Staples of Feeling Good

Last night I decided to roast a chicken. Usually before I throw it in the oven, I create a concoction of spices and herbs to throw on it, but to my disgruntlement yesterday, I could find no cumin! "How could I be totally out of cumin," I thought, "it's a staple!" To those who also consider cumin to be a staple, you totally get me on this. To those who don't, you might rather empathize with my equal disappointment when I found that we were also out of honey. Anyways, all this to say that when the milk, eggs, salt, sugar, butter, honey, or in some cases, cumin, are missing right when you need them, you are suddenly very limited in what you can do and whatever you do end up pulling together would be much better if you had what you needed.

Sorry if this is a bit of a stretch, but last night I was thinking that the things that I mentioned in yesterday's blog that keep us feeling good and regulated- the whole sleeping, eating, pooping thing- are staples to human functioning. We can only go so long working inadequately any of these areas without falling apart in some way. The walls start caving in much faster, driving the caveman in us to come out. The Floortime™ approach that I mentioned yesterday suggests that once the regulatory needs are met, the individual becomes more organized, and more interested and connected in what's going on around them. Sometimes the way the body takes in, processes, and responds to certain sensory stimuli in the environment- sights, sounds, touches, smells, tastes, movements, etc.- can make a person feel "off" as well, which also affects regulation (or better put, feeling organized/centered/together/in sync/with it/tuned in/checked in... whatever you wanna call it). So, using my silly little metaphor, the regulatory functions in our bodies are like staples- if we feel like something's missing, our whole body feels it.

Last night, I went to bed about an hour earlier than usual and might have felt much better this morning except that for whatever reason (God, help me!) my daughter woke up three times during the night. Needless to say, we're both feeling a bit out of sorts today. And boy is it creating an interesting blend of moods in our household.

Even though it might seem that I'm going really back to basics on this area of functioning, I'm convinced after these past two years of parenting that things that should come so naturally and instinctually are very challenging to learn and keep consistent. And I'm also very convinced that these regulatory processes are very much connected, which makes things even more complicated if one of the processes is out of sync.

Take, for example, my caffeine addiction that has developed over the years in response to insufficient sleep. I don't sleep enough, so I cram a God-forbidden amount of coffee down my throat each day and then stay up late because I'm so wired. Its a vicious cycle. The times in my life when I've attempted to minimize my caffeine intake have been short-lived because it seems like I always find a reason to keep myself "needing" the caffeine. On the other hand, if I think rationally about this, it occurs to me that I actually feel more authentically awake and energized if I replace some of my caffeine intake with exercise and vitamin-packed foods. The exercise is a discipline that requires more time out of my busy life, but if I make it happen consistently, it becomes as necessary to me as that extra cup of coffee would have been. AND, as a bonus, I sleep much better when I exercise regularly. Imagine that. AND I am always inspired to eat more healthy foods when I exercise. Man... maybe I should've started there!

All this to say... getting enough sleep is not enough to get me feeling more centered and feeling good. I think the plan also calls for a decrease in my caffeine intake and an increase in exercise. I think I also want to start eating better. For the life of me, I have no clue how I made it through 10 years of college and grad school with the mindset that lattes counted as meals.