How did THAT happen?

How does time get away from us? 
~~~The last post I made to just thinkin' describes the plight of a pinched nerve in my back and the Olympic efforts it took to simply pick up something that had dropped to the floor!   It is so utterly amazing how much time it takes to visit the chiropractor for treatments, to exercise, to rest and apply apply ice and heat.
~~~When recovered I went out of town for a meeting regarding the future of the Great Lakes held by the Religious Coalition on the Great Lakes; oh, and then for a long weekend for Labor Day that included a trip to Sedan, Minnesota to surprise a colleague whose last day at Rooney's was surprise worthy and two nights at a friend's lake home near Alexandria... ... ...and today is already 10/14/2012 with warm dry winds and few leaves left on the trees!
~~~It is amazing that in the past two months: my eldest grandson began his first year of college ; eldest granddaughter is a senior in high school and her sister is a sophomore and brother a sixth grader!  No longer do I call them on the phone or email them or welcome them for an overnight or weekend visit.  These days we Facebook and we text, I go to their school activities. Their visits to Gramma's house are few and far between with their time consumed their part-time jobs and homework and athletic activities, and friends.  I still work full-time, so my schedule can also be complicated!  
~~~Oh, did I mention they great young people and excellent students?   How did they grow up SO fast?
~~~This afternoon, I celebrated Mim's retirement.  How did THAT happen?  Her last day at MTF is tomorrow, then on Wednesday she heads out on a cross country road trip visiting family and friends, and seeing this amazing country. She plans to be back to Minnesota in early December.  I am SO happy for her! 

~~~While there I saw friends I have not seen in more than five years.  How did THAT HAPPEN?  




Life has a way of speeding up and sometimes it takes a while to get a grip and slow it down. 
The past five years have been fraught with unforseen circumstances that required a tremendous amount of time and money to overcome for many people, including me.  While many sadly lost their jobs and their homes, I count myself among those who hung on by thread and in so doing, managed to keep my home and job.  How did THAT HAPPEN?






~~~There are many factors at play including horrendously long hours of work and research and networking, digging into complicated systems and insisting that I be heard, that actions taken to correct the errors that were not mine; I could not have done it without the support of family, friends, co-workers and my employer who encouraged me as I navigated here-to-fore uncharted waters of living through the recession, nationwide downturn in home values and the whole mortgage industry debacle!
~~~During this time, I worked, worked and worked some more, had little time, money or energy for social opportunities - discretionary income was non-existent.  There were days that were very dark and I wondered how I'd make it through.  And once again, I have made it through!
~~~How does time get away from us?  We share it ~ live it ~ simply spend it!  Mom used to say that as we age, "if you think it has been three years, it probably has been six years.  Just double what you think and you will be close to right."   She also used to say, "can't never did nothin' for nobody."  Though she died in January 1998, her wisdom and courage and strength also guided me through these tough and rough waters.
~~~How does it happen that time goes so fast?   It is the result of living life fully in all its magnificence, simplicity and complexity!  It is about putting one foot ahead of the other, making the next phone call, sending yet another email, contacting another agency in wading through challenges and then running and skipping and celebrating those days of simplicity and complexity.  Far better living a life in which time goes fast that a life that drags on and on and on. 
~~~I had a wonderful weekend and I have an amazing life and I plan to keep spending time! 
~~~To blog this wee bit of just thinkin' this Sunday night I spent 35 minutes of my life and it felt good!

2012 Olpmpic Champions

Assistive Device

While the top athletes from around the world do things with their bodies that I had no idea the human body was capable of, I have been entered into my very own 2012 Olympics right here at home.

It all began when I woke last Monday and couldn't sit up in bed.  Normally getting out of bed  just happens."  Well, last Monday it not only did not "just happen" it took a lot of thinking and a lot of patience and a lot of persistence.  There were some panicky moments during which I wondered if I was going to be able to figure out how to get out of bed or be forced to call in reinforcements.

Being patient and creative I managed to roll over onto my stomach and slowly skooch to the end of the bed where I performed a modified push-up which enabled me to achieve an almost upright position.

Once downstairs and on the sofa in the den, I punched the number of the chiropractors office into the phone so all I had to do was press the green "phone" button to complete the call at exactly 8:00 a.m.  Pinched nerve, confirmed.  Treatment every other day, heat by day, cold packs by night, anti-inflammatory medication and relax relax relax and rest rest rest.

What I soon learned was the a pinched nerve not only renders one's agility null and void, it increases overall clumbsyness by about 400%.  I dropped things and then stared at them seemingly a million miles away.  All the while those 2012 Olympic athletes were breaking world records in gymnastics (YO GABBY), swimming, volleyball, track and field on the bloody TV across the room.

The obstacle course on my floor grew by the hour!  First my spoon, then my pen, then my napkin, the TV remote which I usually don't even care about and then ... ... it went on and on.  It was almost as painful to look at all the stuff on the floor as it was painful to move!  Now, I could have called in reinforcements.  Family and friends and co-workers would have been happy to help.  But ... I wanted the stuff picked up now!

After some pouting and pondering I realized that people who have serious mobility issues or those who are vertically challenged rely upon the patented "grabber" thing - you know - the one which when squeezed opens on the other end allowing one to pick things up.  They are usually 18-24 inches long.  What I needed to pick up was not that far away!  Oh, the joy when I realized that I have four different kitchen tongs, shiny gorgeous stainless steel ones for special events (two pair), a run of the mill everyday salad tong and the very functional stove-top tong with the red plastic coated handles.

How much better could it get!  Off to the kitchen I went at breakneck speed of the greatest distance runner ... okay ... the speed of Tiffany Tortoise, to retrieve my brightest and shiniest stainless steel tongs and in no time flat the obstacle course disappeared.  I decided to keep them by the sofa for my next fit of dropsy ... it didn't take long either.  In the course of the past week, I have awarded myself six gold medals for removing obstacles from my path.  I may just have to have my stainless steel tongs dipped in gold and then soulder five gold Olympic rings onto it as a sign of patience, persistence and a creative solution to pinched nerve dropsy.

Life is always first and foremost a matter of perspective and rooted in the truism that laughter really is really really the best medicine!

No Words

I woke early, read the newspaper and then got ready for work with the intention of working on updating our website ~ doing this work from home.  At 6:30 I turned the computer on only to discover a black screen.  So, I left a message for the IT guy at work; took the computer to the office and planned for the crashed computer to be the crushing blow of the day.

At the office a friend/co-worker told me about the mass shooting at the Aurora, CO movie theater during the opening night presentation of "The Dark Knight," the latest in the Batman series.

Since then ... it is as only it can be ... a truly dark day in which no words can possibly make sense of the unfolding horrors...  President Obama will be speaking to the nation within the hour.

... ... ...

Hot Humid Draught ... Minnesota?

Days gone by?

People from "down south" that are part of my world find it difficult to believe that we have really really really hot humid summer weather here in Minnesota just like they do south of the Mason Dixon Line.

For those of us who live here, we truly understand the meaning of Minnesota as a "theater of seasons."  This season, it is hotter than ... drier than "normal" whatever normal means anyway! 

The afternoon of the 4th of July my thermometer in the shade, recorded 106.3 degrees.  Last night the TV weather forcasters at 5:00 p.m. said it had cooled down to 98 avoiding another record high for the date, at my house the thermometer was still going up and finally stopped at 99.6 degrees. 

How hot and dry is it?  The house finches are drinking the hummingbird nectar; a baby bunnie died in the back yard in the heat of the day; the weeds are flourishing and the yards are toasted and roasted; record rains and high temperatures in May ended the draught;  this week it is back!  This morning the temperature at 4:11 a.m. was 81 degrees and the humidity already 80%. 

So people and animals need to take really good care today ... however, I doubt that any citizen could possibly turn on a fire hydrant in today's world.

Missing - one piece of paper

I woke at 4:01 a.m. fully rested.  So, naturally I got up and got busy!  It is now 5:47 a.m. and all my filing is done, magazines and mail sorted, general pick-up on the main floor done. French pressed coffee with soy creamer steaming and I am ready to roar into the day.

What a way to begin a summer Saturday.  Well, it isn't that I really wanted to file and sort, it is that I can't find a single piece of paper, not four just one blasted piece of paper that I need by Monday.  So, I decided that what I need to do to be able to move into this day fully is to write the snarly words that are careening around in my head with such frenzy that the image of a crazed out of control pinball machine seems placid.

How quickly I can move from the wonder of life to crash and burn simply because I can't find a bloody piece of paper.  You know the snarly words ~ will you ever get organized ~ if you put it where it belonged the moment you got it, you wouldn't have lost it ~ will you never learn ~ how can you make something so easy so complicated?  And those are the kindest words blasting around in my head.

So, it is time to sit down and take inventory of life in the past week:  trip to Chicago to be part of the planning team for a national meeting the end of September ~ top notch; organized and led 11th Day Prayer for Peace: Praying and Preparing for the Commemoration of the Bombing of Nagasaki and the installation of the Vision of Peace Replica which included Ojibwe pipe, smudging and water ceremonies ~ went off without a hitch and an email the next day read in part "your leadership in planning and gentle guiding of the prayer service were a gift to us all"; volunteered at the MN History Theater in the development office for three hours ~ kudos; dinner at Chris and Rob's with Jon last night full of stories and laughter and wondering about life ~ as always great. 

All of that good stuff crashed and burned sending up a cloud of black smoke that can be seen for miles because I can't find a silly piece of paper.  One piece of paper.  A piece of paper I can have faxed to me on Monday.  It really is that simple!  And yet, I have allowed it to build into the Mount Vesuvius of failures. 

Time to change words in brain - get a grip and enjoy the day.  This piece of paper is really a non issue!

St. Paul Minnesota - My Hometown

What a beautiful city I live in!  This week I have savored sunrises and sunsets from my own yard and from Cherokee Drive overlooking the magnificent Mississippi just east of the High Bridge; "Music in Mears" featuring jazz with Pippi; sunrise from in my back yard while watering my gardens; a trip to Lynden's Ice Cream Parlor on the corner and it is only 7:55 a.m. on Saturday!

Last night a friend and I drove to Theresa's Mexican Restaurant in Mendota Heights where we sat on the patio, lingered over our dinner and sipped a fabulous lime Marguerita.  Our visting with each other was long from complete, so we drove through some of the old neighborhoods in West Saint Paul wending our way to Cherokee Drive where we plucked two "bun bucket chairs" from the trunk and continued our visit which was interspersed with memories of her youth in St. Paul including "we took our coin purses to 1st National Bank (the bright red lighted "1" still shines brightly over St. Paul) to deposit our pennies into our accounts.

While we sat and visited, others walked their dogs and some simply strolled along the sidewalk behind us; almost without fail, they offered a greeting, after all this is a friendly city of neighborhoods.

Of course, I left home without my camera, so I resorted to my cell phone camera to take the image above.  There is nothing more to say, it speaks for itself.  The only thing that could possibly have made it better, would have been for you to be there to witness the sun slip from the clouds into the cloudless part of the sky, kiss the horizon and then quickly slide and disappear into the city skyline leaving a warm blissful after-glow. 

TWIN CITIES PRIDE 2012

Have you ever tried to take a cell phone photo across a city street?  Well, neither had I until today when I stood in the middle of 4th Street in Minneapolis as the Justice Commission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates Standing for Human Rights and Justice contingent began their parade march.

Four of us went together, leaving by bus at 9:45 a.m.  Two had never ridden the Light Rail, nor had they ever attended any part of PRIDE.  One said, "I really want to do this and I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that I took part in this important PRIDE." It was really really fun!  Both said that they hadn't been on public transportation in years.  As we neared downtown, I said, "imagine, for $.75 you can take the bus and train into downtown; get off at the Nicollett Mall; have lunch and return on the same ticket within 2 1/2 hours!  And, yes you can do the same thing in downtown St. Paul too."  Who knows, this could be the start something new and wonderful for all of us.

Once downtown, I stood near the corner of 3rd and 4th while they went to find the Justice Commission contingent.  On my corner I witnessed contingents representing Minnesota UCC, Plymouth Congregational, ELCA of MInnesota, Mayflower UCC, US Bank, Expedia, VOTE NO in November, Human Rights, Political leaders, Congressional Representatives Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, Minnesota State Representative Karen Joy Clark and ... ... without exception people were in great spirits.

A man standing near me (in his 70's) proudly described the work of his church, Mayflower UCC.  This was his first PRIDE and he was clearly thrilled to be there.

From the banners words spoke out - equality, human rights, dignity.    A Minneapolis police officer on the corner directing traffic and overseeing the corner, asked six brilliantly dressed ballet dancers to stop so he could have his picture taken with them.  The cheers rocked the corner!

As soon as I got home, I Googled Twin Cities Pride 2012 Parade Flash Mob.  It too was fabulous!  Everyone I encountered was having a great time.  Truly a fabulous summer parade!  And, who knows how many attended PRIDE for the first time?  Regardless, first time or 40th time, it was a tremendous event on a beautiful day in Minneapolis and I am SO glad I too was there!