An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

We meet almost every week in one form or another. The four regulars plus the fill ins when the regulars can't show.  The Boy Scout and I have been golfing together since very early in our relationship which is about to reach the 6 year mark. He's been golfing 55 of his 63 years and still would go a couple of times a week if the weather, his wallet and his partner were willing. His partner, on the other hand, prefers it to be above 65°  but below 98°, no gusty wind and, to be quite honest, once a week is plenty.  I enjoy the sport, despite the frustration. It gets me out in the fresh air, a smidgeon of exercise and the opportunity to spend some time with old friends or make new ones.  The guys tolerate me and my inexperience and I, trying with all my might, attempt to be a good sport on those days where I cannot seem to make the club face connect with the little ball no matter how hard I try. They cheer me on when things go well, give tips here and there and poke fun ...

Nearly every morning, since I wake so early, I scurry down to the beach to watch the sunrise. Our beach, which is called C Street, is fairly famous for surf. Because of that, there are always surfers in the free parking lot that holds no more than 20 cars, 16 of which are facing the ocean that is about 10 or 15 yards from the car. I am amazed at the resilience of those surfers who, despite the chill or DARKNESS, take their plastic wrapped bodies into the water to catch some waves before work. Today was different. I got to the parking lot around 5:00ish to find not one single car there, it was empty. The wave report must have been pathetic to be this abandoned and I jokingly wondered if there has been a tsunami warning. It was eerie and a little uncomfortable but I settled in. Leaving my car running for warmth and to enjoy my beloved seat heater a while longer, I put on my gratitude tapes and waited for dawn, which is breathtaking from our south facing beach. I saw one or two homeless f...

We go for rides.  We ride, talk, listen to music, listen to books and just explore. We regularly watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean or drive to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Solvang, about an hour and half up the coast. It’s relaxing as we talk of what was and what is and what will be.  Yesterday we went south east towards Los Angeles, with no destination in mind. We got off the freeway in a city called Westlake and started heading back towards home. Suddenly we both spot water.....what a surprise. So we checked it out. Turns out a big wig from Lockheed bought a large piece of property in the 40’s and ranched it until it was bought by a developer. That developer dug a small lake and built 750 homes around it and the surrounding area and called it Lake Lindero. There are boats but, in reality, it was not really big enough to get single man racing shell to full speed. It's a tiny body of water. Turning a corner we were on a street with run down condos. Out front, in th...

When my kids were much younger I was a bit overwhelmed. 4 kids, 1 and 1/2 jobs, the underlying insanity of addiction (even though I was not aware of it) and ME....the ultimate control freak. One of the many bright spots of being a mom to young kids was when my youngest, Gigi, got a little older and the other three were in school all day. We enjoyed having lunch together, just the two of us. When she entered school, kindergarten was all day except for Fridays. That girl and I made the most of our Fridays together. We had our favorites and since we are both light eaters, usually shared a meal of one kind or another. Or else we would go the the local supermarket and get two child sack lunches to go. A sandwich, apple, chips and a drink and off we would go to the park. I love that we had that time together and feel that memory intensely whenever I go to a few specific restaurants. I walk in and smile. My favorite women in the world with Gigi down in front