Life at a Slower Pace

The softballl season just started and I am on two teams.  I love it.  Fielding, batting, goofy around with my teammates  . . . exercise, friends, gum, fun in the sun. . . what’s not to love?

But during a scrimmage on Memorial weekend I tore a hamstring muscle.  Yeah, it was weird.  It felt like a gunshot to my leg.  Not only did I feel the pop while running to base, but I heard it.  I didn’t know what had happened and wasn’t sure when that leg came down next if it would hold me up, but it did so I continued to run to the base.

In softball you go from a dead stop to a full blown sprint.  I’m fit.  I train for races, and when I’m not training, I still work out.   Let’s just say that I felt totally prepared for softball season so was a little surprised to be sidelined like this.

I didn’t realize the severity of the injury at first even though people were telling me their experiences.  But it’s been a few days now and I’ve seen my doctor.  And now I’m walking slower, sitting more and finding other things to do that don’t require me to use my hamstring.

One thing about an injury, though, is that you don’t realize how often you use that body part till it lets you know every single time you do.  Like with this hamstring tear. . .  did you know you use your hamstrings while riding in a car, laughing, putting on socks, blow drying your hair, picking something up, not to mention just walking, sitting, standing, and bending your knees.

I got to see a hamstring specialist at physical therapy.  He said I will make a full recovery due to my fitness level and determination.  But, this hurts a lot.  Everything I do hurts.  My new mantra is “ice is my friend” but all I know at this point is ice is cold.   Still working on the friendship part. 

Yeah, I’m a happy camper and looking forward to whatever lesson this journey is going to teach me.  Those lessons are always awesome, but so looking forward to a journey without pain.

 

Ready??? Scream!!!

The last several months my husband has been keeping the home fires burning while I've been learning to SCUBA dive, and going on dive weekends.  That changed 2 weeks ago when I volunteered to stay home to tend to the dogs while he went off diving with Jessica and our friends.  They are gone this weekend, too.  


I have learned a lot the past two weekends of being home alone and tending to our dogs.  One is that I love my alone/quiet time.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I ADORE time with friends/family and doing things I love, but there is just a quality in alone time that is missing from our crazy lives.


The solitude was haunting at first because what ever I did was entirely up to me, but it became a friend after a bit.  It has been nice to have time to write, not worry about taking care of others, dealing with all of those things that have been on the back burner. . .  I'm sure you know.


The one thing I've learned over the last 2 weekends of solitude is that I have a lot of interests that don't involve friends or family that get lost in the day to day world.  If I had a choice though, I'd choose friends and family - I LOVE the people in my life and would do anything for them.  But when they aren't a choice, it is so nice to know I have a full buffet of  things that interest me, that inspire me, that matter only to me.  What a nice reminder for me.   


Yeah, life is sweet.  It has its own balances and checks.  We just need to learn to ride the roller coaster of life.   Ready?   Here we go. . .   Okay, hands in the air. . . . SCREAM!!!

Visibility

This past week my kids turned 27 and 25. Yep, their birthdays are just a few days apart. 

Daniel lives 2000 miles away so I didn’t get to celebrate with him in person, but we had fun online and on the phone.  He’s such a wonderful man and a great friend.  I adore him. 

Jessica is here in Oregon for her birthday this year after 2 ½ years in Africa.  God, I missed celebrating her birthday with her while she was gone.  We celebrated this year underwater working on our advanced open water diving certification.  It was a sweet week

end.  Not only did I get to dive with Jessica, but I got to meet two of my high school friends, Debbie and Linda, for dinner, and then I got to celebrate Jessica’s birthday with about 20 other divers.  It was so much fun!  Truly!

The thing I wanted to write about, though, was the visibility on our 2^nd dive on Saturday.  We had very low visibility on that dive.. . . maybe 3 feet, but we were together.  It started out that it was just my dive buddies with me, but, before I knew it, there were other divers around us.  It was a navigation dive and we were diving along compass headings and we were all in the same place.  We couldn’t see where we were going, but we were together and following our designated paths.  It was really cool.

It just reminded me of how our days go.  There are so many times we can’t see the path, but we know where we are supposed to be going, what we are supposed to find.  We trust those around us and our “gear” to get us there.  It isn’t scary when you know that you are following the path that you are destined to be on even though you can’t see.  Just breathe in and breathe out, trust your instincts, the people around you and know that you will end up where you are supposed to.

Just so you know, Jessica and I and the other divers never found the thing we were supposed to on that dive, but we ended up where we were supposed to. . . and that was good enough.

Believe everyday, whether you can see your path or you can’t, that you are where you are supposed to be.  Keep on swimming, follow your buddies, trust yourself. . . . and Happy Bubbles to all of you on your journey.  I’ll meet you there, friend.  

Happy Bubbles

So, my daughter just got back from 2 ½ years in Namibia serving in the Peace Corp in Khorixas.  My surprise for her was to get my diving certification so we could dive together in Hawaii – her homecoming celebration.  It was hard for me to pass all of the tests, but so worth it.  I passed my certification right when her dive master brought her up from her 2nd dive – my 4th.  It was so awesome!  She saw my dive master clap and heard me scream through my regulator.  There were lots of hugs at 54’  It was awesome.


Diving isn’t easy, but it is so worth it.  The gear is overwhelming, and the suits are cumbersome,  but I love it.  Shore diving seems easier until you do it… hauling gear, fins, lots of sand… hard work.  Boat diving seems scary at first – out in the middle of nowhere, but I so loved every single thing.  Dangit, I may be addicted to diving.  Everything was amazing.


We are diving this next weekend at Octopus Hole in Hoodsport. I can’t wait.  Jessica and me and all of my dive friends.. . . .  It will be awesome.  Hope to post pics.  


Happy bubbles, friends.  

Ode to January Close

Oh, January.  Your month ends and I get to start sorting through the details of your financial data . . .payroll, AP, AR and all of the stats for the month.  New parameters and old reports create havoc in the reconciliation process.  New spreadsheets needing to be rolled forward with end of year 2009 balances as the new beginning 2010 balance.  Building new formulas to capture the new parameters that the old reports can’t see take so much time.  


Tums at the ready.  Aspirin for the brain.  Reading glasses to see the tiny numbers, lovingly called the Accountant Font, in row after row on printouts from the old reports that can’t capture the data due to the new parameters.  Nothing is tying out.


Why, January?  Why do you have to be so new?   Why do new processes have to start with you, complicating an already hectic close?  And why do the auditors show up asking questions about 2009 while we are trying to close you?  


I plug in my iPod and try to settle into the groove of making your close happen, oh January.  The beat of the music ends up in my finger tips as I figure your reserve calcs on my dinged up, coffee stained 10 key.   More coffee doesn't help.  Why, January?  Why?


Let’s make peace, January.  You try harder to keep your parameters the same as my spreadsheets and formulas know, and I keep your recons and beginning balances in tune.  Deal?  Um, January. . .   Deal?

Time For Me

Life is so busy right now.  I’m not complaining, but I decided today to just stop.  It has been sweet to catch up on things on the home front. 


I’m taking two classes right now which keep my evenings busy.  My one class is a level 2 poetry class with assignments every night.  Some are just reading assignments, others are writing. After a full day of accounting, sometimes poems just don’t want to come out.  When the weather’s nice I park myself on the back porch.  For some reason I write better, easier on the back porch.  With the crappy weather lately, though, I’ve been working from my comfy chair and it just isn’t the same.  I’m a back porch bum.  I may have to buy a chiminea so I can be outside with the cooler temps of this season.


I love cooking, too, and that takes up evening time.  But there’s just something wonderful about preparing beautiful, delicious food.  It’s a Zen thing for me.


My social calendar has been full lately, too.  I love playing with my friends. . .bunko, blues, brews, burgers.  Last weekend I had a girls weekend at the coast, a blues jam when I got home, then a dinner party after that.  


Do you see what’s missing?  Time to get chores done, yep.  I manage the best I can, but my home deserves more than just a lick and a promise.  Today I stopped, took care of me, took care of my home, and got my homework all caught up.  It feels good to make me the priority today.  Work will still be there tomorrow and I will be better able to deal with it now that things are settled in my life.


So I want to encourage all of you to find some “me” time.  You deserve it and you’ll feel better taking care of yourself.  I know I do.

Good-bye 2009

It really has been a wonderful year for me.  My friends have so enriched my life this past year.  I have made so many new friends thanks to my new church, The Grove.  We’ve worked together to make The Grove happen, and it did.  I’ve also reconnected with many of my high school and college friends.  It has been wonderful to get reacquainted with them all.  It’s almost as if we were never apart.  I’m so glad they are back in my life.  


Some highlights of my past year:


AFRICA – I got to visit my daughter in Namibia for 3 weeks in May.  To see how she lives there, and to watch her teach the kids. . . well, I was in awe.   I will never forget that experience for as long as God allows me to live.


New York – Thanksgiving in New York was amazing.  Daniel and I got to see a Broadway show, then attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade the next day.  It was truly a wonderful experience for me to share with my son, who is my friend.


Writing – I’ve been blessed to attend a few conferences this year and connect with some wonderful writers and find a couple of mentors.  I love having this dimension in my world now.  


Races – I was blessed to race in 3 events this year.  I did the Eugene ½ marathon in May with my friend Jamie.  This summer I was part of an AWESOME team of women competing in the Portland to Coast relay.  That was fun!  Exhausting, but fun.  This fall I competed in Run Like Hell in Portland.  The relay race was exhausting, but Run Like Hell hurt.  I guess that’s why they named it Run Like Hell, go figure.  I will so do it again, though.  What a challenge.


Music – My music world has so opened up this year.  Not only do I have a whole new batch of music friends that I adore, but I started playing my flute again.  It feels great to be able to do that.  


Other things – I got to play softball this summer on a team from work, took dancing lessons at OSU, joined Soroptomist International, got a new dog named Jack,  became a great aunt twice, got a Mustang, and discovered Silver jeans and Moroccan oil (if you don’t know what those are, Google them).


Yes, 2009 has been very good to me, but I’m ready for 2010.  Why, you may ask?  Because I can see the growth and beauty from this past year, and can’t wait to see what wonderful things are in store in 2010.  I so look forward to sharing it with you, friend.