A Motley Crew

I would have laughed if I'd been watching us walk to Cowbelle's Coffee and Patchwork shop the other day. My two year old son was wheeling a doll pram containing his newest favourite toy, a baby doll! I was wheeling an empty pram, because it was close to sleep time and I didn't think HB would want to walk home. LJ looked normal, riding her scooter. And following about 5 metres behind was the cat, who thinks she is a dog and goes on all walks with us! When we reach our destination she sits outside the door and meows, or climbs the screen door! Naughty cat.

The baby doll obsession is to the disdain of his father, who would much prefer an obsession with something more blokey!

New Book

I subscribe (thanks to Wendy) to a ministry-wives magazine called Just Between Us. Anyway, in the midst of my current illness, I opened up the magazine to find an article on battling with depression (thank you God!). Not much of the information was new to me, but I did order a couple of books recommended at the end of the article. I've read this one and learnt more than I have learnt from anything I've ever read or listened to. Among the most interesting points were -

- Looking after body, mind AND spirit are important. The book has specific suggestions.
- Every successive episode of depression damages the mood pathways in the brain, making it more likely that another episode will occur. However, medication can assist with this.
- Lowering stress levels will reduce the likelihood of a depressive illness
- Genetic influences are responsible for half the risk fractors for developing depression, environment is the other 50%.
- People have different psychological makeups, so different events will affect them differently. As two people may bruise differently physically, so their brains will 'bruise' differently from different emotional events.

I must say I feel less guilty after reading this book. It's got a few different strategies for me to try, too. Definitely not wasted money!

don't call me...

When I was at Uni doing my disability subject, we were drilled not to 'put the disability before the person'. For example, don't call a person with Down Syndrome 'a Downsie' or use the term 'an autistic child'. I recently heard the term 'a depressive' used in conversation. It got to me, and I started to wonder why. Putting it in the framework above made some sense, but if we are to think about ourselves in the way that God does, how does he define us? If we are saved, he sees us as his children, and He does not define us by our faults!