Riding the Wave

I haven’t written a blog post in weeks – maybe even a couple of months. What’s that about? Well, I have been very busy! And that is good news.

In March of 2010 I was dragging and upset with the world because I wasn’t feeling good. This year I am so busy I can’t find time to sit still. I am really enjoying all of the activities I have going on in my life right now. The only problem is finding the time to do everything.

I am still following the food plan that I started on January 2, 2011. No dairy, no caffeine, no flour, no sugar. Shopping has been difficult and I have had a couple of close calls due to misrepresentation. I got all excited about Crystal Light having a new product that they were calling “Pure.” No artificial sweeteners. I was thinking that they were using stevia, but when I checked the package the first ingredient was sugar! A person has to be careful every minute.

People are telling me that I look healthy and happy and I have gone down a couple of jean sizes. It’s all working!

During the first week of April I went on vacation to Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia. I lived there for 26 years and after being in New Hampshire for six years I was completely flummoxed by the traffic. I thought the turnpike between Nashua and Manchester was bad, but it has nothing on the expressway between Norfolk and the Oceanfront of Virginia Beach. I swear that two motorcyclists passed me doing at least 90 miles an hour while weaving in and out of traffic.

All that traffic didn’t slow me down though. I managed to see almost everyone who wanted to see me and who I wanted to see. I spent a couple of days walking in the Norfolk Botanical Gardens with my best friend, Barbara, had dinners with Laura and Chris, Deb, and Grace, walked in First Landing State Park with Peggy, and spent time on the beach with Suzanne and her kids. I also visited the shelter where I used to work and saw all the wonderful work that is being done there. I was so grateful to see Donna, Willmers, and Fran and the new stainless steel refrigerator in the shelter kitchen. I had wanted one of those for years and Fran had managed to find the money to get one!

I also was able to sit under my favorite tree in the world. It is an oak tree in the Norfolk Botanical Gardens under which I have sat with most of the people that I have loved. I have also spent a lot of time meditating there and I was grateful to see it still standing. I also managed to get some great photos of one of the eagles who have been nesting in the gardens.

The day after I got back from vacation I was at the Bike Barn in Manchester picking up the bicycle I had on lay away all winter. I managed to ride ten miles that first day and another seven the next. It felt so good to be back on wheels. I used to ride a lot back in the 80s and early 90s and I find it is like meditation for me. It clears my mind. When I was a teenager (and going through all the angst that is involved in those years) I used to get on my bike and ride for miles much to the dismay of my parents. One Saturday afternoon I got on my bike in Superior, WI, where I was in college, and rode the 50 miles to the town where my parents lived. Only one person knew what I was up to and she wasn’t going to tell anyone. I ended up at my Uncle Tiny’s bar and he loaded my bike in the back of his truck and took me the last three miles to my parents’ home. There was one last hill I didn’t think I could make before dark. It didn’t dawn on me until years later how much terror that had caused in my uncle and my parents. It had been less than two years since my favorite and beloved Uncle Elroy had been killed while riding his bike just three miles away from his home. This was a man who had ridden his bicycle the full circumference of Lake Superior and then died so close to home. I think I have a lot of him in me and I miss him to this day.

The week after vacation I came down with a stomach virus that had me down for at least six days. I managed to get through yoga teacher training weekend without a relapse but didn’t really feel I was going to live until the weekend was almost over. In fact, it was about 2:00 on that Sunday afternoon that I lay back on my yoga mat and said “I feel better!” I couldn’t believe it. It had happened in an instant. The only problem was that my appetite came back with a vengeance. Isn’t that how it always works?

Then I had String Camp at the music school for three evenings this week. I was so glad I was feeling better because I really wanted to get a taste for what it would be like to play chamber music with other musicians. It was wonderful. I managed to make a few contacts that could lead to playing in an ensemble this fall. The best part, though, was the concert on the last night of the camp. Well, actually the best part was the Pre-Twinkles playing their violins. The Pre-Twinkles are three, four, and five year-olds who are take Suzuki violin lessons. They were so cute! They were all dressed up and had little teeny violins. One little girl even had a pink violin. There was one little boy, though, who had stage fright and ran off to his mother as soon as they started to play. They did very well, though, considering, for most of them, it was their first time playing in front of an audience.

I have had a couple of people comment on what a nice life I have. It is true. I do. I worked long and hard to get here and there were a lot of really bad years. I have had jobs that were precarious, homes that were shaky, relationships that were iffy, and a lot of time spent wondering if life was ever going to get better. It has. I also know that life is like riding a wave. Sometimes I am on top of it and other times I am slammed face down in the sand. I am going to enjoy riding this wave as long as it lasts.