Last week, I met up with some girlfriends for "Ladies Night". Once a month, we get together at a local restaurant for dinner, drinks, and laughter. With over 30 women on the email list, we never know who is coming or what kind of evening to expect. This makes it even more fun.
This time we met at a Mediterranean restaurant. With 10 ladies at one long table, there were several discussions going on. The conversation went something like this...
"So, what have you been up to?" asked the lawyer.
"Cleaning out my house and getting it ready to sell," I responded.
"Oh, wow. Where are you moving?" said the yogi.
"Ecuador," I said with a big smile.
"Why Ecuador?" asked the yogi's friend from CT.
"There are a whole lot of reasons." I said.
"Wait, where is Ecuador? Is that tropical?" asked the yogi.
As I tried to explain Ecuador's location, topography, climate, etc., the questions just kept coming out.
"What does your family think about you moving?"
"Is that in the jungle?"
"Are you going with the Peace Corps?"
"What does your husband think?"
"Are you taking the dogs?"
"How big are the bugs there?"
"What time zone is that in?"
"Do they have good shopping?"
"Can you drink the water?"
"Do they have health care there?"
"How long is the flight?"
"What will you do there?"
"Won't you be bored there?"
"Aren't you afraid to move?"
"Isn't that a third world country?"
"Are you going to be a missionary?"
"What if you don't like it?"
"What are you going to do with all your stuff?"
Just as the conversation started to settle and turn to half-marathons, someone from the other end of the table blurted, "Wait a minute, who's moving where?"
And so the peppering of questions started again...
Friday, September 9, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Cleaning Out
Do you ever wonder how you accumulate so much stuff? It's like the junk fairy makes a weekly visit to our house. In our effort to put our house on the market, my husband and I have been cleaning out the closets, attic, basement, and any other place where things tend to accumulate. So far, we have made 4 trips to the Goodwill in the last week and have enough trash sitting at the curb to scare the trash men away.
I can say that my tendency to be a packrat stems from my parents. Both of them have the "I can't throw it away, I might need it someday." While this was probably a good rational 50 years ago, the tendency today is toward excess. This seems true for people of all generations, particularly in the US. Maybe everyone should be required to move every five years just to clean out their closets.
Can we live with less and be happy? Perhaps, we can. The cleanout has been long and tiresome, but also liberating and freeing. The more I get rid of the easier it is to let go of things. I realize it is not the quantity of possessions in life that makes a person happy, but rather the quality of life experiences.
I can say that my tendency to be a packrat stems from my parents. Both of them have the "I can't throw it away, I might need it someday." While this was probably a good rational 50 years ago, the tendency today is toward excess. This seems true for people of all generations, particularly in the US. Maybe everyone should be required to move every five years just to clean out their closets.
Can we live with less and be happy? Perhaps, we can. The cleanout has been long and tiresome, but also liberating and freeing. The more I get rid of the easier it is to let go of things. I realize it is not the quantity of possessions in life that makes a person happy, but rather the quality of life experiences.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A Visit with Granny
Earlier today, I visited my grandmother in the nursing home. She is currently there getting some rehab in order to be able to go home. In essence, she is a short-timer as far as those places go. Granny, as I have always called her, will turn 83 in a few weeks. A medical marvel, she has been to the brink of death and back more times than I can count. When we are together, I work hard to be positive and encouraging. After all, she has pulled through far worse than this. Sort of like a cat with more than 9 lives.
These days her short term memory is getting weaker and the long term memory getting stronger. She revels in telling everyone she meets that I am her only granddaughter and that after I was born she got to hold me first. She talks of my head full of dark curls with a bow in it. In her mind, this happened just yesterday. I usually just smile and nod.
Granny has been like a 2nd mother to me and it is difficult to think her life is coming to a close. Looking at my grandmother makes me think about my own life and how I can make it meaningful. My goal is to appreciate each day, to learn from my mistakes, to promote happiness and health in my family and friends, and to be fully present for each step in this journey.
These days her short term memory is getting weaker and the long term memory getting stronger. She revels in telling everyone she meets that I am her only granddaughter and that after I was born she got to hold me first. She talks of my head full of dark curls with a bow in it. In her mind, this happened just yesterday. I usually just smile and nod.
Granny has been like a 2nd mother to me and it is difficult to think her life is coming to a close. Looking at my grandmother makes me think about my own life and how I can make it meaningful. My goal is to appreciate each day, to learn from my mistakes, to promote happiness and health in my family and friends, and to be fully present for each step in this journey.
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