Our mailbox is overflowing. Six days a week our mailman brings a new batch of college recruitment material. We’re hearing from them all—big universities, small private colleges and all schools in between.
My daughter, Carson, is finishing up her junior year of high school and, perhaps like many of your children, planning for the next phase of her life. We are knee deep in the college admissions process.
It doesn’t seem possible. Our little girl has become a young woman overnight. Hollianne and I are trying to enjoy every day with her before she leaves for college in a year. I’ve realized how much I’ll miss having her in our home on a daily basis.
To celebrate this milestone, I’ve started collecting a list of the little things that I’ll miss about Carson. Included on my list are:
Watching her compete on the soccer field.
Enjoying her homemade chocolate chip cookies, often made late at night.
Watching her build the perfect s’more in our backyard fire pit.
Experiencing college football and basketball with her. Her commentary is always insightful and hilarious.
Seeing her enjoy her Bible studies with friends.
Hiking new trails as a family.
Attending concerts together.
I realized, however, that while this writing exercise is good for me, I need to make sure that I share these thoughts with Carson—right now.
While she certainly knows how much I love her, she also needs to hear it from me—right now.
Life is fleeting. We owe it to those we love to not only celebrate the big milestones in life, but the quiet, ordinary ones, too. These small moments and memories are what make our lives so special.
So, I encourage you to take time out of your day to share your thoughts with those close to you. They’ll appreciate it, and if you’re lucky…you might get a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies in return.
Keith Carver BlogContact UT System Administration
Keith is husband to an amazing woman and dad to three active children. He enjoys getting outdoors with his wife, Hollianne, fishing, watching his children play sports all over East Tennessee and reading biographies of historical figures. He currently serves as the executive assistant to UT President Joe DiPietro.
Posts represent the views, expertise and recommendations of their authors and do not necessarily reflect an endorsement by the University of Tennessee. Furthermore, the content of the blog is for informational purposes only. The content of the blog is not, and is not intended to be used as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
As a child, my mom embarrassed me because she used sunscreen to moisturize instead of body lotion. I thought it made her smell funny.
My mother is very fair skinned and prone to sunburn. My father is dark skinned. My skin tone is somewhere in between, but I have inherited the “durability” of my father’s skin. I sunburn once at the beginning of the summer season and then never burn again. If I happen to get pink on my face or shoulders, it fades to a tan overnight. I would estimate that after high school, i.e., outside of my mom’s oversight, I probably went about eight years without putting on sunscreen.
In 2011, my mom found out she had solar keratosis (precancerous lesions) on her chest. She underwent chemical peeling on her chest to remove them, but the experience was incredibly painful and invasive. About six months later, the dermatologist found precancerous lesions on her face. Because this time they were on her face, the dermatologist recommended photodynamic therapy instead of chemical peeling. She felt the photodynamic therapy was invasive, too, but overall she found the treatment more tolerable than the chemical peeling.
My first body scan
The following year when I had my annual wellness check up with my primary care physician, I updated my doctor with this latest addition to my family health history. He recommended that I make an appointment with a dermatologist and get a full body scan. This was a huge shock. I was always proud that I had my father’s skin (my brother takes after my mom). While my skin reacts well to sunlight, I do have a lot of moles and never really thought much of it.
My first appointment with the dermatologist took about 30 to 45 minutes to establish a family history and complete the fully body scan. She identified the location of every single mole on my body, oftentimes measuring them and asking questions about how long they had been there, if they had changed shape, did I notice them getting bigger, etc.
Frankly, I found the whole experience to be quicker and easier than a dental check up.
Based on my skin, family history and number of moles, my dermatologist wanted to see me annually.
Four years later
Last spring, my mom had a biopsy that revealed a basal cell carcinoma on the right side of her face. On the surface, the lesion measured smaller than a dime. When removed, doctors found the lesion was much deeper and wider than it appeared on the surface. It ended up being about the size of a half dollar.
She opted against plastic surgery or skin graft and instead undertook extensive, daily wound care for nearly six months. This was no light undertaking. She had to perform sterile cleanings and wound care multiple times a day (sometimes even more frequently when she performed activities that made her sweat or caused any possible irritation to the area). Plus, it required that she wear a small bandage on her face the entire six-month period.
I’m happy to report that all her hard work paid off because you can barely see the scar (she applies a scar cream and vitamin E every day).
I thought she applied a lot of sunscreen when I was growing up, but it’s a whole other level now. She applies sunscreen on her face and hands during daytime hours no matter what the weather is outside. In addition to the sunscreen, she wears lightweight SPF long-sleeve shirts, a bandanna around her neck and a broad-brimmed SPF 50 hat. She never exposes her arms, chest or back when outdoors, no matter how hot or humid.
My mom goes twice annually to the dermatologist and has any precancerous lesions frozen off with liquid nitrogen. She prefers this procedure to the chemical peeling or the photodynamic therapy. The freezing causes small blisters that heal within a few weeks, but these biannual procedures, plus her sunscreen routine and “keep-covered” regimen have been very effective for her.
I know I should use sunscreen more frequently, but now I apply it every time I run, hike, swim or do any outdoor activity. I almost always wear a hat when I run, and I always wear a wide-brimmed hat when I’m at the beach or pool. Often I keep it on when I get in the water.
Since I began going to the dermatologist for my annual body scans, I have had one mole removed and seen four new ones appear. I’ve learned to keep a watchful eye on the moles on my feet, and the little moles that grow further out from my body (like skin tags) are cosmetic and not dangerous.
More than anything, I’ve learned that a bit of smelly sunscreen and a yearly appointment can really go a long way.
Tips
Make body scans with a dermatologist part of your annual wellness check-up routine.
During daily outdoors activities like walking the dog, wear sunscreen on your face even if it is cloudy or an off-season.
Lili’a Uili Neville is a runner, environmentalist and health nut. Lili’a is the communications director in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity at UT Knoxville. When she’s not at work, she is underestimating how long it will take her to complete a craft project, telling funny stories about her dog and cat or having a classy date night with her husband.
Posts represent the views, expertise and recommendations of their authors and do not necessarily reflect an endorsement by the University of Tennessee. Furthermore, the content of the blog is for informational purposes only. The content of the blog is not, and is not intended to be used as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
It’s the little things that drive my passion for photography. Things easily missed in our everyday lives, usually receiving little to no thought.
Seeing these overlooked intricacies through my camera lens, my perspective changes. As I slow down and focus, my imagination comes to life.
When photographing tools or gadgets, I wonder how they were used and where they came from. I think about what they have been able to create. I imagine the individuals who have used them, sometimes giving them rich back stories.
In nature, I’m amazed watching plants and insects interact within their ecosystem. I wonder how little bugs got to where they are, where they go and what they do with their days.
It all makes my childhood wonder return along with lessons from Disney songs like “The Circle of Life” and “Colors of the Wind.”
My photos are of little things—intricate, tiny scenes—captured through a camera lens. Photography broadens my perspective. It reminds me to appreciate and live life to the fullest.
So, make time to photograph and appreciate the little things because they add up.
Synthia works in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling at UT Knoxville as an administrative support assistant and acts as webmaster, writer and photographer. She enjoys staying busy with hobbies like photography, travel and music.
Posts represent the views, expertise and recommendations of their authors and do not necessarily reflect an endorsement by the University of Tennessee. Furthermore, the content of the blog is for informational purposes only. The content of the blog is not, and is not intended to be used as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
As busy as we all are with work, family, social and personal obligations, there’s often no choice but to skip deliberate physical activity when our schedules get overcrowded. At least, that’s true for me.
Whether walking, hiking or going to the gym, I really enjoy getting to spend some time exercising. Recently, though, that time was consumed by the need to support my husband, Bill, as he underwent knee replacement surgery. We both knew it was a big deal, but I had no idea how much of my days were going to be filled at the hospital, the inpatient rehab facility, traveling to physical therapy and tending to our household completely solo.
For three full weeks, I lived in the world of caregiving. In that world, as anyone who’s spent time there knows, your otherwise normal routine disappears, household chores fall by the wayside, and you eat from a vending machine or a drive-thru. And for me, let’s just say poor food choices and getting no exercise were a bad combination for weight management, and leave it at that.
Bill’s knee replacement surgery was on May 5, 2015. He has had the best experience possible and is recovering quickly, for which I’m very thankful. I’m thankful, too, that I’ve been able to resume a near-normal routine, with some time for periodic exercise.
I’m also looking forward to the time in the future when Bill can join me in some of our favorite active pursuits—a list topped by hiking. In fact, while still a rehab inpatient, Bill set a goal of hiking to the top of Mount LeConte next year, on the first anniversary of his new knee.
Bill on Alum Cave Trail en route to Mount LeConte in 2014
At an elevation of 6,593 feet, Mount LeConte is the second-highest peak on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with Clingman’s Dome the highest at 6,644 feet. LeConte is one of the park’s most beautiful, signature hiking destinations, accessible to the public only on foot via challenging trails. In my experience, Clingman’s Dome is more of a driving destination, where people park at the base of a paved, one-mile walkway and make that very steep trip on foot to the impressive observation tower.
Hiking Mount LeConte can be one of those “been there, done that, got the T-shirt” activities, thanks to a small-scale store operating in a lodge atop the mountain. Each year, a new “LeConte Lodge” T-shirt design – complete with the current year’s imprint – is sold only on top of the mountain. Bragging rights and avid hikers are good for T-shirt sales.
When my husband wore his 2014 shirt to post-op physical therapy, he was the talk of the group. His therapists were impressed that a knee replacement patient had ascended LeConte with what had to have been a very damaged and painful knee just 11 months earlier.
That inspired Bill. Having learned that total knee replacement requires 12 months for full, complete recovery, he decided he would celebrate the one-year mark by ascending LeConte again, via the 10 miles roundtrip Alum Cave Trail. I was pleased his experience was going so well that he was already looking forward to returning to hiking, and a big hiking challenge, at that.
We have a long way to go, and he has a lot of physical therapy ahead to prep for us to take on that challenge, but I’m eager and confident it will happen. I’m also reminded of the importance— to exercising regularly—of setting goals. I don’t know anyone who decided to run a marathon and ran one the same day. I never have and am confident I never will run a marathon, but I have set activity-related goals, and every time I did, they were the catalyst to better fitness.
Setting goals is motivating and helps you stay focused. Goals give you a reason to stick with and track your physical activity. Checking off a goal—whether it’s walking five miles a week or running five miles a day—brings a satisfying sense of accomplishment and can encourage you to set more challenging goals. Among family members, setting goals can encourage participation and friendly competition. Goals can start anywhere—wherever is most realistic—and without them, it can be hard to start at all.
If you’re older and it’s been a while since you were active, you also might enjoy the wealth of great information in the National Institute on Aging’s “Exercise and Physical Activity” guide. It’s a comprehensive resource on various types and benefits of exercise – and identifying and setting goals.
In my house, Mount LeConte is on the figurative horizon until May 2015, when I’m counting on seeing its actual horizon.
Gina and her husband, Bill Phelps, are outdoor and hiking enthusiasts who especially enjoy venturing into new territory. They share a love of all things Vols, baseball and travel. Gina is assistant vice president and director of communications for the UT System Administration.
Posts represent the views, expertise and recommendations of their authors and do not necessarily reflect an endorsement by the University of Tennessee. Furthermore, the content of the blog is for informational purposes only. The content of the blog is not, and is not intended to be used as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Keith Carver Blog Contact
