Ahh....Sleep

It is 4:30 in the morning and I am up blogging. Anyone who knows me knows this is totally out of character. I rarely hit the sack before 11:00 at night, and I'm never up before 7. 8:00 in the morning is more like it if I have my way. So why am I up?

I am suffering the curse of many women my age. Middle-of-the-night insomnia. Today I'll blame it on the Claritan. For the last several weeks I've had a middle ear infection. For 2 weeks it sounded as if someone was holding a giant conch shell to my ear so I could hear the ocean roaring. I tried using a milder decongestant, but I was getting rather tired of listening to the inside of my head and asking everyone to repeat themselves. Sudephedrine and I have never been companionable, but I finally gave in and settled on Claritin-D. I can now hear the outside world very well. In fact as I sit here, I hear the trucks on the highway a half mile away. But in exchange I've given up sleep.

There is another side to this problem. I read a very interesting article on the effects of menopause a while ago (I have no idea what magazine I was reading) and although I don't remember the details (so don't quote me here) I do remember a few interesting points. The gist of it was that we humans have an internal thermometer that goes down when we sleep and warms up when it is time for us to wake up. For women over 50, or those who are hitting menopause, this thermometer goes ka-flooey and starts warming up whenever it wants to, frequently in the middle of the night when we'd rather be sleeping instead of throwing the covers off begging for a breeze in the middle of winter when even our husbands are bundled under the blankets.

I've long since given up night sweats, thank god, but the 2:00 AM wake-up call continues. It has gotten better. I tend to have one bad night every few weeks and usually I can lay there quietly and wait for sleep to resume.

I remember my mother saying she solved most of her problems, planned her day, wrote out her Christmas wish list, and categorized her bucket list between 2 and 4 in the morning, laying quietly in bed. This week I have joined the throngs of women counting the hours until daylight when they will suddenly be overwhelmed with fatigue and desire nothing more than to crawl under the covers, only to have their husbands wake up cheerfully well-rested and ready for breakfast. "What do you mean your going back to bed? It's 6:00!... If you'd go to bed earlier at night you wouldn't be so tired... I was really hoping you'd have breakfast with me this morning."
Yada, yada, yada.

"Don't sweat it sweetheart. I've figured out what I'm getting you for your birthday, and Christmas. I just haven't worked out your anniversary gift yet, but I'm sure I'll have that idea around 3am tomorrow morning."

Oh, listen! The birds are waking up. I hear them singing! Can I please go to sleep, now?

Home

I've been gone alot lately. I spent 4 weeks in Florida with Jen when she not only had a baby but had to move! Yikes! One is hard, both is insane. That is not an 'exponential' leap. One is hard. Both is insane!
So I stayed to help with the process.

Then I came home for 2 weeks before Larry and I took off on a 2 and 1/2 week vacation that included several days in North Carolina, a few days back with Jen and then our cruise!

Back home for 2 weeks.

And out to Iowa for 2 weeks with Jan, Mike, Samantha, and Warren. I love it out there. City folks think I'm crazy, I'm sure. But when I do my daily walk down a gravel road surrounded by fields and the birds are singing, and the wind isn't blowing I feel such peace. (Actually, the birds are probably singing because the wind isn't blowing!) Once you've experienced the wind you will sing when it stops!

Now I am home.

In Home is Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts, (wonderful book, by the way,) a book discussion question asks how I define home. Is it a building? A family? A place?

Home is where I find a sense of peace. It is also where I like to hang out. It is a building, for sure, but it is a building where my 'stuff' resides, that I have decorated to suit me. There is an ambiance in it that welcomes me. It is also where my family is, where my husband and dog are.

'Home' wraps it's arms around me like a security blanket. My bed welcomes me at night the way no hotel, or 'other home' can do. And in the morning when I come downstairs that sense of peace assures me I am home.


I'm glad to be here.

Iowa Musings

The wind is up in Iowa. Not unusual for this area. In fact we've had a lovely 10 days here with light to moderate breezes and clear, sunny skies. It's been great.

South lot, (taken last summer)

The gravel road runs 1-mile from Jan's house to the hard top road and I try to walk it everyday. This year I see how much Maggie has slowed down. We always did the 2 mile walk together, but this year I took her to the South lot (a section of out buildings one field down)  where she could browse around, and then back, (a scant 1/2 mile walk). 

Yesterday the wind showed up. It will be here through tomorrow. I headed out for my morning walk alone. 35 minutes later I was back. "Keep the young un's close!" I told Jan. It took me 20 minutes to walk the mile south. I made it back in 15. Guess which way the wind was blowing!

I've never been able to walk a 15 minute mile. It has always been a goal of mine. Now I know how to do it. With the wind at my back, on a flat (more or less) gravel road, in Iowa.

A Spot of Color. Looking east from Janice's house I can see a farm with a small horse barn. In the afternoon, with the sun shining on it, this little barn pops out of the landscape, the bright red siding adds the perfect spot of color to the spring landscape.

This week the field turned green. The corn is up. Soon everything will be green. When the corn is high it will block my view, but for now, I love seeing this little red barn.



Samantha, Maggie and Oreo--Truce

Truce. For the past 5 years, the barn cats would run and hide the moment the little red car from Pennslyvania, with the big yellow dog, rolled into the yard. This year it changed. Friendly cats have moved in. They are braver around Maggie and less likely to run. The first day we were here, Oreo posted himself right in the middle of the doorway, daring Maggie to walk past him. She finally did and a truce was declared.

Samantha took a little longer. She didn't like Maggie on the floor around her. It took several days before she stopped crying when Maggie walked in the room. Samantha also is not crazy about men. No sooner had she decided Maggie could stay, than Larry showed up for a visit. As soon as he walked in the room, she would run crying to her mother. Finally she decided he could stay, too.

Happy Mother's Day, Granberry!

 

My Mother’s Day started out with an early walk down a quiet dusty road. The sun was warm in the cool morning air. Maggie wasn’t all that interested so we headed back after half a mile. Coming in from the walk, Warren happily greeted me. “Happy Mother’s Day, Granberry!” Today was destined to be an especially nice one. Larry had flown in and would be spending my last week at Jan’s with me. That is rare.

After breakfast we headed out to church. It was Sunday School Recognition Day. Warren’s class sang 2 songs. I love watching children sing.  They belted out each “Hosanna! Alleluia!” with great enthusiasm and did a pretty good job with the rest of the song, even if my old ears could only pick up every few words.

Mike sings in the choir and is also a Sunday School teacher. Today he stood up to hand out certificates to all the kids in his class. We had taken up residence in the back row along with the other families of kids not likely to sit in rapt attention during the sermon and close to the escape route should Samantha decide she’d had ENOUGH and wanted OUT of there. When Mike stood up in the front of the church, Samantha spied him. “DA DA!!! DA DA!!!”  she called. All heads turned to watch as she vigorously waved to daddy. Of course we all beamed adoringly at our little girl.

 

Later, after church, Warren was playing on the porch. He brought in a big cardboard box that had come in the mail a few days before with some blueberry and strawberry plants. It was closed and he presented it to his mom. “What’s inside?” she asked. “It’s a surprise,” he said. “Should I be scared?” she asked him. “Is something going to jump out?” “Nope,” he grinned. Cautiously (with a twinkle in her eye) she opened the box and looked in. It was empty. She looked up at Warren. “It’s full of KISSES!!” he said delightedly and proceeded to plant dozens of kisses all over his mom.

Mother’s Day is the day we celebrate motherhood. And to me, that means basking in the memories of moments that make motherhood so special. It’s the moments when my kids came up to me and gave me a big hug saying Happy Mother’s Day.  Like these today.  Honestly, one of my favorites was the teabag taped into the paper teapot from my second grader. I love tea. It was perfect. There was also the afternoon spent sitting reading on the porch. And last year, it was the lunch my daughter took me to. This year I got a jar of homemade hand and foot sugar scrub in a beautiful jar. I can’t wait to use it.

The other night on the news it was reported that the average spent on Mother’s Day was $152.00. If that is the average I have to wonder, what is the upper number? I think there are a lot of families like ours that believe that less is more. All I know is that no $150.00 bracelet would mean as much as an empty box filled with kisses.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Spring Travels, Pt. 2--Carribean Cruise

Reader beware... this post is longer than I usually do. I debated doing a short blog about cruising, but in truth this was our first one. It was special and I wanted to share some of the details. And since my family reads this, it was the best way to share everything with them. So grab a beer, or a glass of tea and read on...!

Larry and I have talked about taking a cruise for a long time, and we finally did it. I was the main holdback. I had some hesitancies and little things like hearing about ship wide illnesses or watching the Costa Concordia lay on its side in the Mediterannean probably didn't help. Last year we started to really plan a trip. We had been to the Bahamas and Bermuda, and I wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been. We settled on the western Carribbean, a 5 day cruise on  Carnival Cruise Lines to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

I've been fortunate to have traveled to some extraordinary places in my life. I enjoy travel, but I probably take it for granted sometimes. This trip was different. I started dreaming about it weeks before we left. We talked to other cruisers to get advice. Up to the last night before we left we were still getting tips.

I woke up early Monday morning, before the alarm went off. I had slept soundly the night before, which really surprised me. I never sleep before a trip! I had a To -Do list on my phone of last minute tasks. Larry had the same list running in his head. He hadn't slept as well. We finalized the packing, stopped at the bank for small bills--(a travel tip), picked up a couple bottles of wine since we were allowed to carry on one bottle each,  and made some last minute phone calls. I was so excited I wanted to call everyone and say, "We're getting on the ship now!!!"

So what was it like? It was fabulous! I've heard the usual comments. "The food was fantastic. We were never hungry. There is so much to do."

Do I agree? Yes, Yes, and Yes. But it was even better than that.

The Surprises
Our room was our first surprise. I had expected a tiny cabin with little room to move around. Ours was more spacious than I expected. We unpacked our clothes, stowed our bags, with room to spare. The shower was bigger than the one in my house! We had asked for a room with a window and assumed it would be a porthole, but it was a full-size window. At night we left the curtains open and I could lay in bed and see the stars.

Another surprise with the room was how quiet it was. I never heard or felt the engine. That was a concern of mine. I will say the air conditioning was a fan in the ceiling that always ran. Perhaps it drowned out the engine noise, but nothing would have drowned out the vibration of the engine. It just wasn't there. The fan itself provided a white noise in the background. At any rate, I slept well.

It wasn't until the trip was almost over before I became aware of a very big surprise. I have a fear of heights. Balconies, bridges, and atriums make me very uneasy. I had wondered if that would be an issue.



On Friday afternoon, (Day 5) a friend from our dinner table and I met by the pool. We wanted to go down the slide, and decided that mid-to late afternoon was the best time to go. People who had been by the pool all day were heading to cabins to get ready for the evening. The line of kids was pretty short. The slide wasn't all that big, but we still had to climb the ladder and go down. I couldn't wait. Cathy and I headed up, waved at Larry and took off! Giggling and lauging, we headed back up for a 2nd go.
 That's when it really hit me. We were at the top of the ship, and I didn't care. Likewise, glass elevators, the atrium, the balconies, none of it bothered me. I never felt the sense of height.For those who know me, that will be a surprise! (The only other time I have felt that way was the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. Normally I would have clung way back from the sidewalk that follows the rim. Instead I was sitting on the wall. Unheard of for me!)

The Food. I know. Everyone says you'll never be hungry. But it still took me some time to really get it. I won't bore you with details about the buffet breakfast and lunch. But it took me a few days to realize I could order EVERYTHING on the appetizer list from the menu at dinner. The third night out I did order the salad, the frogs legs, and the soup.

The main course was no different. One night we had lobster tail and after we had all devoured ours the waiter asked if we would like more! Wow! That doesn't happen at Applebee's! Of course, several of the guys did have seconds.


The Treats
Shore excursions--I highly recommend to first time cruisers to do at least one excursion. They add the highlight to your trip.

Our cruise took us to the Grand Cayman Islands, and to Cozumel, Mexico. (Have you ever seen water this blue?

  We booked shore excursions at each one. In the Grand Cayman's we did an excursion called Snuba Diving. It is a cross between scuba diving and snorkeling. In snuba the mouthpiece is connected to an air tank that floats in a raft on top of the water, allowing us to swim 15-20 feet under water. It took me a while to get used to it, and for my ears to acclimate, but I loved the experience. We had heard that one of the problems with this is that people can get tangled in each other's airhoses, but with 2 people attached to a tank it was pretty cool. A family of 4 did  get a little tangled at one point and the guide got them straightened out. Larry and I had our own tank so we swam where we wanted with no problems. The biggest problem I had was getting under him in the water without realizing it and kicking him, but usually he was deeper than me.

The biggest downside to this excursion was that it was held right off shore near the harbor. Because there was so much boat traffic, the fish were few, but we saw Tarpon, conch, and a ship wreck and some interesting coral. And truthfully, I just liked the experience. It was new to me.

There was one other downside, but it had little to do with the excursion. After we got out of the water, we dried off and put our shoes on. Larry felt fine but it turned out his equilibrium was off. As he stepped down a step, he lost his balance and fell. He landed hard on his right arm. It ballooned immediately. Fortunately it was not broken, but the muscle was badly bruised.

Of course, as soon as he did this we realized we had no health insurance with us. Both of us were covered for international travel, but he had left his insurance card in his briefcase in the car, in TAMPA!! OOPS! So he iced it frequently and we kept a close eye on it. We would have gone to the ship's doctor if we felt there was a serious injury but each day he had more mobility so we counted our blessings instead. (10 days later, it still looks ugly. Our doctor here says it probably will for another week or two.)

At Cozumel we swam with the dolphins. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. I made sure the trip we chose included a chance to hold onto them and be pulled through the water. Larry wasn't able to do that part since his arm was injured so they gave him a different activity with the dolphin.

I was very impressed with this trip. The group was broken into groups of 6-8 and placed with a trainer. Each of us had 5 opportunities to interact with the dolphin. Our trainer obviously loved what he did. He was quiet, smiled a lot, included everyone and kept things moving. One family in our group had 2 young boys. The youngest was hesitant but the trainer just coaxed him along, and stayed by him encouraging him. In the end, he did everything with the dolphin and we all cheered for him.

Just as we got out of the water, it began to rain, hard. How lucky for us! Other groups kept on going. I was glad we had missed it. Instead we sat in the outdoor restaurant and ate lunch. I think our table was open because people thought they would get wet, but we didn't. It was the perfect seat. We had a birdseye view of the pools and the dolphins.

We enjoyed our trips, but we did decide for future trips, we would not do an excursion at each stop. We had little time to actually explore the towns. But since we were newbies, I'm glad we did them. It gave us a chance to get a feel for the port and see what we might want to do next time. And they were great.

Our trip was so relaxing. We had a great time with the people we ate dinner with and all became good cruise friends. Larry discovered he really can unwind and relax. And once again, we discovered being trapped together on a boat for 5 days was fun! In fact, I had one more surprise where that was concerned.

Larry and I have lived with different internal time clocks for years now. He heads to bed around 9:30 and is up at 6:30...even on weekends. I like to stay up until 11:00 and get up around 8:00. By the end of the cruise he was staying up until 10:30, going to shows. Even better, he was sleeping in until .... whenever! As for me? I was ready for bed at 10:30 too, and we were waking up together.  I can only surmise this.....

If this is what retirement will be like....then bring it on!!! (sigh...we still have 2 years to go.)

Spring Travels! Part 1

I've been absent from here lately, but it is only because we've been bouncing around this spring! I was in Florida for a month when Jenny had her baby AND had to move at the same time! I was home for 2 weeks before Larry and I left on a road trip to North Carolina, Florida and A CRUISE!! It was wonderful. Getting away together is always great because we spend so much time apart. It is always special to me to see how well we get along when we go on road trips. Spending all that time in a car can be an instant compatibility test. Somehow, we always pass!

We went to North Carolina over Easter to get to know the area we think we want to retire to, a little better. We are looking at Murphy, NC which is 10 miles from Blairsville, GA and 10 miles more or less, from the Tennessee border. It is a beautiful area in the Smoky Mountains. We like both Blairsville and Murphy. One is newer and has a little more to do, while the other has a more quaint, small town atmosphere.  We actually went to Easter services in BOTH towns. One was at 9:00 and Contemporary while the other at 11:00 was more traditional, so we had a chance to see the differences and get a feel for both congregations.

After 5 wonderful days in Murphy, we headed to one of my other favorite places...Jen's... for a couple of days so Larry could meet Zachary. Men are rather funny with babies. While women instantly reach for a newborn baby, most men will gladly wait until the kid can run around before getting down to their level. However, at one point we were all busy and Zach started to fuss. Jen went to get him, and there was Paberry, and a very calm Zachary.

While at Jen's we repacked for the next, very special, part of our trip! (This might be a good place to mention that 1) Larry and I have never been great at packing light, 2) When you have a car, you can just add more stuff, and 3) From the mountains of North Carolina, to suburban Florida, to the Caribbean, it is safe to say, we had plenty of stuff and lots of repacking to do.) Saying goodbye to Jen, Dave, Nicholas and Zachary is always hard, but Nicholas made sure we left prepared. Just as we were getting into the car he said, "Wait!" and ran into the house. He came back with ...

a little box of raisins! (Don't you just love kids?) "In case you get hungry," he told me as he handed it to me. Does he know me or what? I carried that little box everywhere I went, because anyone who knows me knows when I get hungry.... well, let's just say it's not always pretty!

From there we headed to Tampa and had dinner with some old friends before leaving Monday morning on our cruise.

I worked with this group when we were all teachers at McDonald Elementary and it was great seeing them all again. (It would have been even better if SGD, Heather, Abby and Terry were there!)

And then it was time! To celebrate (belatedly) our 40th anniversary, Larry and I booked our first cruise. We embarked from Tampa and cruised to the Grand Caymans and Cozumel, Mexico. We have wanted to do this for awhile but after a previous experience on a day cruise, I was worried that I would feel claustrophobic or sea sick. There are times when my head can play games with my equilibrium and I didn't want to be captive on a ship if that happened. At any rate, I am going to leave the cruise for the next post, but I won't leave you in the suspense. We had a blast!

Details coming!

Happiness is a Warm Towel--and a Curry Comb

Bath time is not Maggie's favorite thing. I try to wait until the weather is kind of warm, but a warm day does not mean warm water!

This week, the weather broke and it was time. Maggie watched as I collected things. When I changed my shoes and put on my jacket, she started to get excited."Walk??" her eyes and ears asked. "Sorry, girl. Not yet." I answered.

We headed downstairs and I opened the garage door. She ran out and waited hopefully. Then I found her 'bath' leash and shampoo and threw them in the grass. I noticed a curry comb hiding under some stuff. It was left over from Janice's equestrian days. We had used it on Maggie sometimes but I had forgotten it.

The 'comb' is actually a hard rubber disk with a hand-hold on one side and rubber 'fingers' on the other. Ours is like the pink one in the top right corner of this picture. When used on a horse it picks up the dirt embedded under the coat. It feels like a massage for a horse...or a dog! I picked it up and laid it next to the shampoo.

When I started to pull out the hose Maggie stood in the corner of the yard and watched. I called her over. She stood in the corner of the yard...and watched. I gave her my cheerful "Come on!", excited voice. She stood in the corner of the yard...and watched.

Now I don't really know what it is about a bath for a Lab. It could hardly be the cold water. I've known Labs to jump in a stream in the middle of winter, even if they might break through a thin layer of ice! Perhaps they see it as some sort of humiliation--tied to a leash and hosed down. Whatever it is, I AM the boss. Time to exert some authority!

"Maggie, Heal!" The tail drooped. The head went down. But slowly she walked over. She finds it harder to ignore some commands than others. "Heal" almost always works.

I attached one end of the leash to her collar, and stepped on the other end. I turned on the water, and lightly sprayed her coat and added the shampoo. She leaned away from me. I picked up the curry comb and began to rub her back with it. Suddenly Maggie changed direction. She leaned into me. Her tail went up in a slow wag. She stretched out her neck. I couldn't see her face, but I'm pretty sure she was smiling. This was way better than my fingers. It made the shame of a public bath well worth it.

After her bath she raced around the yard and rolled in the grass. Then I held up the towel. Joyfully she galloped over to me and threw herself broadside against my legs and into the towel. (She has always loved the towel rubdown!) I rubbed her down, turned it over to the dry side and she turned around so I could rub her other side.


Every time I've watched a baby get his first bath he cried miserably. As soon as it was over and he was wrapped in a warm towel the sigh was audible. He hadn't learned to smile yet, but if he had, it would have spread across his face.

Yep...nothing like a massage and a warm towel to take away your troubles!