An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

Today, while on our way to the golf course, we encountered an Angel.    Approaching a busy intersection, I noticed an oncoming car quickly pull to the right and stop abruptly. There was no parking and no right turn lane. The driver just stopped and quickly jumped out of the car.  I wondered if there was an accident or if something was wrong with her.  It was then I noticed a tiny, hunched woman with a walker crossing the street. Slowly, each step placed carefully, she hobbled as the light turned against her. The driver hurried over, watched traffic, aided aged woman in getting the walker up the curb and then started to help her cross the next, even longer, cross walk.  A few steps in, they decided to wait. Whether it was because the light had turned or because the tiny woman was just too tired, they retreated back to the corner. I was in the right turn lane and had cars behind me so I had to get moving but I would have loved to have stayed and witnessed...

Yesterday was Fathers Day here in the US. My father has been gone a good many years now. My kids father is no longer a prevalent part of my life and the Boy Scout is not a dad. So Fathers Day was just another day.  We took a ride and ended up in two small towns; Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo is home to a top ranking state university, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis and what is commonly referred to as Cal Poly.  San Luis is an adorable little college town with fun and funky shops and lots of good food. It was a nice day with some lovely sunshine and good company. While on our excursion I got a couple of texts and found out that my girls were spending the day with their dad. Very sweet. They all went to church together and then spent some time down at the beach. It is, and has always been, one of his favorite places. So glad they got to spend some special time together. For a few moments, after getting the texts, I got ...

Great news! Remember our adoptive horses? The ones that lived along hole #5 on our golf course.  Well we found out that our horses are safe and sound. Moved to another area of the ranch. What a relief as we were fairly convinced they had been destroyed.  These guys belong to Thacher School. It's a $60k a year high school that supplies a horse to every student. Perhaps our guys were taking a year off.  I got in touch with the head of the schools "horse program", a cowboy named Cam, and he assured me that Whitey, Big Knee, Stumpy and Brownie 1-5 are doing well.  Happy day indeed.  

Laura.....she is like no one else I've ever met. An enigma, a bundle of energy, a bright star. This lady, who wears a perpetual smile, has had an amazing life with challenges and heartbreaks, but still she is the most grateful person I have ever met. I met her through a golfing buddy. Laura had only golfed a few times but being an incredible athlete who, in college played soccer and softball, out golfed us all. Getting to know her was hard but only because she was so busy connecting to everyone around her that it was difficult to pin her down...like cupping water in ones hands. She is a highly intelligent engineer and was once a CEO of a corporation. Approaching complete strangers, she hugs them, thanks them for whatever it is they might be doing, finds out their names (and remembers it), and wishes them an awesome day. If encountered again, they have become an old friend. My second encounter with her was a Catholic Charity event where I watched her give the aged priest his b...

Have you ever read the book The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman? It’s an interesting little book that, although fairly sugary and simplistic, has a great idea. Basically, it proposes the concept that you and your partner feel loved in one or a combination of 5 different ways and that figuring that out is the key to strong relationships. Chapman has reduced love languages to: Words of Affirmation : Expressing affection through spoken affection, praise, or appreciation. Acts of Service : Actions, rather than words, are used to show and receive love. Receiving Gifts : Gifting is symbolic of love and affection. Quality Time : Expressing affection with undivided, undistracted attention. Physical Touch : It can be sex or holding hands. With this love language, the speaker feels affection through physical touch. Chapman suggests that you each do the hard work to figure which one makes you feel loved, express...

I found the enemy and the enemy is me. Anyone else find the power-down button? An off switch? 

It finally happened. I made the mistake of putting something slightly political on Facebook and a small explosion occurred. I've made it a personal policy to keep my FB free of politics except for hitting an occasional LIKE but I made the mistake of putting "Our President just shoved the Prime Minister of Montenegro" and BAM. Beware of those people who you have NOT unfriended because you did not want to insult them but blocked their posts so you did not have to interact. They are still seeing your stuff and, unfortunately, they can still respond.  Sorry...I couldn't resist Honestly, Trump behaved inappropriately and it was an embarrassment. This friend of a friend went off......I won't repeat all the nonsense she barfed up in addition to #fakenews and "anemic, pathetic former president" but I will say I exercised restraint and remained pretty happy. I deleted the post to stay true to my original commitment, made a statement letting others know w...

Yesterday I got one of those phone calls that stops your heart for a few seconds. Child #4, whose nickname is Gigi, called and said, "Mama" and I knew.... Any of you that are parents know that with just a word or two...you know something is very wrong. I wait patiently and listen while she tells me of her car accident ... everyone is ok.....no one hurt badly. ~Breathe~ My thoughts race as I work my program and allow her her space to talk. I want to say “Come home, let me see you, I need to feel OK and right now I am scared", or better yet, "Where are you? I'll be right there." But I don't, I wait to be asked for advice, I don't question who is at fault. I praise my Higher Power that they were driving her boyfriend’s car and not the piece of junk that she drives around. I am assuming her car has airbags in front but I doubt it would have protected her like her boyfriend’s car did. They come home for a few minutes, deposit Dave, the dog, in ...