Tripping With Teens

I apologize to those who've contacted me about having missed the last two Saturdays, but I've been away with my students. In addition to writing professionally, I teach journalism and publication production on the high school and college level. The trips I took were to journalism conventions and included members of my publication staffs. Attendance allowed them to compete in writing and photo contests and to take specialized classes.

One of these trips included almost 50 fifty kids. Though there were several other teachers with me, the noise level and harnessed energy on one charter bus was enough to keep all of us on our toes.

Now, I have really good students (which, by the way, keeps me teaching), but even with good kids, there are the inevitable emotional moments. Soothing a student who missed getting hard-fought, fabulous photos into the contest on time; chastising a student who decided it would be fun to join another group's party instead of being in her room at curfew, and calming emotions about an issue that we adults might dismiss but on a teenage scale is over the top are just a few examples.

Despite the raucous music, the short attention spans and the irrepressible energy, I love traveling with teens. I did with my own children; I do with my students, and I hope someday to do so with my grandchildren. What a treat it is to watch their excitement when they see new sights for the very first time. Their joy is contagious even when the sights are familiar to me, and what an opportunity it is to teach them that which is beyond books. It's the time we can share with them what our experience with the world has been, what we know about life beyond school or family, and what our loves and passions are. We become the guide to their new adventure, and they become a witness to our experience.

If you have teens in your life, consider traveling with them. They're old enough to remember and appreciate every moment, and you will see even that which you know in a new way.

Grasses, Pollen, and Mold, Oh My!

It's spring...my favorite time of the year. The grass is green again; the azaleas are in bloom, and the daffodils are springing up everywhere. I just love the beauty, but I struggle too. It is at this very time of the year that I am also plagued with runny eyes, burning nose, sneezing and one sinus infection after another. But not this year---at least not so far.

I've taken some preventative steps, and they seem to be working! First of all, I bought an air purifier. At first, I thought purifiers were just a gimmick. Could a machine really clean the air and would that really make a difference in my health? Well, I'm here to tell you that it has.

I keep it running in my bedroom 24 hours a day. When I wake-up now, I don't have a headache, sore throat or burning nose. Now, the purifier obviously doesn't protect me from the onslaught of pollen in the air, dust in my office and mold in the various locations I frequent, but I begin the battle in much better condition.

How do I deal with that onslaught? When I get home, I cleanse my nose with warm, slightly salted water dispensed from a Neti Pot. What I'm doing is washing out the pollen and dust that can infiltrate the sinus and turn into an infection. It's easy and fast and a lot less gross than it seems.

I am thrilled with not having to take over-the-counter drugs to deal with the symptoms and antibiotics to resolve the resulting problems. This process is natural, easy and inexpensive. Neti Pots vary in price between $10-$25. Ceramic pots, instead of plastic, are the most expensive, though I don't see the need for that version.

Purifiers, on the other hand range from $70 to $700. I tried a $500 version but found it did not perform any better than the one for $70 that I run now. Gratefully, you can try the expensive one from Oreck, and, if you don't think it is not significantly better, you can return it at no expense. I bought my more inexpensive model from Walmart. I just made sure it had a Hepa filter that is washable.

The last thing you can do is obliterate the dust in your environment at home and in your office. Curtains, carpets and decorative pillows may harbor dust and its mites that can cause allergy attacks. Get rid of dust collectors or clean them thoroughly with a wet process. Do not dust with dry rags. You are spreading the culprit.

Now..go out and enjoy the spring. You can beat that bad air!