The Christianville Spirit: Happy Thanksgiving!

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul

November 26, 2014-TCS # 426

Happy Thanksgiving, My Readers! Really, I hope that You have an Awesome Thanksgiving No Matter Who You Are. So, I was having a bit of Trouble with figuring out What I should write about This Thanksgiving Eve. I thought of Maybe, What I’m thankful for or Maybe, My Feelings toward all the Unrest in The Country and In Ferguson, Missouri, but I figured that I should not give that Anymore Energy than it already has. So, What I am going to Write about, You Say? Well, Let’s start with a Question. Oh Boy, I am sure You are thinking. What does Thanksgiving mean to You? And, Don’t Worry, if You say, “Shopping”, I promise to not judge you, unless it is for a Greedy Reason, then I do not Support You. So, Back to My Question, What does Thanksgiving mean to You? As a Friend of My Mom’s and Mine, says, “Thanksgiving is the Only Holiday where You can spend time with Your Family, and not have to Worry about Gifts or Presents” Now, when I heard that, It kind of stung but, only because I am a Christmas-Lover and After Halloween is over with, I am ready for Christmas Movies, Music, and So On. But, The Ugly Truth is that This Friend is 100% Right, Thanksgiving is The Only Holiday to Really have Genuine Quality Time with Family without Gifts or Presents. Again, Not to Diss Christmas because I love Christmas and I always will. But, What about Thanksgiving? Well, Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is often overlooked by The Frantic Holiday Shopping known as “Black Friday” which to be honest, seems to be turning into “Black ThanksFriday.” In My Head, It is like driving into a Double-Metro Area like Baltimore-Washington or Even My Own, Dallas-Fort Worth. You enter Fort Worth and find that, No You do not want to go to Fort Worth (and, Fort Worth is a Very Down-to-Earth, Cowboy City) but, You want to go to Dallas. Well, What do You do? Well, skip it of course, take the “Bypass” around it and get to Dallas faster, instead of going through it. So, Thanksgiving, By The Way, to me, Anyway, means Quality Time with Family (If Family is not around, Then Friends and New Friends can do), It means Turkey and Stuffing! (Stuffing is One of My Favorite Parts of Thanksgiving), and Of Course, Watching The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which not only is My Favorite Tradition but, It is the Official Start of The Holiday Season. Now, I know that There are some people who love Football on Thanksgiving. If I ever had a Discussion about it with Someone who is a Passionate Football Fan, They would probably tell me that 1. It keeps the Family entertained if You just can not handle staring at Your Family Member without nothing to talk about or It is just plain awkward. and, 2. It prevents the Family from Fighting (unless, and God Help You, Your Family roots for Different Teams) Believe Me, I am pretty sure that There are those type of Families Out There and The First Type of Family would be just Funny to watch and observe But, as They say in The News, I digress. and, Finally, There are People who sadly either do not have Family to go to, in which it is better for them to hang out with Friends, and If They do not have Either, that is When They need a Friend or Someone to spend Thanksgiving with. So, Thanksgiving is not the Best for them. and, Finally, There are The Shoppers. Now, in my head, There are two types of People that shop on Thanksgiving. Either those that are Alone with No Family or Friends, so Why not spend your heart out on Gifts and What not, It seems Logical and It helps them. BUT, There are also those who just want to Shop, Just because. or, maybe We can use the “Awkward Family” excuse and Maybe it provides more Entertainment when You can not handle being at Home anymore. The Ones that I do not agree with are “Black-Friday Shoppers” because In My Head, There is nothing that You need at 4 in The Morning. Anyway, My Readers, like Christmas, Thanksgiving is What You make of it. But, If Anything, Do Something Good for Thanksgiving, Help an Elderly Lady if You are Shopping, Shout Loud if You are a Football Fan and Make Sure that “Awkward Family” of Yours does it too (It is More Fun that Way), and Finally Enjoy The Quality Time with The Family because You never know what may happen. Sure, They may be Awkward, a Bit Messed Up, and They are just Funny (and, Fun) to be around, like My Family. But, Enjoy It and Lastly, (all in all) I hope You have a Great Thanksgiving with Lots of Love and Happiness!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Don’t be in such a Hurry that You Skip a Good City, Go Through The City and find out what is inside of it.

The Christianville Spirit: My Kidney Stone Story

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul

November 19, 2014-TCS # 425

Hello, My Readers! I can not tell you how much I missed You! I am sorry for My Unusual Absence Last Week but, I am going to Explain about It. So, for Veteran Readers, Do You remember when My Mom had Kidney Stones a couple years ago? Yes, Believe It or Not, I had them too. Yes, that is right; I, Christian Smith-Centeno, 27 Years Old had Kidney Stones! So, Let’s start from The Beginning, so Last Monday, I woke up and started having Pains on My Upper Left Side, It got to be so unbearable that I could not lay on either side, Sit Up, and Do anything without My Left Side Hurting. I thought, “Oh Man, Do I have Kidney Stones?!” because I remember that when My Mom had Kidney Stones, it helped her when I rubbed her on The Lower Back. I looked over to the Phone on My Nightstand and I thought, “It might be Time to call Mom.” Well, I had an Urge to Throw Up and I got up and Got Sick. Afterwards, I thought, “Okay, NOW It’s Time to call Mom” Now, usually  I am Very Healthy and so is The Rest of Smith Family, so It is Very Rare that I get Sick but, when I do get sick, It hits me hard. The Blessing-Curse Price of Being Healthy, I guess. Anyway, My Mom got home and checked me out (My Head temp., Body temp., Rubbed My Back and Belly, because The Pain had moved to My Belly on The Front Side) As My Mom checked me, She told me that She felt a “Hard-as-a-Rock” thing in My Intestines; Constipation, My Mom thought. So, She made me some Chamomile Tea to “Get Things Moving” in My Intestines. I thought to Myself, “I have been Constipated many times and It was never this bad!” I mean, I literally could not keep anything down except The Tea that My Mom was making me. By The Way, The Reason if it was Constipation would be because we PTLSers have an Extra-Long Intestine. After we tried every Method My Mom could think of, It started moving just VERY Slowly. We did try Everything, “Poop Tea” as My Mom calls it (which is that Chamomile Tea, I mentioned before), tried Milk of Magnesia and I threw that up a Second Later, A Heating Pad, A Massage (which really helped) and A Few other things. Thank God, My Mom is a Nurse! And, Understood My Big Fear of going to The Hospital. Things calmed down and I felt like My Intestines were Moving and I fell asleep and Slept until The Next Day. Anyway, Tuesday was Okay, I was able to Eat and Keep things down. My Mom told me that If It “Flares up” again, We would have to go to The Hospital. So, My Mom made me two cups of Chamomile Tea this time with Lemon. Now, I do have to say that I really liked that It had Lemon in it, it made it more willing for me to Drink It. I felt girgglely all day Tuesday and that I assumed was Progress. Well, I woke up on Wednesday Morning (Newsletter Day) and Progress Failed! I had Intense Pain when I got up, We just agreed that It was Time to make “The Call”. So, off to The ER, we went. “I’m Sorry it has to come to This” We told each other, I told her that because normally I would not have gotten to The Level of Being so Sick that I Have to go The Hospital. But, as My Mom said, “It was Time that we need Answers.” But, She had to Keep me calm as She drove me to The Hospital because My Anxiety was going up, and I felt like I was going to get sick because of My Nerves. We walked in and Thank God, there were only a Few People there. We sat for only like 5 Minutes before My Name was called, Again Thank God! “Please Don’t have them give me an IV!” I thought, The Whole Time. So, I went into The Room and got into My Hospital Gown. The Nurses tried to get an IV in Me 3 Times before They finally it. They had to Call in The Special IV Team (“The Big Guns” as My Mom referred to them as), I had a CAT Scan Done, and They gave 4 Different Medicines in My IV. I tried to distract myself by watching The News, I started to grow impatient because I wanted to Go Home, and I started getting Sleepy and I was Out like a Light. Later, The Doctor came in and told us that I had passed a 4 Millimeter Kidney Stone while I was in The ER. I thought, “Did He just say that I passed a Kidney Stone?!”. They did say, however, that There were No More Kidney Stones left in My Body and The Report said that I also was Constipated. After 5 Hours in The ER, They finally sent us Home. Once I was Home, I checked up on The Days Facebook Posts, I took a Nap (which I out like a Light, again) and then, Went to Bed Early. The Days Following The Kidney Stone were Very hard, I did not know what My Limits were in How Much I could Eat or The Dull Pain that was left from The Kidney Stone’s Damage. It did not help that I was afraid that They would come back and I would have to repeat the Same Thing over again. As I write this, I am feeling better, Now With Fewer Episodes of Pain in My Left Side. All in all, It was a Crazy Experience, One Experience that I would never want to have again. I will tell you that a Heat Pad on The Spot and Chamomile Tea does work in helping with Kidney Stones. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. I am not into Drugs, but I guess You can say I got “Stoned”.

The Christianville Spirit: My Discontent with Halloween

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul

November 5, 2014-TCS # 424

Hello, My Readers! Happy November! It is only a Month and a Few Days until My Brother’s Graduation! So Excited! So, On to This Week’s Newsletter! So, I hope that You had a Good Halloween and I hope You were kind to The Kids Trick or Treating. As for Me, I don’t like Halloween and I believe that I should tell you why I do not  like Halloween not just seeing that I write, “I don’t like Halloween” and You just wondering why. Well, My Friends, The Truth is that it is for Many Reasons but, as I realized This Year, it all ties Together. The First Reason I tell People (and, Myself) is that it is because of The Costumes. To Me, In My Head, that sounds a bit Crazy because after all, I “Dress Up like a Northerner” when It Snows. But, We will start with The Root Cause that I found out, Reason #1 that leads to them all. You See, Because of PTLS, I have lack of Depth Perception, In other words, I can’t see very well in 3D. Because of that, when I see Someone with a Scary-looking Mask coming at Me, My Anxiety Level rises, Add The Lack of 3D, and We have some Trouble! Now, Don’t Get Me Wrong, I like Happy Costumes, without Masks like Disney Characters (This Year, I counted 2 Elsas). Costumes like Santa Claus I can deal with because He represents Happiness and Holiday Cheer. Plus, Adding to Lack of 3D and Costumes, It probably was not a Good Idea that My Dad took My Brother and I into Haunted Houses when We were Kids, (The Sort-of-Less-than-Scary-Kind) namely Fright Fest at Six Flags, One at Sea World, and Van Helsing at Universal Studios. In My Experience, Six Flags was The Most Scary and Van Helsing was not as Bad. So, With This Anxiety about Scary-Looking Figures moving up and down the Streets, comes an Avoidance Factor that I have been doing since I was 5 Years Old. Now, I didn’t mind Halloween when I was younger, according to My Mom, I would find fun Ringing The Doorbell and Walking Around. It did help calm the Nerves when We had a little Street Party on Our Cul-de-Sac during “The Jeff Era.” But, Now a Days, I find that It is Easier to either Stay at Home and Watch TV with The Lights Off in The Front or Go to Barnes & Noble and Read some Geography Books. Honestly, It does feel a Little Lonely because In My Head, It seems like I am the Only One out of My Friends as well as My Brother, who does not like Halloween. It seems like My Friends like Horror Movies and I am the Only One who Loves Romantic Comedies. I am one of those people who would rather skip Halloween and Get Excited about My Favorite Holiday, Christmas. I think It feels Lonely because I wish that I had Someone who also did not like Halloween and Would Support “Avoiding Halloween” with Me. Now, It did help though, that I ran into Someone We Knew who’s Child was “Avoiding Halloween” also. At The End of The Night, I posted on Facebook about it and Surprisingly, There were People who Understood and It made me feel very happy to hear that. A Bonus is that Not only does it help Me in a Self-Expressing Outlet, but It also helps PTLS Members understand their Child or Prepare for It. Now, Who Knows though, I may be writing this all lonely about Halloween and Later on in Life, I may or may not feel this way about it, Maybe My Soulmate may Talk Me Out of It and We may go somewhere in a Couples Costume (but, still Avoiding The Scary Ones). Wishful Thinking, I guess we can call it. All in All, Do Consider those People who do not like Holidays like Halloween and Treat Them Kindly.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Spread Love to Everyone. You never Know Who needs it.