Day 81 Give in to a Good Cry

Little Golden Book "About God" 1956

My son is sick and he is seven ( 7) hours away.  I am looking at the mess in the spare room, boxes in the game room, the papers stacked on the table and I am asking “ how am I going to clean this house,  get the decorations and lights up, and cook the perfect dinner in two weeks. How am I going to have the perfect holiday. It's hopeless!”  On top of that I am starting to feel a scratch in my throat, a drip in my nose and a cough starting. But - MY SON IS REALLY SICK AND HE IS SEVEN HOURS AWAY.  It is now time to cry!

Day 80 Overcame the Steps-Fineview Step-a-thon

19th annual Step-a-thon Oct 18, 2014

Life is one step at a time and boy, what a good view you have when you reach the top!

The thought of trying the Finview Step-a-Thon which is a 5mile run/walk careening up and down 14 different city steps and hills  started in September (see Day 52 ) .  At first  I thought that this race would be as much fun as sticking a needing in my  eye because I am not in that great  of shape but after a month of exploring Fineview and making it a personal challenge, I was excited when the race day finally arrived. 

  

Reflection

This race gave me a reason to explore an area of Pittsburgh that I knew nothing about.  Since I did not want to have a coronary, my cousin and I  walked the steps  weekly the month before the race, passing familiar streets, making friends, and realizing that this place was a little “gem in the rough” with a fantastic view (See Day 53). (I must admit that my cousin who is in great shape, joined me as my supporter since he could have  easily tackled this race without any preparation. Thus we laughed our way though most of our “training” walks).  A resident that we met  talked about Fineview this way, “people come up here for only three  reasons: 1) they live here, 2) they are visiting someone that lives here or 3) they are lost.”   

Day 79- Elmo and Cookie Monster Pumpkins

Who doesn't love cookies!

(Got to smile back at that) 

I was going  to a pumpkin carving party and since I am no Martha Stewart  and since in the past I left the carving to others, I solicited ideas  that would involve minimal carving from my co-workers. I am not one for scary things even though the day before(Day 78) I went to the Scare House.  Therefore as  Everything I Needed to Know I  Learned from A Little Golden Book instructs, I “expressed myself "   by creating my Elmo and Cookie Monster pumpkins.

 

 

Day 78 Scare House

I am one of those “chickens” that do not watch scary movies. The few times that I have watched a scary movie was with my teenage son because I was desperate to have some time with him.  (I am not sure why  all teenagers seem to love horror flicks).  However, I had to sleep with the hall light on for a week after each movie and so  going to a haunted house was a huge challenge for me. I am not sure how my friend talked me into going but I was told that it  was  “good creepy” fun so I pretended to be brave and went to Scare House on Halloween night.  

Bigfoot Discovery Museum (Day 62-77)

During my writing hiatus (Day 62-77) when visiting  Santa Cruz California, I did not anticipate  that I would end  up at  the  Big foot Discovery Museum. It was my friend’s excitement about this creature that prompted my tired noodle body from a position of rest to “explore what is out there” as recommended by Little Gold Books.

The Bigfoot Discovery Museum is located in the San Lorenzo Valley of  Santa Cruz which is a wooded area. It is only two rooms but you can see the famous creature citing footage and some plaster foot prints. The best part of the Museum was talking to  Mike, who had white hair and a white beard  and who looked more like Santa than the curator. He was passionate about this Sasquatch and if there is an expert on this creature he would certainly fit into that category. He articulated his encounter story which occurred when he was four (4) years old. He also proudly brought out a “Bigfoot tooth” found in the area. 

Convertible Joy Ride (Day 62-77)

Living in the north east,  where keeping warm in the winter is essential, and  where the amount of warm sunny days are limited to a few months , it  seemed  impractical  to own  a convertible even though my dream car has always been a SAAB  convertible (not sure if  they even make that car any more ). So  when I was in Northern California during my writing hiatus (Day 62-77),   I took a “joy ride” as Little Golden Books suggested, and cruised  the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1A) in a Red  Camaro.

Enjoy a Wedding (Day 62-77)

Weddings make us think about a life together is better than life alone. 

Paper Doll Wedding 1954

It’s ironic that I have not been to a wedding in years and now it’s a wedding fest in October.  This was a new challenge to travel so far  and visit  two new destinations (California and Utah) in an effort  enjoy  two wedding occurring during my writing hiatus (Day 62-77).  My blog inspiration, Everything I Need to Know I  Learned From a Little Golden Book, reminds us to not “forget to enjoy your [a] wedding.”

Team Becky-Step Out for Diabetes Walk (Day 62-77)

Becky's Bruisers Oct 5th

During my writing  hiatus (Day 62-77), I  was on Becky’s team for  the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Step Out for Diabetes Walk. I am not sure how I got so altruistic this year with the Alzheimer’s breakfast (Day 27) , the walk for Ovarian Cancer (Day 57) and this latest walk, but it’s really all about being present for your friends, relatives, and your community. They were all great causes and as noted in Maslow’s concept of personal growth, a self-actualizer  is concerned for the welfare of humanity (simple psychology ).

Ducky Tour (Day 62-77)

During my writing hiatus (Day 62-77), I took a Ducky Tour, a land / amphibious tour of Pittsburgh. In the past, I thought that these tours just were too “cheesy” (another Pittsburgh original description), for a native Pittsburgher  like me to try.  I never thought that I would be one of those persons sitting on an obnoxiously  bright “bus/ boat like thing,”  chiming in with the others, and yelling  “quack, quack, quack” at city walkers on their  cell phone. My excuse for the tour was that I had to try to find a light non- threatening environment in which to introduce my mother to my friend but down deep, the big kid in me really just wanted to go! I also think  I fulfilled Little Golden Book’s advice to “frolic”  and Maslow’s child  like self –actualization characteristic with this challenge.

Day 62-77 Blogging Paradox- Got too busy

(Oct  1 to 15) We all have a story to tell.

I took a hiatus from writing even though I stayed committed to trying new experiences. Consequently, I became so busy that I did not have the time to blog. What a conundrum when you don’t have time to write but crave it like a good piece of chocolate or better yet, a little loaf of fresh baked spongy soft Italian bread with butter-yum! 

Golden Books 1954

Therefore, the next few blogs will be reflections of the past  two weeks. The first  week   involved  fun stuff in Pittsburgh, and the next week involved traveling  the northern California coast, attending two weddings and also visiting Utah. The latter  resulted in moving almost every night and covering a lot of ground in five (5) days which gave  birth to another dilemma - finding a way to pack for varied climate changes. Girls, I know that you understand this paradoxical situation!  

Day 61- Three Months of Blogging!

Every Good Thing (click to listen)
My blog should be called, "Empty Nest a Whimsical Way That I Survived and Self- Actualized". Life is Good like the tee shirt says. (Wonder if there is a tee shirt out there that says"Empty Nest- Life is Good".)

Day at camp in September

Its hard to believe that  it's been 3 months of blogging! (I started July 2nd and today is October 1st ). After the daily summer blogs, I kept going like the energizer bunny.



I have had a blast and I have found peace and forgiveness in my present season. More importantly, in three months, I have strengthened past friendships and developed some special new ones. In many ways, I miss the daily "mom role" but I am content, balanced, proud of my son's growth and looking forward to this season in life.