Mother’s Day, 2019.

Life is short. Do what you like! My new motto. Last year, Mom arranged for us to go sailing. We got a free upgrade to a catamaran. Luxurious! But she said she enjoyed the monohull we had this year even better. In talking to my mom, I also found out she wants to go skydiving someday. Imagine that! Skydiving has been on my bucket list for years, and to know it’s on hers? Wow!

Here’s the gist of it, though: she’s ready to get to work on that bucket list, and I admire that. I won’t for a moment let it make me sad.

Instead, I’ll applaud her doing things for herself. Maybe I’ll even go skydiving with her! I’ve been putting it off, waiting for a time I thought I could deal with a broken bone.

Fact is, I’ve also been putting off that trip to Europe, waiting for a time I could deal with a long airplane flight. Is my bucket list different now? Trust me, I still plan to see the sunrise in multiple states. I’ll have to think on this. In the meantime, I plan to encourage her to do those things she’s been wanting to do.

I am so thankful that I still have her around and that we can be close. I am also glad I was able to spend time with my son on Mother’s day!

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Best of the Year. Dec. 6-11. #2018BOTY

Image from Beaton at Becoming the Muse Blog

This is my second post for Best of the Year.  My blogging habit involves forgetting for a few days, so I am posting a few days at a time.

6. Album-Imagine Dragons, “Evolve”, which includes “Whatever it Takes” and “Natural.” I am not really up to speed on new albums.  When it comes to music, I know what I like, and I stick with it.  However, I do listen to the radio at times, and Imagine Dragons is one of my favorite.  Specifically, “Whatever it Takes” is a favorite.  It motivates me and makes me want to do things, not just getting out of bed, but making a difference in this world.  I love the lead singer’s voice, and the lyrics just pop.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOsM-DYAEhY

In fact, I’m playing it right now to get my plans for the day in gear!

7. Experience- Sailing in RI.  I wrote a blog post on it this summer in July or August.  My dad and his firned in RI took us sailing past Naragansett Bay and toward the ocean.  It was a little scary, but quite inspiring.  Sometimes things that scare you can really wake you up to life.  That, and it was a beautiful day with awesome sights!

   It was sunset by the time we got back, and what a beautiful sunset!

8. Meal- Lunch in Amelia Island at a quaint little seafood place.  Sadly, I have not been trying new things much.  My stomach over-reacts to certain things, so I am pretty careful.  However, there is one meal I remember fondly.  It was a lovely day, and we sat outdoors.  I had a club sandwich with blue cheese potato salad, something I don’t eat often, and the potato salad was of a kind I have never tried.  It was scrumptious!  I was having weird stomach issues and afraid to eat seafood, but this lunch was great.  I splurged and had a lot of calories in that lunch.  The friends I went with are all retired teachers, and we were having a lot of fun that day, shopping and lunching.  Then, one of them starts throwing fries on the ground for the birds.  🙂  Those birds were having a party…

9. Drink- Orange is the New Crack. It’s kind of like an Orange Julius for adults.  This accompanied my meal at Amelia Island with my friends.  Doesn’t the name explain itself? Can you believe I only had one?

10. News Story- I avoid the news. The only news stories I can recall made me cry this year.  But I appreciate those that bring me to tears of joy and hope; one example would be the kindness and humanity that arose out of the fires in Malibu, CA in November.  People were stuck in their cars with the fire blazing around them; they could not get out.  However, groups rescued many left behind animals and took them in.  People risked their lives to help others.  One of them, a garbageman whose boss told him to cut his route short and go home, instead checked on the homes of some of the elderly residents he knew.  He ended up rescuing one 93-year-old woman.  Thank God for those with a heart!   https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/17/us/camp-fire-garbageman/index.html

11. Purchase- Gazelle.  It’s an exercise machine that does not require electricity.  I purchased it in case we had another homebound/hurricane scare this year, which I am glad to say we didn’t!  Two years in a row we had them, and I gained weight due to comfort eating.  I am at a point where I still think I look just fine, but I do not need five more pounds.  Guess what?  I use it twice a week, don’t have to brush my hair like I would for the gym, and I can read while on it in relative peace and quiet, unlike my exercise experience at the gym.  Which reminds me, I need to cancel that membership….

Thanks for reading!  In a couple of days, I will have a few more for you!

 

#WeekendCoffeeShare, Recouping from Vacation

Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Alli

Coffee is a must today!  I’ve been quite sluggish for the last week.  You see, my son and I traveled to Rhode Island for five days in mid-July to see my dad.  It was beautiful there!  I’ll be honest, my dad is no dottering old man.  He works full-time at age 74, attends many community functions, and holds a position of leadership in his church.  He also lives a very healthy, active lifestyle despite having had three heart attacks.

Dad’s active lifestyle was witnessed firsthand by my son and me.  I mean, Dad had things planned for almost every day we were there.  He rents an apartment very near the beach in R.I.  We walked from there to the beach many times.  The weather was heavenly.  Even on days he called humid, I was pretty comfortable, as it always seemed to be at least 10 degrees lower than it would be in Florida.  Our activities ranged from walking to the “Clam Shack” for clam chowder, to the beach, walking on the famous and gorgeous “Cliff Walk” that was about 4 miles one afternoon, and walking to the town of Newport the next day.  He took us on a ferry to tour lighthouses on the bay and took us sailing with his friend who owns a sailboat.

This is where I got to see his stubborn spirit that has likely been around since youth.  He has had to be self-reliant all his life, as his family grew up poor.  Having many siblings meant his parents had to send him to a farm to work in the summers.  He entered the Navy in his twenties, and I guess his love for the sea never left him. His friend also sails several times a week, and they are quite the pair, fearless old men with sea legs.  🙂  We went way out beyond the bay and toward the sea.  My son went down to the cabin, but one of the guys said that would make a person feel more queasy.  After a while, I went there too, just to feel I had something to grab. (There was a table attached to the floor).  I felt shaky, weak, and ready to be sick.  None of us did, though.  Soon, we were heading back from the sea and into the calmer waters again.  We were out there for hours.  I could safely say that I enjoyed 80% of our sailing excursion.  Overall, it was a good experience.  My discomfort was a minor thing; I didn’t ask them to head back, though I am sure at one point I asked “when” we’d head back.  The calmer waters allowed for some beautiful views.  At the end, I had to admit the old man was tougher than I was.

It was a really enjoyable trip, though, especially the Lighthouse ferry boat, and I attended church with my dad at a Center for Spiritual Living. It was great, and all of his friends there were quite lovely.  He took my son kayaking one day, and I walked to the beach to enjoy the lovely weather.  All in all, it was nice spending time with my father, and I even got some bonding time with my son.  He learned a little bit more about who we are.  When it was time to head home, I was probably good and tired.  The airline flight and getting home at 1 a.m. didn’t help.  The next day, I got new car tires.  The day after, I woke up with a cold, and it grew more harrowing day after day, but I just stayed in, rested, and took the Mucinex.  A week later, and I’m still awfully sluggish in the morning.  At least the big excitement of this summer is over.  All that is left is my mom’s birthday next week.  July is, in a big way, about family this year.  August 6th, I head back to work teaching.  There will be lots of changes this year, but today it is still summer break, so I need to honor that.

Thanks for stopping by for my Weekend Coffee Share!  Have a great weekend.  How was your week?  Are you looking forward to summer’s end?