these questions can apply to other clubs, fraternities, organizations, etc. Feel free to answer based on your personal involvement in any of the above not just Rotary.