Air Mask

I should visit our aging relatives in faraway cities. I should become more active in our neighborhood watch group. I should get out and volunteer, make friends, and meet people in the community.

But first I need to 'put on my own air mask'. You've all traveled on airlines and heard those pre-flight instructions, right? If the masks drop, put on your own first. Then assist others. It's common sense. You're no help to others if you're not OK.

This advice applies to everything, not just to air-mask emergencies. I used to do volunteer work. Nothing was worse than fellow volunteers who couldn't show up. Good reason? Lame reason? No difference. You counted on them being there. They weren't.

We often don't take care of ourselves. It seems selfish to spend time, money, and attention on yourself. However, if the expenditure makes you ready to deal with family emergencies, instead of not showing up, maybe you should get out the wallet? Spend the time?

Here's an example. We need a cat/house sitter on call. We can't have one unless things improve here. We have doors that don't lock unless closed exactly right. The faucet dribbles unless you shut it off the right way. There are stacks of stuff that block hallways and doorways. It's all gotta be fixed if we hire a sitter.

We also have a cat who knows all the hiding places to avoid her twice-daily insulin shot (the one that keeps her alive). We need to set things up so that she is accessible to the cat-sitter no matter what. These things take time and effort that we can't accomplish without help.

Yep, it's time to review what's selfish vs. what's needed to be ready to cope. We need to fix what's broken. We need to be ready to grab the air mask when it drops.