Earlier this month it was my birthday. Since I have reached a certain age I really am not in need of presents (even though I love opening gifts). So my family planned a month of events for me in celebration of my special day.
The weekend of my birthday my husband and I had dinner out and enjoyed spending time together. He is starting his busy season at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater in Fishers Indiana so we wanted to have a weekend of fun and relaxation.
The following weekend we attended a play put on the by Nickel Plate Players (www.nickelplateplayers.com). It was an evening of murder, mystery and fun called "Death of the Piano Man: Who Killed Billy Joel." We sang and laughed and had a wonderful evening with 20 of our new best friends. If you get a chance to be part of an evening with the Nickel Plate Players do it. It is a rollicking good time!
The next week I got to do something that has been on my bucket list for a while. I spent Saturday with the Indiana Romance Writers of America at a workshop called "Making Magic" with the wonderful presenters Lani Diane Rich and Alastair Stephens from StoryWonk. I got to meet and talk to two of my favorite Indiana romance writers, Liz Flaherty and Nan Reinhardt. It was a wonderful day where I got to explore my next goal in life, writing a romance novel.
Later that day we went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for the hockey team's night of celebration. It was a chance to see several of our favorite players, many of whom lived with us over the years when we housed players for the USHL. We also got to say goodbye to those players who are graduating and going on to play professional hockey, or going on to graduate school.
Finally, this last weekend my sister in law, Marty, came over and we had a no-holds-barred, all out shopping weekend. We hit the outlet mall in Edinburgh, catching many great deals there. Then we got on a bus and went to Chicago for day visiting ethnic neighborhoods and indulging ourselves in eating, and purchasing ingredients for cooking. It was a foodie overload.
So this month has been wonderful. I was able to enjoy many things and indulge myself in my many loves (reading, writing, cooking and eating). I said goodbye to some young men who have been part of my life, wishing them all the best in their futures. I spent time with people I love. Now I am looking forward to May and starting my garden.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Words of Wisdom from the Grocery Store Parking Lot
As I have mentioned in a previous blog post ("You live where you live" 12/24/12) my husband and I usually shop at the same grocery store every Saturday morning. It's a chance for us to have breakfast together, reflect on our respective weeks and plan some tasty meals for the weekend and the next week. At the store where we shop there is a young man who is responsible for getting the carts from the parking lot. We have come to know him well and always take time to chat with him as we are walking into the store or leaving with our groceries.
This week was no different. He happened to see us in the parking lot as we were walking into the store and came over to talk. First of all he started with teasing us about snow. That has been an ongoing dialog all winter, him teasing us about big snow storms coming our way. We usually react with "Oh No!" and then blame any snow we get on him. He finds that extremely funny.
As we were talking one of the things he said was "It's so hard to be good!" We all laughed at his joke but as usual when he says something to me it got me thinking about his words. Maybe all of us should be in touch with our inner child and keep in mind that although we all try to be good it is hard. Sometimes I just want to say "forget it" to being good and would rather dance my way through life. Of course I can't do that because I am older, I am responsible, I have a demeanor that is expected of me....
Yet, it's so hard to be good. I'll keep that in mind today and other days as I struggle to be the responsible adult yet my inner child is asking to be let loose. I wonder what would happen if my inner child would break free?
This week was no different. He happened to see us in the parking lot as we were walking into the store and came over to talk. First of all he started with teasing us about snow. That has been an ongoing dialog all winter, him teasing us about big snow storms coming our way. We usually react with "Oh No!" and then blame any snow we get on him. He finds that extremely funny.
As we were talking one of the things he said was "It's so hard to be good!" We all laughed at his joke but as usual when he says something to me it got me thinking about his words. Maybe all of us should be in touch with our inner child and keep in mind that although we all try to be good it is hard. Sometimes I just want to say "forget it" to being good and would rather dance my way through life. Of course I can't do that because I am older, I am responsible, I have a demeanor that is expected of me....
Yet, it's so hard to be good. I'll keep that in mind today and other days as I struggle to be the responsible adult yet my inner child is asking to be let loose. I wonder what would happen if my inner child would break free?
Thursday, April 2, 2015
A Thomas and Friends Marathon, Negotiating with a Two-Year-Old, and A Day with Ronan - Priceless
Last week we were on vacation. After spending a few days at Myrtle Beach and getting some rest we drove 12 hours to Nashville to spend a day with our grandson, Ronan. We made arrangements with his parents for him to stay home that day and my husband and I spent the day with him. Since we live several states away from our grandson and his parents it is quite special when we are able to see him and spend some time with him.
So the day began with Ronan staying in his play room, not exactly the scenario we had planned. After we lured him out he started to relax and we had fun. First he wanted to watch Thomas and Friends. Thank goodness for On Demand on Xfinity. We found the right channel and then started the marathon of his favorite train.
After a short while, he is only 2 so his attention span is pretty limited, he started wandering into the kitchen. This is how the kitchen forays went,
Me: Ronan what are you doing in there?
Ronan: Nothing
Me: Ronan I hear you opening the refrigerator door. What are you doing?
Ronan: Nothing
I learned quickly to go to the kitchen with him. Then the negotiating began. We discussed how many juice boxes he could have. We negotiated Halos (little mandarin oranges). We discussed summer sausage (you can have that when your mommy gets home). Finally we negotiated drinks (no more juice boxes, drink water). All this went on to the background of endless Thomas and Friends on television. (It's amazing on that show that no one gets angry, they get "cross").
At the end of the day my husband and I were exhausted but the entire day was "priceless." We spent an entire day with our grandson and had a wonderful time. I'm sure he will not remember it as he gets older but we will and hope to build on that experience with new ones as time goes on.
So the day began with Ronan staying in his play room, not exactly the scenario we had planned. After we lured him out he started to relax and we had fun. First he wanted to watch Thomas and Friends. Thank goodness for On Demand on Xfinity. We found the right channel and then started the marathon of his favorite train.
After a short while, he is only 2 so his attention span is pretty limited, he started wandering into the kitchen. This is how the kitchen forays went,
Me: Ronan what are you doing in there?
Ronan: Nothing
Me: Ronan I hear you opening the refrigerator door. What are you doing?
Ronan: Nothing
I learned quickly to go to the kitchen with him. Then the negotiating began. We discussed how many juice boxes he could have. We negotiated Halos (little mandarin oranges). We discussed summer sausage (you can have that when your mommy gets home). Finally we negotiated drinks (no more juice boxes, drink water). All this went on to the background of endless Thomas and Friends on television. (It's amazing on that show that no one gets angry, they get "cross").
At the end of the day my husband and I were exhausted but the entire day was "priceless." We spent an entire day with our grandson and had a wonderful time. I'm sure he will not remember it as he gets older but we will and hope to build on that experience with new ones as time goes on.
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