I am “off the grid” for a few days of R&R with some girlfriends. No water, no electric, no cell service for 30 miles. Bliss!
Today’s post is about walking down memory lane. One of the chores I’m having to do with downsizing is going through boxes of pictures. I’m dividing them into separate boxes…one for each of the girls, one for each of their dads, and one for my brother. I’m keeping those I am particularly attached to and throwing away those scenic photos of leaves and caterpillars that I thought were ever so artsy back in the ’80s. Those photos that mom took with the tops of our heads cut off? Gone. Those pics my grandma took from 30 feet away at the family gatherings and unless you were there you couldn’t tell who any of the people are? History. Those snapshots taken of me when I was going through a particularly sad, dark time in my life? Who needs to be reminded how awful that was? Then I come across a portrait like this one. My baby girl. My last baby. The one who didn’t have to wear hand me downs…that I could play dress-up with and take to high tea. The one I indulged because I could, whether it was good for her in the long run or not. Look at that smile. She marched to her own drum from the day she was born. My lastling. She’s 24 now. A senior in college. She just started a new job. She’s a woman now….but in my heart, she will forever be the little girl in this picture. Love you, Moon Pie!
I am “off the grid” for a few days of R&R with some girlfriends. No water, no electric, no cell service for 30 miles. Bliss!
Today’s post is about becoming comfortable with being alone. Man, this is a tough one. When you are the one who has been left behind, be it through divorce or death, you go through a myriad of emotions and it isn’t pretty.
I am “off the grid” for a few days of R&R with some girlfriends. No water, no electric, no cell service for 30 miles. Bliss!
Today’s post is about the creative mind. This list is SO me! I change my mind constantly. This has caused me problems in relationships because, unless a partner is extremely flexible, they are left wondering what the heck just happened. I have a tendency to be eccentric. Just look at that profile picture! I certainly color outside the lines and dream big. I love creatives. They march to their own drum. They are exciting risk takers that have great big juicy lives. So, why then am I so attracted to Virgos? Mr. Virgo held the string to my kite. He kept me from flying off the face of the earth. I have a really good friend who is a Virgo and does the same thing…listening patiently, giving advice, ready to grab that string if I ask. It’s the Gemini in me. I want to learn and do….EVERYTHING. And sometimes…sometimes I MIGHT do it twice….unless I change my mind!
I am “off the grid” for a few days of R&R with some girlfriends. No water, no electric, no cell service for 30 miles. Bliss!
Today’s post is about getting started. Do you ever find yourself with a massive project to do and it’s so huge, it’s overwhelming to look at? Do you feel frozen in place? What do you do to get motivated to take that first step?
I going “off the grid” for a few days of R&R with TOW-Wanda so I am writing my next few posts in advance. No water, no electric, no cell service for 30 miles! Just a group of friends, hanging around the campfire, telling stories, and having fun. There’s a trip to a BBQ place as well as a trip to some hot springs planned. Gonna do some fishin’, readin’, and nappin’. Yesssssss!
I have to say, even with all that I’ve been through with losing Mr. Virgo, I’m still above average on the happiness scale. I have moments of sadness, of course, but the Pollyanna in me soon crosses over to the sunny side of the street. Yesterday was just such a day. Mr. Lawn Dude finished the yard and it looks great. It cost me a pretty penny but the house has great curb appeal now and that’s what I was after. I bought a grand total of 146 bags of mulch! Wowza!
Daughter #2 came up Saturday and has been helping me on the house. Yesterday we arranged some things in the living room, finished sorting a big box of pictures, and tackled the master bedroom. We threw away two bags of junk, stuffed three garbage bags full of clothes and shoes for Lift-Up, she took a bag of shoes and clothes, and I boxed up two big boxes of winter clothes. We sat over coffee and I read the lengthy list of things that needed to be done before we can put the house on the market. Her jaw dropped and she said she could certainly understand why I was overwhelmed. One of the things listed was for all of your hangers to match (no wire hangers!) and for your clothes to be sorted by color. OMGosh! Mr. Virgo is turning cartwheels in Heaven today!!!
That is the question Shakespeare asked of us. It indicates a choice is to be made. It forces the person being asked to take an active role in the conversation. It is existential. It is profound. It is the square root of who we are.
When I was in my forties, I had a teenager and a toddler and a husband who worked a difficult job and was gone long hours. He wasn’t a demonstrative person. I was involved in a hundred different things, trying to keep all the plates spinning on the sticks like the guy on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour. Yet my soul was starving to death and when everything came crashing down around me, as it was bound to do, I saw a psychiatrist for depression and anxiety. We had worked together for a few weeks when he asked me a question I could not answer. As a matter of fact, I could not comprehend what was being asked.
Decide the afternoon before to join your neighbor for a yard sale.
Spend the entire afternoon sorting through one box of pictures. Oh my gosh…look how cute the kids were! Is that my great uncle or the grandfather I never knew? Stop….focus!
Look at the incredibly huge list of things to get rid of. Choose one thing to do from list.
A friend from high school posted today that we are coming up to our 43rd anniversary of our high school graduation. I’m fortunate to be connected here on FB with hundreds of my fellow graduates. When you consider we had over 800 students in our senior class, that is pretty impressive. We chimed in and discussed our memories of that night. I have to admit, my memories are pretty vague. I can’t tell you who I sat between. I don’t remember what I wore or who was the Valedictorian. But, I remember the music. One of my classmates composed a classical piece that the orchestra played at the ceremony. He and his girlfriend, also a classmate, were the first classmates we lost when they died the next year from carbon monoxide poisoning. A tragedy.
“Daughter #2 Playing Dress-up”"
“Being Alone”
“Creativity”
“Getting Started”
“Letting Go…Some More”
“Happiness”
“Some-wherrrrrre…over the rain-bowwwww…”
“To Be or Not To Be…”
“How To Have a Successful Yard Sale”
“Nostalgia”