Walking is such a stress reliever for me. Sometimes I can actually feel the tension just melt away after I'm about 10 minutes into a good walk. I do like walking in the woods the best, but when I can't do it, I do find that even walking on the sidewalk by my busy road still helps. In my quest to live a healthier life, I find that I have to remember to walk. It has been snowy here, and I don't get to walk as much as I'd like right now, but as soon as the sidewalks look better I'm going to get back to it. I'm trying to walk about 2 to 2 1/2 miles a day. As I read about different illnesses, I keep finding the same piece of information: stress is making us all sick. Whatever is wrong with a person, stress only makes it worse, and from some recent articles I've read, walking is the best stress reducer out there. I think sometimes parents don't make any time for themselves. I know I didn't. But now I realize I have to do it. I have to make time to walk, to breathe, so just be. It doesn't really even add up to that much time out of the day, but it is my time, and it is crucial to staying healthy. It will keep us happier and healthier, and in turn our children will be happier and healthier. I wasn't feeling well a couple of nights ago. My son was trying to bring things to me to comfort me. Then he didn't want to be alone at bedtime and was acting very insecure. I think my illness traumatized him. My mom and my husband tried to take him out and do fun things with him, and I did what I could, but as much as we tried to make his life somewhat normal, he saw more than I thought he did, and as all kids do, he sucked it inside himself, it is a part of him now. We just need to hug each other a lot, reassure each other, and I need to take the best care of myself I can, for him and for me. My picture from today's Bird Therapy is a White-Breasted Nuthatch. I sometimes see these birds in my suet, but more often I see them in my sunflower seeds.