Posts Tagged ‘Family’
Thursday, September 10th, 2015
By Dennis Powell, e-Management
Autumn can be a spectacular. It can also be a stressful time for many professionals, parents, and families. (Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons)
September is here, which means meteorological summer will soon be but a distant memory. Autumn can be a stressful time for many professionals, parents, and families. Why? Students and workers are returning from summer break and vacations all at once, adding volume to traffic and increasing gridlock throughout various communities across the country. Plus, work life for many go from zero to 100, making professional life busier and often more hectic. *take a deep breath* Well, the e-Management blogging team sympathizes and has pulled together a short list of how to deal with all of the headaches, anxiety, and stress that are often associated with the beginning of Autumn and the back to school season.
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Eat well, stay active, and get plenty of water: Whether you are a student, parent, or professional, maintaining optimal health through a healthy diet and regular exercise is a great way to deal with autumnal stress. Nutritionist Michelle Stewart, MPH, RDLD/N, CDE, confirms that dehydration can make the body work extra hard when dealing with stress. In addition to drinking ample amounts of water as a way to lower stress levels, she recommends making “wise food choices” by consuming less high saturated fat foods and more whole (non-processed) foods like vegetables, grains, and fruits. Finally, fitness experts agree exercising including Zumba, swimming, cycling, jogging, yoga, and weight training is an effective tool for reducing the effects of stress.
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Keep the lines of communication open: For parents of anxious students who are starting classes or a new school, Elizabeth Scott, stress management expert and author of the , recommends parents talk and listen to their children’s anxiety around starting or returning to school. She advises that parents take the time to understand what their daughters’ and sons’ misgivings are around a new school year. Scott also suggests this may be a great time to talk about potential “bullies” and peer pressure. Essentially, she asserts that keeping the lines of communications open for your children can go a long way in their success.
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Prepare for the next day, the night before: For folks who are returning to work from vacation or employees preparing for a busy season at their jobs, planning may be the thing to relieve workplace related stress and anxiety. Jason Mannino, career coach and executive recruitment program manager at University of California (UC) Berkeley, recommends getting your clothing ready every evening. This simple act can actually reduce morning stress, which can carry over into the workplace. Mannino also recommends going to bed early and offers up tips for improving sleep, such as making the bedtime process an hour of unwinding down. Experts confirm benefits of sleep to include improved academic performance, fewer accidents, and yes less stress.
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Talk to yourself. It’s not necessarily a sign of mania. Instead, it can be a helpful tool in managing stress. The American Heart Association recommends highly stressed people incorporate “positive self-talk” into their daily routines. When faced with stressful situations, positive self-talk phrases like, “I’ve got this” or “Someday I’ll laugh about this” can control stress levels.
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Consider getting professional counseling: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports in the that two out of every five employees say their job is “very” or “extremely stressful.” A survey from the American Psychological Association warns that young students who cope badly with stress may carry those ineffective habits into adulthood. It is important for youth and adults to find healthy ways of coping with stress and anxiety. Naturally, students and adults who are overwhelmed by life’s stress and anxiety levels should seek support from certified counselors or experts in stress management. Check out WebMD’s Anxiety & Panic Disorders Health Center for resources to assist in finding counsellors.
What do you think?
Hopefully, those tips were useful. Still, there are certainly more ways to reduce stress. So, we want to hear from you. (1) Does Autumn bring about more or less stress for you, your coworkers, or your family? (2) How to deal with school, home, or workplace stress?
Tags: anxiety, autumn, Dennis Powell, , fall, Family, NIOSH, Ola Sage, parents, seasons, stress management, students
Posted in Entertainment, Family, Lifestyle | 21 Comments »
More than a few good…
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
By Dennis Powell, e-Management
Every year, the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center provides top-notch care to more than 50,000 veterans, plus another 500,000 outpatients. The facility services veterans who live in the greater DC metro area. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
I grew up a little more than two miles from the Veterans Affairs hospital located on Irving Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. The facility—which falls under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—was responsible for treating many neighborhood veterans who were often full of war stories and who frequented the medical center. I admit that I was kind of jealous of these veterans; not because of their great adventures, but for their access to that “big hospital down the street.” As a kid, I had an obsession with hospitals. (Today, I try to stay as far away from them as possible! Go figure.)
My How Times Have Changed.
Over the past decade, the VA, which runs the VA hospital and serves our veterans, has come under fire. Remember the missing laptops and subsequent security breaches? Allegations of nepotism? The HIV and hepatitis issues linked to contaminated colonoscopy equipment? Or maybe you may recall alleged inappropriate behavior among married executives?
Scandals come and go in the government that’s for sure. But in my opinion, what remains consistent is that most federal workers take their roles as civil servants seriously—especially at the VA. So, I decided to shine the spotlight on the VA and how it makes veterans and their families a little better.
Four Things that Make Veterans Affairs Great!
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Government Support for Our Veterans. Contrary to some of the bad press the VA has received, the U.S. government financially supports its veterans. The department has the 2nd largest federal budget. (In case you are wondering, the Department of Defense [DoD] has the most funding). The department serves our veterans through three administrations: the National Cemetery Administration (NCA); the Veterans Health Administration (VHA); and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
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Taking Care of Our Veterans’ Healthcare Needs. The VHA is responsible for administering healthcare to our veterans. This agency runs medical centers across the country and conducts medical research among other medical activities. The VHA is the largest healthcare system in the country! According to agency statistics, more than 53,000 healthcare professionals serve more than 8.3 million veterans annually.
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Benefits for the Entire Family. Through VBA, veterans are eligible for a list of benefits such as G.I. Bill for educational and special training assistance, housing loans, and insurance. For instance, veterans who qualify for G.I. Bill benefits can actually get assistance for apprenticeships, on the job training, and college/university education. Better education and training may lead to better jobs and financial security. Check out the G.I. Bill website for inspiring stories regarding how the agency helps veterans and their families meet educational goals and securing financial success.
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Laying Our Veterans to Rest. The VA also honors veterans through burials and memorials. Did you know the NCA maintains “131 national cemeteries in 39 states (and Puerto Rico) as well as 33 soldier’s lots and monument sites?” Last year alone, more than 8.1 million people visited VA cemeteries. The government has “obligated more than $438 million” for cemetery expansion since 1980. But before you bark at that sum, keep in mind that volunteers gave 366,000 hours to support our VA cemeteries during fiscal year 2010 according to the NCA!
Is the VA perfect?
Absolutely not, given a few missteps of the department and its agencies. However, no agency is flawless. I shared my thoughts regarding the services and benefits the department offers our veterans. Now, I want to hear from you. What are your impressions of how well the VA serves our veterans? What are veterans saying about the VA? In addition to services outlined in this blog posting, what has the VA done to support our veterans?
Tags: affairs, agency, benefits, cemetery, center, Dennis Powell, department, , Family, federal, G.I. Bill, Government, hospital, medical, NCA, Ola Sage, support, troops, VA, VBA, veterans, VHA
Posted in Economy, Family, Gadgets, Government, Healthcare, Information Security, IT Infrastructure, IT Strategy & Management, Leadership, Risk Management, Uncategorized | 14 Comments »
Adventures of the “Younger” Colleen (Part II)
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
by Colleen Schuler, e-Management
Hey, thanks for coming back! To recap from Part I, my family is just about ready to start a vacation with two adults, five kids, and a dog with a 7-year-old station wagon pulling a 19-foot trailer. Whew!
We’re living in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan—about 25 miles from the Canadian border. We’re on our way to the World’s Fair in Montreal. The day of the trip looms bright and early—but not early enough for my dad. We need to get a move on! We finally pull out of the driveway. But before we cross the border, my dad wants to stop at the bank and exchange some currency. As we see him disappear into the bank, we notice steam slowly coming out from underneath the hood. Oh boy.
The U.S. Pavilion at the Word’s Fair (Expo ’67) in Montreal.
We find a garage that can fix the car (a leaky radiator hose) that day but by the time it’s done, it’s early afternoon. And there’s no way dad can make it to the campground before dark. So he decides that we’re going back home and starting all over tomorrow! As you can imagine, we’re all pretty upset about it and my two younger sisters are crying their eyes out all the way back to the base.
Next day, we do get an earlier start since the trailer’s already packed. But unfortunately, when we reach Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, we’re smack dab in the middle of an Airstream trailer caravan—about 300 or so of them. They’re pouring out of every side street! (Airstreams have a distinctive aluminum body with a sausage-like shape.) My dad is just a tad bit nervous—Airstreamers are seasoned travelers and my dad is just a novice. This is his first time hauling a loaded trailer!
We make it ok to the campground the first night. But parking the trailer was a bit tricky…it wasn’t a drive through spot—my dad had to back the trailer up. To make matters worse, the ground was muddy, the tires were slipping, and my dad has to drive it over a slight hump in front of the parking spot. Oh, and the rear edge of the parking spot has a 5-foot drop to a creek. Thankfully, there were no mishaps.
The road conditions weren’t that great—a two-lane gravel road for most of the journey. On the second day, we’re going downhill around a curve when we hear a thumpety-thump noise. Oh boy, the right rear tire is flat. So now, we (mostly my dad and brother) have to unhitch the trailer and unload the back of the wagon in order to get to the spare. Dad can’t get off the road completely because it’s very narrow with hardly any shoulder, so my mom takes my sister’s red sweater and traipses back up the hill to wave people to slow down. My dad said that the only people who stopped to offer assistance were those hauling trailers, too. (Let’s hear it for the community of RVers!)
We make it to the campground about 30 miles away from the fair. The first two days are fine. We’re enjoying the fair, having a blast. On the third night returning to the campground, the engine shuts down (Oh boy). No warning, no nothing, it just stops. Dad can’t find anything wrong with the car. But miraculously it starts up again. We eventually take it to a local garage; but “Bessie” will keep quitting on us periodically for the rest of the trip. Guess what happens the fourth night? Just as we’re pulling up to the trailer…whoosh! Another flat (Oh boy).
On our return trip, Dad decides to go the southern route through Lower Michigan than chance the graveled roads of Ontario. But even on a level highway, my dad could never get the car going past 55 mph. And during on stretch, we almost ran out of gas, the fuel consumption was high, and the gas station were far between.
That was the start of many family vacations with the trailer (much shorter distances, though!). However, my dad said that one of his happiest days happened when he sold the trailer for $500 and saw it towed out of our driveway! Bessie, our ’60 Chevy wagon, not only survived the trip but lasted another 5 years and went with us to Guam. (It will be some months following our World Fair’s trip—and several part changes before the car gets fixed.)
My family still takes the occasional vacation together…and we still get along with each other!
Have you ever taken a trip where everything that could go wrong did? Did you have a great time despite all of the drama? What was your favorite summer adventure or road trip? What are some of your tips to help others avoid some of the mishaps my family experienced during our big adventure to the World’s Fair in Montreal?
Photo courtesy of Alamedainfo.com
Tags: Airstreamers, Canada, Chevy, Colleen Schuler, dogs, Family, Guam, Honda, Michigan, Montreal, Ontario, Quebec, road trip, RV, Sault Ste. Marie, summer, travel tips, vacation, World's Fair
Posted in Entertainment, Events, Lifestyle, Travel, Uncategorized | 11 Comments »
The Adventures of the “Younger” Colleen (Part I)
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
By Colleen Schuler, e-Management
Ah summer…it’s just around the corner and that time of year again…to take the dreaded family vacation!
Well, let me tell you about mine when I was in middle school. Back then they called it junior high. But before I tell you about my family vacation, I have to set the stage.
My lovely family…
At the time of the vacation, my dad was a military officer. And no, he was not a stern taskmaster. Really, at heart, he is a marshmallow and it’s gotten much worse! Although he did, and still does, have a penchant for being on time. One thing the military taught him, though, was to plan. A few days before the trip, he got out his Rand McNally atlas, ruler, paper and pen (pre-historic GPS!) to calculate how far he could drive before having to get gas, stop for lunch, etc. He even budgeted time for pit stops! It was always 10 minutes. I don’t think we ever made it in that time, but it did accomplish the real purpose: no lollygagging. Oh, did I mention there are five kids in this scenario AND a dog? That my dad’s pulling a 19-foot trailer? That we’d have to set up camp, preferably when it’s light out? My dad had to bring some sort of order to our chaos!
Our family took many vacations in our 1960 Chevy station wagon.
My mom is the quiet backbone of our family. How she planned for this vacation with five kids is beyond me. I mean, I just have trouble figuring out what to pack for a 3-day weekend, forget planning meals and what pots and pans to bring! And let me tell you, my mom can cook, whether it’s on a stove top, gas grill, or hibachi pot. She was famous for her dinner parties with homemade ravioli and cannoli (filling and the pasta), tomato sauce, garlic bread, even the salad dressing… Oh, dear, I’m getting hungry just writing about it! Sadly, the majority of those genes did a flyby over me!
I have four siblings…three sisters and a younger brother; we span 10 years in age. My brother at this point is starting to get taller than me, which really helps when it comes to setting up camp. We had a tent to supplement our sleeping space. My dad relies on my older sister and brother to help him with that…I just try to stay out of the way! Hey, my brother was always good at putting things together…like airplane models and a Honda banana-seat scooter. So why not put his skills to work?
My two younger sisters are different but two peas in a pod…and both were cute as buttons, usually dressed in outfits my mom made them (yep, another gene flyby). They would usually land in the very back of the station wagon since there wasn’t a third seat. This was before seat belts were required for all passengers—can you imagine?! They entertained us with songs they picked up on the playground (You know, real uplifting songs like, “Comet, it makes your mouth so green, Comet, it tastes like gasoline…!” ). What can I say about my big sis? We could fight like cats and dogs but I looked up to her, wanted to dress like her and she was my protector. Oh, and by the way, all of my mom’s genes landed on her.
Our dog was a poodle. He would do a funny thing when we’d get in the station wagon after a pit stop: he’d hop from the front seat to the back seat to the very back and then reverse it….counting noses I guess, to make sure we were all there.
Oh, and one last “family member”: Bessie, our 1960 Chevy station wagon. She plays an integral part in this story…
So what adventures could two adults, five kids, a dog, and an old station wagon pulling a 19-foot trailer on a two-lane road possibly have? Stay tuned for Part II next week!
But in the meantime, let’s talk about you! What’s it like to go on vacation with your family or friends? Do you have a “lollygagger” in your midst? What do you do or where do you go on your vacation? To visit family, a fun place, or event? What was your most memorable family vacation? Share your story now and be sure to come back next week for Part II!
Photo courtesy of Stationwagon.com
Tags: banana-seat, Chevy, Colleen Schuler, , Family, Honda, military, Rand McNally atlas, scooter, station wagon, summer, vacation
Posted in Entertainment, Events, Travel, Uncategorized | 16 Comments »
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