sol25 March 9 What Scares You?

  I have a magnet that says, "Do one thing every day that scares you," a quote of Eleanor Roosevelt. I bought it because it was a challenge to look beyond laundry and dust balls. 

These days I look at it and remember that growing older is scary! Yet, I have (in no special order of significance):

• climbed into and out of the magnificent Grand Canyon
• watched with awe as my own once needy children became empowered parents
• loved with all my heart and healed my broken heart 
• taken wild and crazy young children to a vast Legoland all by myself
• bought and renovated an aging and leaky home all alone
• promised scared parents their struggling learners would be readers
• defended my research and ideas to a demanding and critical committee 
• put my thoughts into words, baring my soul, and sharing them with the world
• said good-bye to loved ones when it I wanted to say please hang on
• planned not-always-thrilling PD for teachers who wanted to be anywhere else

sol25 March 8 Celebrating Cousins

 At that moment, little miracles were far from my radar.  

We were hours away from the celebration of love that would integrate satin and lace with pinecones and slabs of wood. We were just hours away from gathering family and friends from near and far. We were as close as you can get to gaining a family member. We needed a bit of breakfast in order to get through a long and emotion-filled day.

As luck would have it, he was also at breakfast preparing for the long day ahead so we shared a table and caught up on life. Cousins have a special bond as both family and friends. Even if it has been years, they have stories to add to their collective memory. Then, he whipped out his I Pad  and excitedly shared images of his little miracles declaring them to be the absolute best part of getting older. They were learning to talk, walk and play catch. His images were memorable even though at that moment, I could not yet imagine having my own album of little miracles. 

I thought about that prophetic moment in the months ahead as I reflected on the grand celebration of love, hoarded tiny footed outfits, and mastered the challenging seed stitch. I thought about that moment as I celebrated that my own little miracles would be blessed with cousins. I have thought about that moment many times as I celebrate the special bond of cousins. 

SOL25 March 7 A Million Dollars

"If you won a million dollars, what would you do?" he asked as we shuffled the deck.

"I'm not sure," I responded sincerely. "I think I would give some to people who are hurting and hungry and then take my grandchildren on a big vacation."

He smiled acknowledging that in this hypothetical situation he would be the lucky recipient of that trip and then responded, "I would buy all the video games, and an Amphicar that could go over the water and on the road, and a mansion with a swimming pool and video room.  I would also go on that big trip with you if you win," he grinned as he leaned in for an indirect hug the way little boys who are becoming bigger boys sometimes do.

I'm sure I would give a million dollars to keep him safe from harm as he traverses that stormy road from little boy to kind adult. 

sol25 March6 10 Minutes

Many fellow slices are sharing 20 minute sections of their day.  
I'm sharing just 10 minutes!

The wind was raging even though the rain had not yet started, as I landed in the parking lot with just 20 minutes before my appointment.  My fridge was a barren wasteland after a pre-garbage day purge. While I planned to abstain from meat that day, there were no eggs, no cottage cheese, and not even any peanut butter as sources of protein to be found in my house!

One of those mini-carts designed for those of us who live alone scooted across the parking lot towards me and I grabbed it before it caused physical damage to my car.

I grabbed a box of greens, on sale, and a couple of oranges, on sale. I snagged a box of tea and a bag of coffee, on sale, along with some oatmeal. I debated the extra cost of cottage cheese with pineapple, and decided on plain, on sale. I grabbed a bag of baked Lays in spite of the cost, and splurged on a can of on sale crab claws from Canada before heading to the self-check out line.

As I loaded my goods, I realized that in just 10 minutes, I had:

• saved my car from cart-inflicted-damage
• filled an almost entirely healthy cart
• prepared for Lent
• reflected on the economic challenge of grocery shopping today
• splurged on crab claws for the last time, for at least a while
• worried about how those with families, like my children, are coping
• spent a lot of money!

sol25 March 5 Her Story

 

On day 4 of the March SOL Challenge, Sally at wrote to a love note 

to her infant granddaughter about her own Writing Hobby!

 I am borrowing her format to write a note to one of my own.

Dearest,

     You are no longer a little girl and not yet a big one, but you have been around long enough to understand what make people tick. You know who needs to run to stay sane and who needs to eat dessert in order to smile. You have been watching and observing your Meme for long enough to notice that your Meme has way too many books and spends way too much time reading and writing. Back in the day when I was juggling my own kids, jobs, commutes, sports teams, laundry, and caregiving, you would still have found a book and a notebook on my nightstand. 

    You are at the beginning of your own story, but I smile proudly as I see you immersed in the Babysitter Club or filling blank journals with your own stories of families and lives so different from your own. When you sent me your first graphic novel, I stopped what I was doing and savored every word. When you admitted you were writing on your Mom's I Pad, I acknowledged that karma is real.

    Your own story may take you to places and experiences I cannot even imagine. You will not likely hold tight to your grandmother's "dish" or "quilt" like I did. Yet, you might just someday find this blog and smile as your read your Meme's mutterings. I suspect you will smile when you walk past a garage sale and see a worn copy of the The Boy Who Wouldn't Swim or Charlotte's Web. I suspect those seeds planted as we shared stories may fester into those of a lifelong reader and writer. It is exciting to watch you writing your story. 

With Love,
Your Meme

sol25 March 4 Does You Tube Know?

 

I woke up in a sweat, kicked off the covers, and headed to the shower. "I must have misread the forecast," I thought as I abandoned my usual fleece for a tee.

As I reached the stairs, the steam pipes were clearly humming and my heart increased in response. I hurried to the thermostat where the 78 degree indication justified my sweat. I instantly decided to turn the heat off remembering the scene a few years ago when that 100 year old steam pipe in the basement blew spewing a century of waste everywhere. 

"I'll have to figure this one out after class," I thought as I sighed deeply and grabbed my fleece.                              

Wondering, worrying if the problem was the pipes, furnace, or the thermostat?                        Wondering, worrying if I could really fix it or if I would need to get a service call.                        Wondering how long if would take to get a service person to come?
Worrying how much it would cost.                                                                                                Wondering if I could fix this mess?                                                                                                Worrying if my pipes might freeze before I fixed the problem? 
Wondering if I should skip my favorite early morning Aquacize class given this mess?

Worrying, wondering about the problem during every single step, every stroke, every move.

Wondering as I showered, dressed and drove home.

Worrying as the temperature had already dropped 15 degrees in my old house.

Hoping You Tube holds the answer?

sol25 March 3 They Come in Threes

 

"I am heartbroken to share," the note began.  I knew the next words without reading them. 

I sighed, deeply, and apologized to my mother who claimed these events came in threes even though even she knew there was no scientific evidence! 

I spent many years quietly disproving her personal "life-theorems" based on lore!

I went outside day after day with long wet hair on bitter cold winter days and did not catch a cold!

I've dropped spoons again and again without a visitor to my home!

I've walked under ladders and cuddled with black cats, more than once!

I've broken the 5 second rule with peanut butter sandwiches, shrimp cocktails, and steaks!

Yet, her message, once again, was loud, clear, and sadly accurate. I put the times for the wake and funeral into my calendar for the third time in as many weeks. 

Looking up to the heavens, I suspect, by now, my mom would be on the Welcome Wagon and they would soon be commiserating about their daughters. She will  be missed.

sol25 March 2 I Am Concerned

 

On day w of the March SOL Challenge, 

I am reflecting on who I am:

I am 

Proud: Mom, Meme, Sister, Auntie, Cousin, 

Appreciative: Friend, Professor, Teacher, 

Wanna-Be: Beach-Bum, Writer,

Grateful for: Great Literature, 

Modern Medicine, Strong Faith. 

Year 14, SOL March Participant,

Hoping to write and remember

The magical small moments.

I am

Passionate about:

 Using my gifts to serve others,

Thinking critically about all things,

Remembering that history should

Guide us to not repeat mistakes.

Concerned about:

Socio-political decisions

Impacting those with the least authority,

Challenging beliefs about our fragile planet,

My generations legacy.