Happy New Year!!

I wish all of my readers a very Happy, Prosperous and Healthy New Year!
2012 had both its highs and lows. There are parts of it that we hope to never see again, as well as times that were well worth celebrating.

Our plastics recycling program is an example of what went right about the year, whether at times we had our doubts or not. It was a true testimony of what can be achieved when people work together for a common cause, no matter what their odds for success.

Coming together for a common good was evident around the country every time there was a crises where we showed how much we cared about each other. Leave it to the American people to do what is right when it matters. Makes me proud to be counted in those numbers.

I am hoping that 2013 will be a year that reflects that same type of caring for each other,r without the disasters that motivated us. Wouldn't that be a perfect year? Just on a daily basis we would extend a hand to others.  Pleases and thank yous to start.

I know it will be a happier year if we smile more and grouch less.  I know it will be a safer year if we get rid of assault guns that serve no other purpose than to kill lots of people at a time.  I know it will be a great year for our earth if we throw one less thing into the land fills, to sit there and contaminate the soil for centuries.

I know it will be a great year if we exercise more, eat less and communicate with our maker more than less. I know it will be a better year for us all if we raise our consciousness as consumers. Our year will be more healthful if we worry less about things that won't be important in ten years, much less one, and more about how things will tear apart families and individuals for a lifetime.

I expect that since most of us want the best for most of us that most of us will have a great 2013.



Peace on Earth

This time of year through out the world,we are particularly tuned in to "Peace on Earth Good Will Towards Men". We not only like to say it a lot, but we see a greater reflection around us of what that might mean. We say it almost glibly, without actually internalizing whether it could really ever happen. Generally speaking, we see the best of what humanity has to offer this time of year, with greater kindness extended to strangers and those less fortunate than ourselves.

Peace on Earth. Who doesn't long to see violence and hatred disappear and mankind reaching out to each other in love and good will?  Family member to family member, neighbor to neighbor, no matter the oceans and continents that separate us.

Yet, to be honest, I really don't see any hope in achieving this peace with each other until we find inner peace within ourselves. It appears, from the look of how things are going in this world, most of us don't have much of it. Otherwise, we wouldn't see the prolific abuse of drugs and alcohol. People wouldn't be trying to bury themselves in senseless spending and "stuff", chasing after what they think will make them happy.  The elusive dream.

They wouldn't find fault with each other, but instead practice tolerance of each others' differences.  Celebrating our differences, rather than finding them a reason to hate each other.

Peace on Earth. There isn't just one place to find peace within.  Those who think they have the market on it are kidding themselves. It has to come from our soul, our inner most being, if we are to discover where it is.

So my wish for all is first "Peace within you".  Then you can go spread it to your family and neighbors for "Peace on Earth Good Will Towards All Men" and I mean every living creature on Earth. Even when you aren't feeling it at the moment, as when your husband is sitting next to you and talking when you are trying to be reflective.

Awesome!

Picture of the sunset from visit to Keys last week with Michael and Kathy while camping on the beach.

Thanks to my faithful readers for your patience.  Instead of living my life on my blog I was busy living it in real time. Anyone who has had kids knows how much more you enjoy an experience when you live it through the eyes of your child. It doesn't matter that your child has children of her own by now. It still exponentially expands the pleasure of the experience for you. You feel a need to share all of the places and activities that you have enjoyed.

I just had to have Kathy see the sunset off the waters on the Keys.  There is something awe inspiring about seeing the sun set over the ocean as it literally melts into the water in seconds. That gives pause to reflect on how small our world really is, especially when you hold it in relationship to the universe.

There on the horizon, as far as you can see, is the actual curve of the earth, with evidence of how quickly it is spinning in its orbit. Amazing! We are so insignificant, yet so significant at the same time. As far as we have evidence, we are the only planet in our galaxy that has all of this beautiful creation on it. It truly is amazing when you think about.

How can you not then look at our natural environment with greater respect and a desire to preserve it for generations to come?  I know that the man walking along the shore, collecting any piece of trash along the way feels this way. I know the people who are trying to save the turtles and manatees harmed by boats and fishing nets are also trying to preserve the wonders of our world. The evidence of those who grasp it are seen everywhere, trying to undo the harm that has been done and prevent future harm.

We have but one earth.  We won't get another or another chance once we destroy it. I want to thank all those who see the sunset as I do and feel the awesomeness of our beautiful world as I do and for making the effort to keep it for our grandchildren to show to their grandchildren, too, some day.

The Bubble

Mt. Dora was abuzz and a bustle with energy and excitement last weekend. Not only was there an inaugural marathon  and half with a 5K that Sunday, but Saturday was family night.  In the evening the town was crowded with every age group, some seniors with guests from up north having dinner  and enjoying the beautiful light displays.  Families were there for the snow sledding down probably the biggest hill in Florida. Parents and children sat together cross legged on the large discs as volunteers pushed them down the snow covered runs, provided by various businesses in town. Christmas music vibrated from the hill top to the marina where a huge tree with lights pulsed to the tempo.

The following morning as the music beat throbbed out side out hotel window at 5:30 am, runners began gathering for their selected race. Runners talked excitedly, as they figured everyone in the hotel had to be as hyped as they were. At 7:00 the marathoners and half were off, with all the bystanders raising a cheer for them and awaiting their starting time or settling down for their return.

Then the excitement grew as runners crossed the finish line and headed for the reward of a bottle of water.  Finally, results announced and awards presented, everyone eventually headed home or to their next activity for the weekend, feeling a sense of accomplishment for their efforts.

How unreal it all seemed, just a day after 20 beautiful young children and six of their teachers had been murdered. It felt as though we were in a bubble, isolated from the reality of the horror that had occurred and shocked the nation. It felt as though that had to have been a nightmare, that we would wake up and find didn't really happen. That this couldn't be reality, because nothing so horrible could be.

Yet, the sobering fact was that we felt desperate to hang on to the bubble, because the reality was too unbearable and too hard to grasp.

Turning on  the TV in our room that night and listening to the radio on our way home, brought us back to the reality we could not ignore. We needed to share the pain of the rest of our nation. Then hold more tightly to those we love.

Heliocopter Mom

Alert! Helicopter mom is temporarily out of the hanger! My daughter is on her way , as we speak, to Florida for a visit with us. Several days before she was on her way, I went into mother bear mode.

This is her first visit for years sans kids or husband/ boyfriend. My attention will not be focused on the grand kids and hers on the male companion. She is coming to enjoy the balmier weather, re-create and spend one on one time with her mom.

So I began my hovering by checking on the contents of her luggage selection days agso. Do you have the right shoes for each type of planned activity? Be sure to allow at least an hour at the airport before your flight. Yesterday I sent her an email to warn her to be sure to bring santi wipes to wipe her hands often in addition to the seat back trays, etc., which I had seen on the news are a big source of all kinds of  bad pathogens that can make you sick.  Want her visit to be bug free.

Last night I checked in with her and we reviewed her flight schedule. She couldn't locate her first boarding pass.  Mom goes into panic mode while daughter spends her nerve reserve to reassure her that it's not a big deal.

I guess it doesn't matter how old (I will spare her embarrassment here) your kid is, the old mother bear comes out of hibernation and ready to go into protection mode once more. But, once she arrives, and I have her safely into my care,  themother bear will retreat back into her den and the heliocopter put back into storage in the hanger. We will be too busy cavorting together in the Florida sun for that. I like that word cavorting, romping is good, too, as long as it includes a great time by all.

They are How Old?

I have two friends who are octogenarians and one that is is on the cusp of the mark. They epitomize for me what I want to be like in another decade of life.  Two of these ladies above are at least 85 and going strong. It was their initiative to decorate both entrances to our island and what a tremendous job they did, too. Their choice of violet and red pointsettas speaks volumes about their zest for life.

So far I am on track to follow in their footsteps, barring any unforeseen mishap along the way. I try to increase the odds that I succeed by trying to keep a decent pace when running and doing some stretches along the way. Flossing is supposed to help, too. They say a predictor of how long you will live has to do with how long it takes you to get to the mailbox each day. I haven't done the math, but I think so far I have a long way to go before the grim reaper comes calling.

I remember my grandmother at 85 years of age. This is not an example of her at the same age. No one expected to live much beyond this then, much less be full of vitality still.  As wonderful and loved as she was, she would not have been able to be in this picture. However, from what I see, today's eighties are yesterdays sixties. To know my friends you would have to agree.

So I will continue to increase my odds and anticipate a long and healthful life for years to come.

Mysteries of LIfe

In case you're wondering, yes the cards are done and ready to mail.

I have been thinking about how wonderful that we have mysteries in life. No I don't like that God is so mysterious, but many mysteries we have give us a special excitement  and anticipation for what is to come.

I can't remember when I first stopped believing in Santa Claus, but I do remember waking up many times during the night as a child to feel my stocking. The first few times it would still hang limply by my bed.  But, finally when I felt it, the stocking would hold fascinating shapes my fingers explored and  it was so hard to wait until morning to discover the contents.

One Christmas I knew when my little sister was hanging her stocking Christmas Eve that she still believed and I also knew our mom was preoccupied with her dinner guests and church to think about it. So I went around the house to find fun things to put into her stocking.  I found some small toys Mom had bought for table favors for the guests and of course the tangerine for the toe. It wasn't much, but it let her know that yes, Anne, there is a Santa. She had her sense of wonder still intact Christmas morning.

The Christmas package my son's family brought holds mystery for us.  It is fun imagining what could possibly be in a box that shape. The anticipation is most of the fun.

So, when I am going to die is one of those mysteries I would just as soon not have revealed too soon.  That is why this Mayan calendar thing isn't a concern to me. I don't worry about things like that.  Why spoil the surprise!

My Christmas Card Excuse

Sorry, I haven't been very faithful lately. Only two excuses that don't really excuse me.  Number one I haven't had any big insightful moments to record(which of course hasn't stopped me before, I know, you say). Second, I have been so busy writing my Christmas cards, I'm all written out.

You say, what it takes you over a week to write your cards? Well, no not exactly.  That is if I were to sit down and stay on task and get the job done.  Like Michael.  He methodically sits at his desk and whips them out in a couple of hours, stamped and ready to go.

Of course, I have a lot more friends to write to, so that takes longer. Dig. But what probably makes it take me 10 days to accomplish what he can do in two hours is my short attention span. When I say I'm going to devote the day to cards, my day really looks more like this: My "day" not starting until after my run and cleaning up, it is now at least 11am. It isn't that I get up late, rising about 6:30am, but I take my time reading the papers, working three crossword puzzles, putzing, before I even head to the shower.

Now I'm ready to get started on my cards, but first I have to check my email and FB. After I get everything together and sit down, I jump up to take my vitamins that I forgot earlier. Then there is a load of wash to check and a phone call to answer. But, I do get a few written before I remember that I have some work to do for ROWL I was asked to follow through on. It goes on and on like that.

Sure, I have a lot more stuff to do to think about than Michael has on his mind. His method is get it done.  My method runs more like, I know I have this to get done before Kathy arrives on Friday and by golly I'll get it done by the deadline. I know, I did it again writing my blog and I still have eight more cards to write. Then I promise to be more faithful to you all. Blog writing works better for my short attention span, anyway.

Minimalism

My daughter shared a website with me about two guys who advocate for living a minimalist life style. They have a free newsletter which I have yet to receive, but am curious about.

As I await my first look at what they have to say about living a simple life, I have been pondering what I would be able to live without. I think by some peoples standards in this country I already live minimally, to some extent.

I don't go out and buy Christmas decorations, but use what I have had since I was a teacher on the receiving end of ornaments given to me by students over the years.  Okay, they have passed the cycle of my life where they fit in, but with some tweaking I try to work at fitting most of them in. No wow factor in presentation, but suffices for a little atmosphere, anyway.

I have a palate that can easily be satisfied with peanut butter, pretty much.  Just slab on some PB and I'm quite content. Well, throw in a glass of milk and I'll be happy, anyway. And some carrots.

But, I've been thinking about what I would have some difficulty doing without. I just colored my hair for the first time in six weeks. I like it blonde and am not even curious about what I would look like with gray hair.

I don't like to be hot and I don't like to be cold.  So at some point I will turn on the air or the heat when I am uncomfortable. Of course it is a last resort and I will try either shedding or adding a layer of clothes first.

I try not to make a trip to the store for just a few items, rather waiting until I have an ample list to make it worth the gas. But, right now I'm thinking about driving to Crystal River for a couple of bargains for Christmas gifts for a loved one. Of course, I'll drop off my recyclables along the way.

I'm sure as I go through my day I will come across many things I wouldn't want to give up or stop doing. I admire those who can live life with less and still find it fulfilling, but going that route just for the sake of seeing how much I am willing to do without doesn't really hold any charm for me if I feel deprived. I am curious, though, about how these two guys navigate through life, minimally speaking.

Holy Ground

Yesterday, after church, I was asked to take communion to an elderly lady at a nursing home. Joan had recently had a stroke and had arrived a couple of days earlier. After asking about when I got there, I found her room off in a corner.

When I entered the room I saw a disheveled lady sitting on the side of her bed with her hospital gown pulled up around her middle, leaving her scrawny legs bare. She looked up when I introduced myself and I could see the serenity and intelligence in her face right away. She may have looked as though she would be disorientated, but she far from that.

Joan sat quietly, answering my questions briefly, as I sought to make conversation with her. She said yes she would like to receive the communion I had brought, so I proceeded to set up the elements as I continued to chat.

She didn't complain about only having one hand available, or apologize for her nakedness, but accepted the situation she had found herself in. She quietly joined me in prayer as I gave her the wafer dipped in wine. As I packed up my kit to leave, she thanked me for coming then continued to sit peacefully on the side of her bed.

When I left Joan, I felt as though I had been on holy ground. She gave me the peace and serenity that was her being. To look at her one would think what can I do for this poor lady.  But, it was the other way around. She gave to me instead. What a beautiful woman.

Change is Hard

Change can be hard. I know, it can be good for you, but most of the time it is just plain hard to accept. The city is cutting down trees along the routes of the power lines this week.  It makes me cringe when I hear the saws cutting into those beautiful cypress trees and live oak I have grown to love since moving here.

The tree cutting has taken on some kind of priority, I suppose, because of the devastation caused by Sandy.  Now they want to be sure no vegetation is growing anywhere near a power line. I've been eyeing the workers critically, as I watch them hew a tree that I deem should be left alone. Especially in our wet land behind our house, even though it doesn't do me any good. I know, they know more than I do about hurricanes and what falling trees can do.

I just hate the bareness in the places where I have been used to seeing trees and what it is doing to our sound barrier from the road noise. I'm sure I will adapt and eventually think nothing of it, but right now it is really bugging me.

Some change that is happening, such as the melting ice sheets in the Arctic and the melt of the perma frost in Greenland scares me more than just annoying me. It makes you realize that some of these old movies depicting the devastation of our coastal cities could really become a reality very easily now. I know how it will impact everything, from population shifts to the economy, not to mention the environmental issues that will happen.

That kind of change I think we would all hope not to have happen.  I don't know if it is to late or there was ever anything we could have done to prevent this calamity, but I know it is change we would like to prevent, if possible.

Change can be great for us to stir us out of our complacency and begin improvements that are necessary for us to be better people and improve our world. Our world has always gone through constant change, some for the better yet some with results that we would never want to repeat. Are we going to get a chance to make the important changes for the better before it is too late?

God Speed, Zig

I read in the paper today that Zig Ziegler died. You may be wondering who Zig is and why I would be writing about such an obscure person. Or maybe you are more savvy than I am, but I had never heard of him. He wrote several books I had never heard of either.

However, without realizing it, I had been coining a phrase attributed to him for years.  I used to tell my students who said they couldn't do something that that was "stinking thinking". I had never thought about where I had picked it up, but that spoke to me and it became kind of my mantra, if you will.

Not that I can say that I always succeeded, but I think that generally speaking I try to apply that phrase to my thinking about life. I think that is why I don't give up an idea or ambition easily or at all. I just know that if I keep at it things will work out just fine.

I figure you might as well go about life with a positive attitude since you have to go that route anyway. 

So why not think about the things you do like about your job, rather than the things that pull you down?  Maybe those downers will have less pull over time.

Those antics of your children that drive you crazy, maybe just being thankful that they actually have the energy and good health that so many other kids don't have, may change how you react in the moment. Kids can be a challenge, but don't you just love watching them sleep?

How about the little things that drive you crazy that your mate does everyday. Focusing on the things that drew you to that person in the first place may help get rid of that "stinking thinking". Bet you will think about those good things if you were alone after he/she is "gone".

Being reminded about "stinking thinking" today gave me pause to reexamine some of my own points of view, too. I don't know how you impacted the lives of others, Zig, but you didn't need to leave me with anything more. God speed, Zig.

Father Like Son?

I did a lot of ruminating when out on my bike ride this morning to Flora City. Not much else to think about while tooling down the trail. It seems that sometimes you can see more clearly through the rear view mirror than when just looking straight ahead. I think that was my perspective this morning, anyway.

I thought about a story of a man and his young son. The dad, in his youth, had been a star basketball player, played football in high school and aspired to become a professional baseball player one day. He dated a pretty, vivacious cheerleader for years. I'm sure he would have been called a jock.

The man married and soon had a son. His dream was to have his son become the athlete he had been, hoping to realize the unfulfilled dreams of his own youth. The dad tried to nurture his fine son into that athlete. He coached his son's baseball team for several years, showing patience towards his son as he worked to find a place for him on the field.  He drilled the lad for hours in the back yard trying to teach him to "keep your eye on the ball", to no avail.

However, hard as he was to try, turning his son into an athlete was not to be. Yet, as the years fell away, he noticed a quite different side of his son, his intellect. The son was very bright and had developed a keen mind while the dad had been focused on this athletic prowess instead.

They began playing chess together, the dad winning at first, but soon the boy developing strategies that surpassed his own. Awards for intellectual pursuits became the norm for the youth instead of baseball trophies.The dad became very proud of his son over the years and never looked back to his early dreams for the boy. The dad realized that not only he, but his son, was much the happier when he let the boy become the man he was intended to be. Himself, not a replica of his dad.

It's interesting how this story can be played back with the roles reversed.

Childhood Ruminations

Last week gave me cause for reflection about my childhood. It seems to me that in my generation growing up, children were more incidental than produced to become the center of the parents' universe.There was never an illusion that the world revolved around me, anyway.

I think we were usually born out of obligation (that's what women were for) and continuing the family name back then. Maybe that was the way it was when my kids were born, too. Parents loved their kids, but didn't orbit around them particularly.

In fact, I didn't know how to "play" with my kids the way parents do today. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying the role of grandparent now.  I know how to play with them and it's fun. I remember a fellow mom in my neighborhood, when my kids were small, who actually got down and played house with her little girl.  It seemed strange and awkward to me. Now I love a tea party with my granddaughter.

 My kids' dad was much better at it than I was. He would take them kite flying and play endless hours of board games with them. He really had a great time at it, too.

 My parents pretty much had their lives and we had ours. I can't speak for other families, though.  Only the one I grew up in. My mom had her bridge clubs and golf and my dad had his obligations to his congregation. We pretty much had our own world, coming together at the end of the day for dinner together and sharing our separate lives around the table at that time.

I recognize that it was a different time then it is today.  Now parents have so much more to worry about and protect their children from. Maybe, we just weren't aware of the perils out there since we didn't have the media warning us all the time to be careful.

When I was growing up in Panama, I would be off somewhere exploring with my friend Jean  most everyday. One day we would be out on Limone Bay in a canoe paddling around where there were frequent barracuda and ray sightings. Or sticking something into a sea anemone or Portuguese man-o-war to see what would happen. Another day we would be climbing around in old war (don't know which) bunkers along the shore or climbing mango trees playing we were Tarzan and Jane. We would argue about who got to be Tarzan.

My parents didn't have a clue what we were up to. I don't know if it ever dawned on them what kind of risks we might be taking. I know it never dawned on me to clue them in. Our worlds just didn't matter to each other that much, I guess.

Anyway, all four us survived, as did all of our friends, to adulthood. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. Well, maybe a few more that included my parents once in a while. I don't have a lot of those.

Reflections of a grandmother

Tour of the Crystal River Archaeological Indian Mounds Park with son and family during Thanksgiving visit. After a weekend of entertaining the grand kids with kayaking, tennis and seeking out the manatees, not to mention keeping them fed, they left early yesterday morning to return home to Atlanta. Always good to spend time together.

So, once the house was cleaned and we had a chance to catch our collective breath, life is back into its usual routine. We completed our morning runs and have settled down to our respective computers for some much needed updating.

The weekend has caused me to pause and reflect on how times have change. Of course, I do believe that this is a common statement passed down from generations of grandparents. I know my grandparents commented on our upbringing and my parents had a few words to say about how I raised my children, too.

I only know that when our kids were being raised, we only had Dr. Spock to lend a hand and guide us through the predictable stages. After a few months, I abandoned my relationship with the good doctor when it wasn't working to feed my babies on a timed schedule.  I don't know if he could have helped me past the first year or so, since I never referenced him again.

So we pretty much raised them by guess and by gosh, I'm sure making plenty of mistakes along the way.  Yet I don't think they turned out so badly. All four of them are good law abiding citizens, if that counts for anything.

But, they knew who was in charge, I'm sure.  There wasn't any question of who held the power in the house. Alright, so it was me. But, they knew where the line was drawn in the sand and where not to cross it. Even the willful child, she knew.

Maybe that is the difference today. Kids don't respect the line in the sand.  Or maybe it isn't drawn firmly enough to get their attention. I can say one thing, where my grandfather, Pop, was concerned we knew.

Crunch Time!

Yesterday I found myself rambling a bit. Sometimes the mind does that; can't quite organize my thoughts as I want to. So, hopefully, that isn't too distracting and the point comes through.

But, now we're getting down to crunch time.  Time to focus, as the son and family arrive tomorrow for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Michael and I did the mega grocery shopping trip yesterday. Maybe that had something to do with the disorderly thinking I was feeling. I think anyone who has been in the grocery stores in the past few days understands. It's crazy out there! And they say the economy is bad? You couldn't prove it by what I saw.

So the turkey is thawing, the dressing made and ready for stuffing. The menu has been vised and revised, trying to take into consideration the differing pallets and needs of the family. I decided that this year I was going to pull out an old favorite of mine from when I was a kid, tomato aspic salad.  I'll probably be the only one who will eat it, but I'm fixing it any way.

Timing is everything. You don't want to make the pies too early or they'll get soggy. Yet you don't want to wait too long and have the oven tied up when the bird is supposed to be put in. There is a real art to all this timing, which I'm certainly not claiming to be the expert in.

Something always gets forgotten, showing up later in the recesses of the refrigerator. However, I think the kids will help remind me, of their anticipated favorites, anyway. Robert wants lots of cranberries and no pumpkin pie. Apple crisp is his choice of dessert and will need to go into the oven early in the morning so that it is still nice and crisp. There will still be pumpkin pie for the rest of us, though.

Emily likes ham, so of course we have a small one ready to pop into the oven to warm at the last minute. And I think that most of us are in agreement that roasted root vegetables are preferred over yam casserole. There you have the problem with differing oven temperatures for the same time slot. Here's where I covet the double ovens of some kitchens.

The part I look forward to, however, is when we drag out all the leftovers the next day and the next. No more cooking for days!

That's What I think, Anyway

I have to admit that I like to have people think the way I do, too. The reality is it just ain't gonna happen all the time or even part of the time.And that's okay. However, some issues are non negotiable for me, because I don't really see any argument to the contrary on the other side.The only argument I've heard against recycling our waste is that it takes fuel to drive your car to a recycling center, if that is the method at their disposal. I would expect that those same people would find an excuse even if they had curbside single stream recycling at their disposal.

Yet, those same people would never make an argument against taking the same amount of fuel to drive where ever for any other what ever. So, it shoots down their side with the fact that they could just take those recyclables when on the way to where ever other reason they are out and about.

There are points of view that differ from my own that I can respect and would not feel any reason to interfere with.  Politics is one of those. Actually, you might say that I can be a fence sitter at times in that department. I can agree with certain aspects of each argument. For instance, I believe we should take care of the segment of our society that is truly helpless.  Yet, I don't expect to pay for individuals to live off of me when they are quite capable of finding some means of support for themselves. I don't feel that that is a party line argument, either.  Just my opinion.  

No, I really wouldn't want everyone to be clones of my point of view.  I enjoy a good discussion of shared ideas and find it very energizing.  However, I also appreciate the respect of allowing me to think as I choose, just as I would for anyone else. Sure its hard, but I think if we listen we can find a grain of truth in any ones thinking.  Almost, but not in the realm of recycling. For the most part I'll just keep my mouth shut and let respect the rights of others.  Isn't that what this country is about?

The recycling drive goes on without me

Lewistown is having its second monthly plastics recycling drive this morning. In spite of the fact that it is colder than when I was there for the first, I know it is going great. Least I ever think that this project was all about me and what I could accomplish, this is proof to the contrary.  Everyone has stepped up to the plate with more energy and ideas to continue this forward than I could ever find imaginable. I await by my phone, here in Florida,  to hear all the details.  What an incredible bunch of people.  Good hearty, committed, determined people.  I love them all.

Really, it is never all about ourselves.  Yet sometimes we may need a little reminding of the fact. It reminds me of the picture I was trying to take of myself on St. Pete beach one season. When I looked at the picture later, I saw that indeed I had turned the camera the wrong way and taken a picture of the opposite view. Believe me, a much better view than I was aiming for.

The point being that when we turn the focus away from our self and focus on others, some amazing things can happen. The result is, not only a more fulfilled self, but a better outcome in the end.

I have a friend who is writing a letter to her daughter-in-law to tell her how deeply upset she is that she voted for the opposite candidate than she had. She is so consumed with the idea that her daughter-in-law didn't share her opinion that she is willing to jeopardize their relationship over it. I'm sure she will live to regret her decision.  If she would only value the right of her daughter-in-law to express her individual opinion over her own hurt feelings, she would not only gain the respect of her family, but be a better person for it.

Okay, I know it was obviously never about me. Point made.  Yet I still would love to have been apart of what it was about today. Lewistown getting the plastic waste out of the landfill and its the amazing people doing an incredible job. That's what it is all about. I am so grateful for that, too.

Yesterday was National Recycle Day (Nov. 15th)

 

This is the article I wrote for the paper to be published Wednesday.  Since not too many  people saw it, I thought I would put it in my blog for today. Got to get some press out of it.

National Recycle Day 2012

Rosemary Kent

Tomorrow is National Recycle Day.  I don’t think that it gets the attention that Mothers’ Day does, but there has, none the less, been a day set aside for recycling in America.  Actually, I noticed that in Australia an entire week is devoted to recycling.  But a day is a good start.

However, it is just like with Mothers’ Day when the child quips, ”What, I only need to be good to Mom one day a year?”.  Well, it might be a good place to start if you haven’t been treating her very well in the past.  Likewise, if you haven’t given much thought about how you treat the waste you throw in the trash that ends in the landfills; maybe National Recycle Day is a good place to start.

In the AARP Magazine for November there was a short interview with the actor, Jeremy Irons, regarding recycling. He wanted to know why more isn’t being done to encourage the plastics industry to convert to products that are truly biodegradable.  My question is how much conversation is there about using the plastic waste we have to turn into new products rather than using raw materials?

Did you know that in America, only one in five plastic water bottles is recycled?  Did you also know that we actually import from Canada recycled plastic to make new products?  There seems to be some kind of a conundrum here.  We don’t have enough of our own waste that we have to import it?  No, I think the problem lies in not doing a better job of recycling the waste we make.

Just as there are sons and daughters who treat their mother very well, there are people who take recycling very seriously and do a great job.  They realize that taking a moment to save up their newspapers, aluminum cans and plastic is time well spent.  They know that doing a little reconnaissance to find what recycling programs are available in the community and what they take is worthwhile information to acquire. They know that what they personally do to help increase the amount of our waste that is recycled really does make a difference.

So for those who are already recycling, well done!  But, don’t stop there.  Introduce a friend or relative to recycling, too.  Spread the word.  Let’s multiple our efforts and challenge ourselves to become a country that can produce enough of our own recycled waste to keep industries in materials without depleting our natural resources and building more landfills . Wouldn’t it be great if we treated our environment with respect all year and every year for ever?  Just like our Moms.

Manatee Springs State Park along the Swanee River

Our camp set up. We had to eat our dinner by 5:00 pm in order to have enough light to finish cleaning up. It was a real relief to have cots to sleep on for the first time in our new big stand up tent. Nothing beats being able to stand up to put on your pants. Down side of camping in Florida in the winter is it gets dark so early, you are in bed by 6:30 pm with nothing else you can do. Don't want to be out with the critters much. A long night stretches ahead even when you read with a light until 8.

Interesting cabbage palms everywhere, along with the red and live oaks and amazing cypress trees. We hiked along a trail named Sinks for all the sink holes around there. Scuba divers enter into long channels through the natural springs to explore them.  Personally, I'll leave that bit of adventure to them. It is easy to in vision the early tribes of Indians living in this area, as the fauna looks just about the same as it did then.

We paddled up the Swanee quite a ways looking for gators, but didn't see a one.  We were told, however, that if you come in the dark and shine a light you would see lots of red eyes looking back at you along the banks. I figured they had a pretty good view of us, anyway, as we paddled along the shoreline.

The area we entered the water, called Manatee Springs, takes you out to the Swanee River. The manatees have begun coming into this area now that the weather is colder. We were paddling around one big guy who lazed under us. They are amazing creatures; so huge, yet so docile and defenseless. You could see where propellers had made their marks on his back. Florida is becoming serious about protecting them the best they can.

Hundreds of turkey buzzards were lurking down at us as we paddled by. Felt like Hitchcock's "The Birds". We were wondering how there could be that much around for them to feed on.

The boardwalk that takes you along the springs out to the Swanee River with Michael stopping for a shot. The view is incredible! So peaceful.  The real old Florida we love.

Got to say though, coming home to your own convenient kitchen and bathroom really makes you appreciate coming home!

Swanee, How I love ya!

We're going camping for a couple of nights up on the mouth of the Swanee River. That river has always held a romantic image in my mind, so time to explore it.  We're taking our kayaks so hope to see some gators and/or manatees on the river. We've never been to this state park before so hope it has decent amenities. Yes, we go where there are at least toilets and hopefully showers. That's as roughing it as we get.

In fact, we are going to try out our new big, stand up in tent and cots for the first time, too.  I refuse to sleep on the ground anymore, at least if I don't absolutely have to. Not that I can't, but when I look around and see all these people in their cosy campers around me, it can be a little hard to convince myself that I really need to come crawling out of our tent each morning on my hands and knees. After all, there shoiuld be limits for how much 71 year olds have to endure.

Hopefully, I 'll have some good pics to share with you when we get back. I'll let you know how improved the experience was and whether this is going to be something I'll put on my to do list again soon or not. After buying all this gear, I sure hope its the former.

Struggles

I pray every day for our soldiers who come home from war struggling with their wounds and disabilities. Wounds that they never envisioned they would be the ones incurring. Yet, the results of which they are left to struggle with for the rest of their life. I thank them for their sacrifice.  We need to take a moment to remember them. 

Now, in no way do I equate my struggles to get up the hill on my morning runs or the aching pains I suffer from too vigorous a work out.  But, it makes me think about those who don't have a choice about living with their pain every moment of everyday. It makes anything I might self inflict seem an embarrassment in comparison.

I was listening to NPR while inflicting more pain on myself this morning. They were talking about the differences between how American kids today approach difficulties in learning versus Asian kids. American kids are encouraged to focus on how being smart helped them solve a math problem, for instance. If it was too difficult, in a few minutes they were inclined to say,"I haven't had that yet". However, the Asian kids were encouraged to struggle through a hard problem, told that it is in the struggle and figuring it out that was the key to successfully solving it. They struggled through it until the alloted time was up.

I agree, that struggles can help build character and make us stronger and more likely to persevere to a better outcome. Most of us don't welcome struggles.  The survivors of Hurricane Sandy certainly didn't welcome what they have had to endure. Yet, they can come out on the other side better for what they have had to come through. That remains their choice.

Our wounded soldiers, who struggle daily with challenges I can't begin to imagine, are remarkable. I read story after story about how they feel that their struggle has made them better than they were before. How they have no regrets, in spite of how the outcome has drastically altered their life forever.

My hats off to all of those who suffered in the past and those who suffer yet today. My prayers, too.  That's the least I can do to show them how much I appreciate their struggles.

Yoga

I got my new Prevention magazine the other day.  It has a section on yoga, so yesterday I decided to try it again.  My sister, Anne, swears by it and I have always known she was right.

Wow!  I didn't realize how out of shape I am! Just because I run four miles about five days a week I guess I thought it would be no big deal to polish off these moves. Huh!

Of course, along with flexibility, balance is key to graceful yoga stances. I fouind out that I am sorely lacking in both, it would seem by yoga standards anyway.  So I started out yesterday doing only one or two of each position described.  Either I wasn't doing them right or I don't have the what ever to  look like the gal in the magazine showing the technique.

This morning I tried again, and believe it or not, after just one day's effort, I was greatly improved. The postions didn't feel quite as awkward as yesterday.  That's encouraging. Now to keep it up everyday until I begin to feel the ease and grace in my body while in each position.

I think that is like life.  You have to build flexibility.  I'm not ascribing to giving up on your ideals and principles.  I'm just saying that with alittle flexibility in our thinking we may be able to see where the other guy is coming from.  Not to say you have to, with open arms, embrace those views, but a little balance can bridge a wide gulf in how well you can achieve a compromise with each other and make some progress.

Once you begin to practice a little flexibility and balance it begins to feel pretty good.  Of course there may be a little soreness to overcome at first.  But, one will find that life can be a lot more satisfying when one is able to more comfortably touch one's toes. Or touch others with your flexiblity in compromise.  What a difference a little flexibility and balance can make!

Super Plastics Woman to the rescue!

Picture is necessary to help explain what kind of plastics woman I am,( not the artificial kind with all the plastic surgery or the kind that is a big shopper either). Just plain old plastics waste kind of woman.

So we helped out at the church this morning for the monthly cleanup day.  They always begin with breakfast for those who turn out to work.  I was able to persuade Michael with the hopeful promise of biscuits and gravy.  They came through for him and he worked hard to earn it, too.

I stayed in the kitchen to do the cleanup and free hands for outside labor. As I was finishing up, I noticed all of these juice jugs (#2 HDPE)and plastic clam shells (#1Pete) in the trash can. Now we're not talking about Lewistown, Montana where the opportunities for recycling your plastics waste has been a challenge and a new educational experience until this fall. 

We're talking Florida, where I tell the people up north about. I tell the new recyclers during my plastics recycling talks about how in Florida they have such an easy time of recycling with the "single stream" concept available to them.  Dump it all into one bin. No thinking about whether this can go or that.  Just dump it all in together.  No excuses in Florida not to recycle.  Everyone wants your waste here.

So, in my amazed state, I ask," Don't you recycle your plastic?" And the ladies, who work in the kitchen regularly and set the standard, said, "Oh, no. We have no where to store it." Wait a minute.  That may be a legitimate excuse up north where we only offer once a month drive. But that certainly doesn't hold up here.

So I said, "I have no problem with that.  I'll just take it home with me and put in my recycling bin". I don't know if they got the implication, but,duh, is that so hard to figure out?

Which super hero is it that, when he finishes rescuing one damsel from distress, says something like,"My work is never done"?  Or is that a mother?

Beauty is the eyes of

Trip to Roswell, NM on way down to Florida.  A must see by Michael. Now we can say,"Been there, done that, got the t shirts for the grandkids.

So, looking at these creatures makes one pause to think about what one considers "normal" or the accepted idea of that is beauty.  Now in this world most of us would say that in the top picture those are pretty strange looking guys(or maybe gals, who knows).  However, in the second picture they may look at that and wonder what strange being that was standing next to their good looking stud.

Same way we look at truth. It doesn't make any one "truth" anymore right.  It just varies from point of view and who you ask. We think that we are the more moral or ethical and our standard is the truth. Yet, when looked at from an others point of view we come across as the evil ones.

Take, for example, the Crusaders who massacred in the name of Christianity. A miscarriage of Christ's message. Isn't it as true with the extremists in the Islamic world? They are mostly very good God fearing in the true sense of Islam. Yet, there again are those who take the message and shape it to meet their ideals of truth. Both distortions for their own aggrandizing, causing them to become blinded by their own extreme ideals.

Well, I'm ready for the aliens from space. I'm not judging them or telling them they're all wrong. Heck, those guys may just start looking pretty good after a while.

Compromise

Having friends over for dinner tonight so need to get busy with the bread maker and baking Michael's sugar cream pie.  Guess that's me compromising, as it certainly wouldn't be my choice of dessert.  Of course, a healthier fruit compote will also be offered.

I  have been thinking. Can you just imagine what we could, as a nation, have accomplished with all that money that was spent on the political campaigns? Here's my idea. Everyone who wants to contribute to a political campaign would just say,"I'm giving this million dollars or what ever to this cause, such as cancer research, in the name of (fill in the blank) to show my support for both."

Can't you just imagine the benefit to society that would do? You would get to support your candidate while finding a cure for some disease or other. So, of course this is just wishful thinking.  It would never happen.  People would rather discredit their opponent's character or throw their money at who they think represents their ideal of how the country should be run.  and what do they have to show for it when all is said and done? Oh, I know, a tax deduction.

Hey, maybe if they could get a double tax deduction, not only for contributing their name to the candidate, but to the good cause.  Maybe that would make the system change. Okay, I'm only dreaming.  But it does give pause to think about all that money wasted.

Now I need to go put my mind to better use by figuring out how to work that new bread machine and and baking that (shiver) pie,  Just the thought of all that sugar, cream and butter makes me cringe. What one doesn't do in the name of compromise.  Hey, if I can do that then maybe there is hope for our congress.

Whew! That's over!

I think that the one thing we can all agree about is that we're glad it's over.  No more back stabbing, mud slinging and no more unwelcome phone calls telling us how to vote. It's over for four more years. 

It's interesting how we all have our own perception of "truth". Sometimes it is as simple as who got to us first.  Other times there are deep seated reasons for what we believe: family history, what we have experienced during our life, even our personality type or work experience. It all plays a part in shaping what we perceive as truth.

I am reminded of the Non-Sequester cartoon I saw the other day with the two men coming around the corner ready to crash into each other, each carrying their sign declaring their truth. That's what happens, we collide into each other with our ideals about what is really the truth. When we collide we can't even begin to hear what the other person has to say.

We can only see that if I'm right then he has to be wrong.  Isn't it just possible that there is some truth in each person's view and that by being open to the other side we may come closer to the "real truth"?

Sometimes, we are so eager to find fault with the opposite view and see them as the "evil element" that I think what happens is we have our eye balls in backwards and are seeing our own badness instead. We do that, you know.

 Watch yourself next time you find fault with someone. What it is you dislike about that person: narrow mindedness? shallowness? gullablity?  Is that some of you you are seeing, maybe?

My only wish for the next four years is that we have learned something from our past closed mindedness and saw where it didn't get us and try a different approach.  Listen, really listen to the other person and we might really hear what he/she is saying. That's all I'm saying.

Not so old!

Cooling off the old tootsies after a day of backpacking into the Pintler Mountains of Western Montana last summer.  Aaah!! This made it all worth it.

I got my hair cut yesterday.  Actually, I had it styled.  I know because it cost twice as much. The hairdresser's dad died recently and she and her mom are still grieving.  She said her mom feels like life is over, now that he is gone. I asked her how old her mom was and she said 71.  Seventy-one? Heck that's how old I am, and I don't feel my life is over by a long shot! I told her her to tell her mom that she has a lot of good living left in her.

At seventy-one, maybe I don't feel like biking 50 miles a day along the Rhine(not that I couldn't) but I still look forward to staying at a B&B in Italy along the Mediterranean and taking in the view. I may not have a marathon in me(never did), but I can still get up for a four miler once in a while. I may not be into dancing under the stars until two in the morning, but Michael isn't into dancing anyway.

My "girls" may have a life of their own, but they can still be restrained reasonably well. I may look like I've spent the past seven decades out basking in the sun, but can still fix up well enough to trick the cameras once in a while. I may not be as flexible physically anymore, but I can still get down to scrub my floors by hand (and get back up) okay.

Anyway, she can still find some good years in herself and make a contribution to her world. She doesn't need to save the entire world, but she can still make her own corner of it a little better place to be. She can find a cause that needs her and put her stamp on it and feel some satisfaction in a job well done.

The world is out there just waiting for her to step out into it and enjoy. Even at seventy-one.

The apple (or maybe not)

I went for a walk in the nearby neighborhood of Clearfield, Utah this morning. The air was fresh after the deluge of rain last evening. Along the way, I walked by a tree breeming with some kind of apple like fruit, hanging over the sidewalk.  At first I just thought about picking one, but kept going by.  Then I walked back to the tree, since no one was about, and picked one. (I know, maybe not everyone has a little bit of daring, edginess in their soul, but I do when put to the challenge). I carried it all the way back to the house, not sure what it was,(it seemed like a cross between an apple and a plum, kinda). My edginess wasn't to the extent that I would eat it without washing it, not knowing what the owner may have sprayed on it.

That is just a small sample of what goes through my mind when the occasion presents itself.  Should I or should I not?  Actually, I am a very moral, law abiding person. Where I am divided is when it comes to weighing the prose and cons. I don't litter because I don't like to look at litter.  Yet, this morning, against my usual inclination, I did not pick up a single discarded water bottle or beer can.  The sides of the streets were strewn with dirty drink cups and hamburger wraps, yet I left them  where they lay.

For one thing, I didn't have a bag along with me and for another, it seemed like an undaunting task that would not impact the situation one bit by the very next day.  Obviously, the litter didn't phase anyone else in the area.

However, the ripened fruit on the tree, that was laden with so many obviously ready to pick fruit, was different. I was easily able to rationalize that obviously the owner wasn't planning to use the fruit, as it was just hanging over the sidewalk so very ripe and neglected. And isn't the boulevard basically like the street, public property? My mind differentiates between what I see as what the public deems and what I deem to be allowable in stretching the facts.

So isn't this what society does?  We all file away the expectations of society in our brains and manipulate them to fit into our own sense of right and wrong? Not saying this is a good or bad thing, right or wrong, just being human.  I guess it is the degree that we rationalize our behavior.  Is it basically a harmless act or, on the other hand, does it some how it impact our fellow man or world in which we live in a negative way? So is this how Eve got started?

It's Scary!

Things with the plastics' recycling program have been happening so fast recently, it scares me. You know how when you wait for something for so long to happen, you dream about it and talk about it until people run when they see you open your mouth? Then one day the dream actually starts to become a reality and you really aren't sure how you are going to handle it.  Is it for real? Is it really going to happen? Will it work out as it is supposed to?

Sometimes, it is a bit overwhelming for me to think that I could possibly accomplish something that is so foreign to anything I have ever experienced, with absolutely no background in the field. I knew nothing about business, and I could barely tell you where and what to recycle in Florida, much less here in Lewistown what the issues were. I was a naive babe in the wilderness of recycling and business.

Yet, I guess what makes the difference is that when you believe in something and you know that it is good and true, it motivates you to stretch yourself beyond your own expectations for yourself. It makes me feel great that a successful business man says that I have what it takes to go after something I believe in, work hard at and persevere to the end. He must believe in me because he gave us $4,000 for the project. And that's scary, too. Now I really feel that I have to prove to him he has reason to put his trust in me.

I remember, many years ago, in what I call my former life, we were in a business that my heart was not in. I was in torment about contacting people and working the business. I did not have any belief in the company and what I was doing.  It was a sham in more ways than one. I was paralysed from any action.  How different this is for me.

What makes the difference is the constant affirmation from everyone that this is a good and true endeavor.  The support has been my strength to do what I never thought I was capable of doing. It is scary to know the trust others have in me.  I only hope that I live up to that trust to the end.

Gutsy Women

I have to say that I admire gutsy women.  Not the in your face, out spoken types, that challenge others.  But the strong women who persevere against the odds dealt to them. The ones that don't roll over and whimper for someone to come and rescue them. Quitting isn't in their vocabulary, I'm sure.  They are the type who don't think the world owes them something extra because of the hand they were dealt or what they have to endure.  They just assume that is their job.

I have a friend, that believe it or not, is older than I am. She lost her husband a few years ago, the light of her life, and now her dog. No self pity, "Well, now what am I going to do?". She just went about assuming all of the responsibilities and household chores for herself.  I don't mean washing the dishes and making the bed either. No, she digs up the yard and paints the house, inside and out. She drives herself back and forth to California each season. And she gets herself out in the community, taking on new challenges and interests everyday. By herself, most often, too. Amazing woman.

I have a daughter, who against my judgment, took on the challenge of backpacking into the wilderness by herself with her trusted companion Gracie Lou.  Who happens to be a dog, not a person. The part that impresses me the most is that she didn't let fear or the "weirdness" of being on the mountain alone at night stop her. She was determined to backpack and didn't see it a problem that she didn't have a man along. This is the same way she has taken on the challenges of being a single parent homeowner. If it is going to get done, then by golly she will "getter done". Gutsy, to say the least and I admire that.

Some women don't have such dramatic day to day challenges in their life as these determined women do. But, in their everyday life they show the kind of resolve, strength and determination to confront their life head on and not think there is any other alternative. It is their problem and they deal with it.

That is not to say that they don't have tears in the dark of night when they lie in bed alone and think about the over whelming problems they have to over come by themselves each day. But, when morning comes, they are up and back in the game of life that was handed to them. While I feel for their pain, I  admire their determination to soldier on. These are my kind of women.  I could only hope that  I can live up to their model of a woman.

Post scope

Okay, so most people wouldn't say this on their blog, but I just have to say, glad my scope went well and is done and over with for the next five years. This whole process does have a way of slowing you down and controlling your life for a bit, to put it mildly. Last night was a bust, completely dominating my life with the process. Today, I slept through the entire event, came home and slept some more.

It took me until this afternoon to become a functioning human being again.  They said that I should not do anything for 24 hours that would require judgement. So we'll see tomorrow how the results of some of the project business that I conducted today turns out.  I'm afraid I will probably have some memory lapses and should write it all down. Other wise what proof will I have one way or the other?

I already noticed that I put some dates on my calendar when I got home that I don't remember writing. At least the information was correct.  I think.  Tomorrow will tell.  When I get feedback from my communications that I sent out.

But, to be honest, I don't think I could get stressed out about anything right at the moment. Not even the fact that I need to throw something together for dinner in the next hour and haven't really a clue what.  But, Michael is easy to please.  As long as I have some frozen corn on hand and can make him some fried potatoes. I'll throw in some fish of some kind some how.  I don't really feel creative about cooking tonight. I would be fine with a bowl of cereal, but I don't think another bowl of cereal will do it for him  And he didn't pick up on the hint to get carry out somewhere. Guess I should whine more.

I'm sure tomorrow will have a different character to it.  I'm looking forward it the change.

Don't breathe!

I'm afraid to exhale! We have the baler invoice ready to sign, we have the money for the trailer we found and the generator we are looking to buy. We are sooo close that I'm afraid to breathe until everything is signed, sealed and delivered.

I'm pushing for a Sept. 29th plastics' drive, the eternal optimist that I am.  I believe you have to set your sites for what you want and how you want things to go or you will never get there. Think about it. If I would say," Oct. would be okay if you think Sept. 29th won't work", then there is no way in heaven or hell that I'll get the drive on Sept. 29th.

I know I'm getting a reputation as a shrewd dealer, but that just comes with knowing what I want to achieve and what I have to do to get there. I ask for what we need and try not to be surprised when I get it.

So now it is time to begin what I call phase two: education and development. Actually, that part will be fun for me, since it is more my territory.  I don't know much about specs of balers and generators but I do know teaching.  I'm really excited about going to the Boys and Girls Club and sharing recycling with them. Then my next group is at the Lewistown Art Center, smaller groups at a time, I expect. I haven't been in front of a group of more than five kids at a time in ten years. Give me a bunch of kids, though, and turn me loose, that's all I ask. 

Michael is probably ready to breathe a sign of relief. But, he had better not relax too much because things are just going to start getting interesting.

Fast or Slow?

Sometimes life has a way of slowing you down whether you like it or not. It just happens.  Yesterday morning, I twisted my foot while on the way to church. I didn't think anything about it, even forgetting it happened, until later in the day when I got this excruciating pain in the front of it. Oh, I thought, I'll just walk off the cramp. However, when the pain became unbearable I ended up in the emergency room with what I was sure was a broken foot.  Nothing could possibly hurt that badly and not be broken.

However, nothing showed up on the x-ray to explain the pain.  The doctor said it could either be a hairline fracture underneath or the bones separated, which can explain that kind of pain. Today, though, after a few pain pills and a walking boot, I'm doing fine. Shows my naivety.  I only thought child birth could hurt that badly.

So I guess my list of to dos for the day will have to be rescheduled for now. Funny, they all seemed pretty important yesterday when I laid out the list.  Yet, today they don't seem quite as urgent. There's that keeping things in perspective again. 

Like Michael's dog bite from last week. He is still trying to get that resolved. The county health department is chasing down the dog to have it quarantined. That has become complicated by the fact that, because of the delay on their part, the dog now is in Great Falls. That means a more complicated procedure than would have been necessary.

Sometimes things need to be sped up and other times they require slowing down. Wish we could work out a happy balance.

One on One

Michael and I went to Bozeman last night for a race he was running today. This gave me an opportunity to call my daughter, Charlene, and take her out for breakfast, while Michael was out pounding the pavement. I have to say, that as much as I love all of my grand kids, there is something special about one on one face time with my kid.  Just the two of us, doing nothing but sharing stories and life. No side tracking with cute grand kids and their kiddy antics or teens with their latest dramas.

When my son, Michael, is here visiting we usually get a few special mother-son moments while working in the kitchen putting together the evening meal. Nothing deep going on, just a few minutes being together, by ourselves. Then it is quickly back to the circus of kids and spouses.

I haven't had any one on one time with Charlotte this year.  She's busy being happy with her new job and life, which is as it should be. Still, I'd like to make the effort to get down to Billings soon for some time with  just her. Maybe when Michael has his next race. She and I could do a breakfast time, too.

I get to talk to Kathy on the phone one on one for a bit during the week, but not much of a chance for face to face time with kids needing mom, etc. and her busy schedule working and keeping it all together.

I actually get more one on one time with Michael's daughter, Brandy, when we visit Indiana each year. We enjoy our shopping trips and lunch out together with no husbands or kids along. It just works well that way.

Mom's know that that is the way it is going to be from then on, once the kids leave the nest. We have more time, they have less. Just the way it is. I'm not complaining, just appreciating and cherishing the time I get.

Back Packing Great Grannies

My daughter, Kathy took her mom and Auntie Annie, with her beautiful, big black Weinar(sp) dog, Gracie Lou, on a three mile over night, back packing trip up into the Pintler mountain wilderness Sunday. She told us how proud she was of us, which made us proud, too.  After all we are great grammas on our first ever over nighter carrying close to 30 pounds each up into the mountains. I'll have to say it was one of the most physically challenging endeavors I have ever taken on, evidenced by the sore muscles that night and next couple of days.

The first mile of the trail was down hill, basically.  Which meant, of course that coming out the next day, that last mile was up hill. Not a problem on a day hike with just carrying your water bottle.  However, after hiking up the mountain one day, going on a morning hike of probably close to four miles the next day and hiking out three more miles the next day, with our full packs the next afternoon, the last mile was a killer.

The lake was just the right temperature for easing the tired muscles in my legs, which I took advantage of a couple of times during the day. Good thing we had the whole mountain and lake to ourselves by late afternoon on the first day so that I could strip out of my pants and ease in up to my tush. Aaah!

Kathy had the system down to a science, with exactly what we would need to take to survive without carrying an extra pound. She even had little packets of tp put together for each of us to use. So we would take our few sheets of tp with the trowel and head up the side of the mountain, hunting for a convenient rock where we could dig our hole when nature called.  You just hoped you didn't turn over a rock someone else had used.

Dinner was a wonderful shrimp scampi and yellow peppers over brown rice. With the heady feeling of the grandeur of the view, we didn't even miss the promised mug of white wine to go with it. All you wanted to do was drink in the splendor of Warren Peak and the clear, sparkling waters of Carp Lake. It was an awesome feeling that we three women were the only human beings in that whole mountain area that night.

In fact, as far as what we saw, we were the only living creatures on the mountain, besides the chipmunk sitting on a rock and a few grouse in the brush.  I'll have to admit, though, that the cave like space under the huge boulders, that I was watching while I sat hunched down doing my business, sure looked like a good place for a bear. But, I was sure Gracie Lou would alert me to anything bigger than a gnat moving around out there.

We talked about repeating a trip like this next year when Kathy turns the big 50. Then Anne suggested that maybe she would like a trip to a Florida beach instead for such an auspicious occasion. That gave cause for a pause. Mountains are incredible, but really now, would you really want to be reminded about all of your many aches and pains and how old you are?

Ebb and flow

It isn't just the tides that ebb and flow.  I think our energy level and moods have more to do with outside stimuli than from within ourselves, I am sorry to say.  I know that I like to feel that I am totally in control of how I am feeling. So just shake it off, already.

Then I realize how much more energy and vitality I have for instance when all is going well with our plastics' recycling program development. Yet, when plans fall through or do go as expected, I hit a functioning low. My initiative lags for the time until the next bit of hope is given to me. Ebb and flow from with out.

You see those in a new relationship going around with all kinds of life showing in their face.
However, when those who have problems at home, they can hardly drag themselves out of bed in the morning. Where did all that vitality go? It will ebb and flow like the tide with the tone of the relationship.

I wish it wasn't so, but you probably noticed that it is difficult swimming against the tide when it is coming in. That's what it feels like you are doing when you try to swim against the effect of the events in your life. Maybe that is why so many people are taking mood altering drugs these days.  They feel they have no control over the circumstances surrounding them and that effect their day to day life. So the only way they feel that they can gain control is to use a pill or something.

So what is one to do then, you may ask.  The answer, I think, is to get beyond the breakers, even if it is tough going against the tide for a while. Find some diversion that takes full use of your mind and what energy you may have left. And swim out beyond the breakers.

That's what I am doing with my sister, Anne, and daughter, Kathy, this weekend.  We are climbing the mountains to a lake in the wilderness over night. Not even an out house out there, I've been told! Might be a good time to just throw myself into the frigid water of the lake and swim. By the time we get back we will be on the other side of the breakers and enjoying the calm of the open sea.

Curiosity

Curiosity. That is what keeps a person alive.  And I'm not referring to just keeping the heart beating, either. If you don't have any curiosity about the world around you, you may as well be dead, anyway. What could possibly be fun about a life cut off from all that has gone on in the past,going on today and the posibilities for tomorrow.

I'm reading an interesting book, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford. I had always heard about the internment camps that all of the Japanese had been herded into during  WW II, but had never read much about how it all took place and how it effected those living around them. This book has been a real eye opener to a whole new world of events to me. 

That's why I like to read a variety of books.  I love to be able to think,"I never knew that before."  And I hate to read anything that has a predictable plot, much less stereo typical characters in them. I love the element of surprise and something new to think about. I thrill at new and intriguing information in what I read. However, I have to admit I like happy endings. I get into what I'm reading to the extent that it can affect my mood if it is terribly sad or morbid.

Last yea,r at this time, you could have put what I knew about recycling in a thimble. I merely went through the motions of putting things in the right bin because I knew I should and picking up any trash because I couldn't stand to walk around it. In a year I have not only found out how much I didn't know, but how much more I want to learn. It has been invigorating  and exciting to learn all about where it goes, how it works and what needs to be done in the future. I'm also learning volumes about how business works and the politics involved.

 The information is endless out there for exploring and delving into. And today we are so fortunate to have the Internet to help sate our curiosity. No more working through the volumes of out of date encyclopedias. How can anyone not have a mountain of questions about so many possible subjects to know more about? My only question right now is what will I explore next? That question excites me.

Glitch roller coaster

Another big glitch in our plastics' recycling program that is an unexpected let down. The 42" baler we were negotiating with Recycle Systems for was sold out from under us to someone in Alaska while our salesman was off in Peru on vacation for the past three weeks.  I just can't believe it could be possible! I'm at the point, just as when I'm shopping for a specific item at a price I have in mind ahead of time but I don't find, when I finally find what I want price really isn't an object anymore.  I guess we'll go ahead and buy the new 30" baler and go with a wing and a prayer that we can get the generator some how some way. Time is running out for me and time is a wasting.

This roller coaster ride has to end sometime, I'm sure. It is like the idea in the movie Ground Hog Day, things keep happening over and over again. Unbelievably. This thing has taken on a life of its own and it is time for me to take the creature by the horns and get control of the operation. Be assertive.  Make bold decisions. Take bold steps. Go for the gold. Any Olympian will tell you that is how to get the job done.

I see so much money wasted by so many causes and think," All we need is a few thousand bucks, lose change to them." And we could do so much with so little.  The problem being, everyone wants the program to succeed, but until we show success they aren't incline to put their money into it. But without their money we can't get there. 

So we go ahead and act like we have money.  Isn't that what everyone else does? No That is my new operation modem. Or what ever you call it. Charge!

Who me worry?

My sister Anne and I had a training hike this morning for our backpacking weekend coming up with my daughter, Kathy. I took out one of the seven pound weights I had been carrying so that we would be equal going up the hill.  She was feeling much more confident about handling the vigor of the mountain climbing now.  I just wish people would quit with the bear scares, though.  We'll be fine. At least I will be, sleeping in the middle of the tent, anyway.

When you go to the doctor's for your annual physical and your doctor tells you you are awesome, you just can't help but brag a bit. You know all your numbers are going to be good, but it still feels good to have your doctor tell you so. However, I still have to have the dreaded colonoscopy, something I don't think anyone eagerly looks forward to. Only good thing about it is getting it over with and knowing you are good to go for the next five to ten years.

Humans are strange creatures.  One of the things that distinguishes them from the rest of the animal kingdom is how they worry about what other people are thinking.  I know I waste time with that at times. We have a neighbor who really is upset with me and for the life of me I can't figure out what ever it was that I did to get on his bad side. I mean besides his killing my tree and I think under the circumstances I handled it pretty well. Just a little shrug is all.  But he can't stand to even speak to me. What am I to think?

My friend, Betts, worried herself silly all weekend about the window space, at a closed pharmacy in town, we were given to use to display all of our plastic.  She was so worried that the owner had a change of heart. That worry was all for not, though. Actually, the owner had a fun time watching us put the whole thing together today.  We are a piece of work, Betts and I, when we get to executing our ideas and I'm sure quite entertaining.

Guess we should all put away our false fronts and be more honest with each other.  Maybe there'd be some bloody noses once now and then, but it would sure save in the ulcer department. Maybe the rest of the animals do have something over us.  No ulcers.

My hike today

My sister, Anne was going to do some backpack trail training with me today, but she has come down with a cold so I didn't want to push her.  She needs to get well before the over night trip next weekend that she looks to with dreaded anticipation. So I went out by myself, anyway.  It was a perfect morning for the training hike, cool with a threat of rain to hurry me along.

I strapped on the backpack and headed up the street to the trail leading out of town. The load seemed easier today, probably due to the cool weather and the fact that, hopefully, this training is beginning to pay off.

 As I trudged past the city cemetery I could see a gathering of mourners who were saying their good byes to a loved one. I said a little prayer for them all, understanding the sadness they were feeling, since my own Uncle Ernie just passed away last week.  It is always hard to think they are gone from your life for good. I had been looking forward to seeing him when we returned south this fall, realizing that it would probably be for the last time.

When I returned back down the trail later, they had all left by then.  Probably off to share a repast and stories of the one lost. That is a good way to keep them alive, even after they are gone. I always wonder what stories will be told about me when I'm gone.  I hope they will want to keep me a live in their thoughts, too.

I noticed how perfectly clear the surrounding mountains appeared today. The rain did its job last night. The Judith mountains looked so beautiful in the distance, the clouds over head casting long shadows over them. You would never know by looking from the distance the ugly tree clearing going on in their depths. Last year when we were hiking up the mountain we could hear the saws going and see the results.

Made me think about people.  We can look at them and be fooled by their smile and chatter, not realizing the pain and anguish that may be going on inside them. We just don't know the whole story that lies behind those eyes. Tells us something about why we shouldn't be so quick to take offense with people and give them some slack.

Before I left the trail, a deer and I startled each other. Then we just stood there and stared at each other. She eyeing me nervously, yet not moving.  And me not daring to move so as not to scare her away. I wonder what she thought of me?  I thought she was beautiful, with her shiny black nose twitching and a long scar along her back. I could only think what may have caused it. Finally she eased away to join the rest of her companions, waiting at a safe distance for her.

I would have enjoyed the company of my sister today.  I'm sure we would have chatted away the time.  Yet, it was a good time for me to enjoy my solitude once more. But, I hope she feels better quickly so she will be ready for the challenge.

Routines II

If you didn't read yesterday's entry, it will be to your advantage to read "Routines Part One" before reading today's account if you want to get the flow right. As I was out on my morning run, I got to thinking that there was more to be said about routines that had been left out.

I had said that routines can be a blessing or a curse.  They can also take on a life of their own if we aren't careful. Some routines become so habituated that we can do them without realizing.  How many times have I heard someone say, "Did I take my pill yet?" or "Did I put on my deodorant already?" Sometimes our mind is somewhere far away when we do something that is so routine we never give it a thought.

No big deal generally, I'm sure.  I said that routines can be good for us, such as getting a good night's sleep every night.  Yet, when that routine becomes the end all, it has lost its rightful place in our life. How many times I have missed the 4th of July fireworks because bedtime is 10:00 pm and they don't even start until then.

This is where they become the monster that has taken over our life. We need to think outside of the routine, that serves a purpose most of the time, and put it in its rightful place. Is it worth missing out on that wonderful concert last night because it will keep you up past your routine bedtime? I know from experience that usually it is not.  The pleasant memory of that night's music will far outlive the benefits of that good night's sleep.

They say that routines can actually rob us of mental acuity over the years. We should vary our routes when out on our run or walk each day so that we generate new synapses in our brain. We should use our non dominate hand to do mundane tasks to stimulate the brain. We should read a variety of material and look for adventure along the way.

Routines may keep us healthy and secure most of the time, but variety is still the spice of life. We need to control them not they control us.  I just need to remind myself and my spouse of that fact.