Cobbler's Children

My grandfather, an electrician for Pennsylvania Railroads, never seemed to get around to completing the wiring in his own home, where he and my grandmother raised five children. The wires were looped onto nails and the switches didn't get boxes until he died, at which point my grandmother hired someone to do it. It was a case of "the cobbler's children get no shoes," according to my grandmother.

In the same way, I sometimes catch myself doing a poor job of caring for my own mental health, even though I've learned a lot about mental health by working at MHA for 11 years.

For example, I tend to scarf down my lunch at the computer instead of taking a lunch break. It seems that I will get more done that way, but research says I would probably get more done (and have to re-do fewer things) if I would take regular breaks from my desk.

I need to exercise, eat right, drink enough water, get enough sleep, and find healthy ways to deal with stress to stay healthy, and that includes being mentally healthy.

I need to keep my work area and home a pleasurable place to be in; mess is depressing. I need to make time to spend with my family and friends. Come to think of it, those are the same things I suggest to parents and others that I work with at MHA.

So, I'm going to publicly state my goals for the next few months:

• Start a success team for 4-6 people to meet with me weekly. We will brainstorm with each other about problems and solutions and share goals and successes


• Start an acoustic jam session once a month to get more music back in my life

I invite you to ask me about those goals if we talk. I don't know if it's mentally healthy or not, but for me, fear of mortification is a powerful incentive for following through and a disincentive against procrastination.

Happy trails,

Judith Allee

Parent Support Coordinator