My Trip to Raleigh

It was brief but filled with lots of love.

We stopped at Sully’s for lunch before checking into our hotel. Then we met up with Kadyn and Lauren for sushi night.

I spent the entire day Thursday with Lauren. Drinking coffee and doing nails.

We watched Kadyn’s soccer game but she wasn’t in it due to injury. The team did not win.

On Friday we had breakfast at Sully’s, then I had a great massage, a Mother’s Day gift from Lauren.

I took Kadyn for her nails today while Poppop relaxed in the car. Afterwards, dinner with the gang at Garibaldis. A quick trip but fun! It’s always great to see my kiddo.

#breezeairlines#sullysgolf&gather#northcarolina#familytime

Traveling Breeze

Today we are traveling in Breeze Airways from West Palm Beach, Florida to Raleigh, North Carolina. This is our third time flying with this airline.

Breeze was founded by David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue and several other airlines. They offer low-cost flying and have 3 levels at which you can purchase flights. Since I always like to book our seats I chose level 2.

Today, we are in rows 24A and 24C. It is a two-seater on one side and 3 on the other. The leg room is not bad.

Our flight appears fully booked so I’m glad I chose our seats.

It’s really no frills. They give you water, tea or coffee but anything else is for purchase.

They had to move our seats because Bruce’s seat was broken.

The flight was uneventful which is always a good thing.

The total round trip for two was $486. $60 for a bag and $180 for seats. We will sit in first class going home.

Getting Old Isn’t For Sissies

When I was younger I took my ability to move, jump, dance, climb, and everything else for granted.

I’d run up the stairs in my house. In fact, the house I owned in my 40s and 50s, and 60s was a tri-level. None of the stairs had banksters. I ran up and down them never thinking about this.

In my 70s, I had to retrain myself to hold on when walking up and down stairs. In fact, my house is now one level. No stairs. So when I do climb stairs my leg muscles know it.

This past Christmas I went to wrap presents sitting on the floor. I moved about trying to get comfortable and realized it wasn’t going to happen. So I tried to get up. And the word is tried. It took several minutes and I realized I wasn’t going to get up without leaning on the coffee table. When did this th happen? I used to just pop up!

So, the little things that I used to do without thinking I now have to think about. I also have started doing more exercises like getting up and down in a chair without using my hands. It helps.

As I get older things change. I’ve slowed down but if I stop, the saying goes if you don’t use it you will lose it. So I make sure every day I do workouts to keep my body as fluid as I can.

It’s challenging. Sometimes it’s painful. But I want to make sure I stay active in my senior years so I do what I need to do to stay in shape.

Shifting Gears

Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.

When I was in middle school and high school all I wanted to be was an airline stewardess. Yes, that’s what they were called.

The job requirements were to be 5’5” tall, slim, at least 19, and unmarried. I met all the requirements but then I married at 19. So no airline stewardess job for me.

I went to college and majored in journalism. I worked in the corporate communications department of a large insurance company. Then I moved to South Carolina.

I was having difficulty finding a decent job when a friend asked me if I wanted a job as a counselor in a prison. That was the shifting of gears.

In my last years of employment, I owned a treatment center working with convicted felons. I loved it. I had a passion for it. It was a 200-degree shift from what I had been doing but it brought me great joy.

At the time I thought I was nuts. My husband didn’t like the idea of my working in a prison. But who would have thought that changing gears in midlife would bring so much more fulfillment? It did. I never regretted that path I started on in my 40s.

It taught me so much. Not only about overcoming fears and obstacles but also about people. About caring. About how to treat people with respect and dignity no matter who they are or what they did.

When I reflect on switching gears mid-life, it’s with fondness and a sense of a life well lived.

My Mother

Describe a positive thing a family member has done for you.

For many years my mother was a heavy drinker, in reality, an alcoholic. But in the haziness of her alcoholism, I could see a kind and gentle person. A woman who cared deeply and scarred easily.

At 69 she chose to get sober and all those positive attributes I could see in the alcoholic fog came into the light.

I don’t think I ever heard her say a bad word about anyone. She always looked at a person’s best even if that best was a mere portion of their being.

She loved deeply and people of all walks of life loved her. She had no prejudices nor was she intolerant of those who did. She brought a soft edge to those she touched.

What I learned from her is to be kind and to love. Life is too short to be anything but loving.

I love sushi

What is your favorite restaurant?

Many of my friends really don’t like sushi. They find the thought of raw fish disturbing, although many of the rolls have cooked fish.

When my 17-year-old granddaughter visits, we usually get a boatload of sushi, sashimi, and rolls.

There are several good places near where I live but I particularly like Furin. The fish is always fresh and the presentation is always beautiful.

One of the things I love most is that I don’t feel that bloated fullness as with other meals but totally satisfied.

10 Years From Now

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Oh boy! That’s a hard one. I will be in my 89s if I am fortunate to live that long.

In all seriousness, if I am in good shape I hope to be active. Hiking, traveling, doing the things I do now.

Maybe I will travel less and have a puppy to keep me busy.

I’d like to spend more time with family.

Or just sit and smell the roses!

5 Things That Bring Joy

Family brings joy. Even with craziness, arguments, loudness, and sometimes hurt feelings, there is nothing like family to bring out the best in life.

Faith brings joy. Because even when life is a little touch-and-go, God has my back. All I have to do is spend some quiet time in prayer and meditation to bring me back centered.

Nature brings me joy. Walking through a pine forest smelling the sweet aroma of wood and earth. Watching wildlife in their natural environment. Or just calmly sitting with the sun rays flowing through me. Last week I saw a beautiful rainbow.

Snuggling with a precious baby. This is particularly effective when I’m anxious. A baby cuddling its head in the crook of my neck soothes away anxiety and all becomes right with the world.

Dancing and singing like nobody is watching brings great happiness and lots of laughs.

So many things bring me joy and many things bring me back to joy!

A Positive Change

Describe one positive change you have made in your life.

One major change which I believe was cataclysmic to my being who I am today is that I stopped drinking.

During my youth, my 20s and most of my 30, alcohol had been my best friend and then my worst enemy.

It came before my child, my parents, my siblings, my friends, my work and just about everything in my life.

I was not a good mother, a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend, or a good worker.

At the age of 37 I had enough. I started a journey of recovery and now 35 years later I am a good person, a kind person, a loving person.

I’m a good mother and also a good grandmother. I was able to be a good daughter until my mother died.

So one change! This was a life-altering change that I have never regretted.

Exercise!

What’s the most fun way to exercise?

You know I’m one of those people who always love to exercise. Whether it’s doing a class at a gym, using weights, or power walking, I find it all exhilarating.

As I’m getting older water aerobics has been a go-to exercise. It’s less strain on the joints and I love to be in water.

Traveling, I do a lot of walking in city streets. Most recently I was in Vienna and Prague and walked over 5 miles a day just sightseeing. This time goes fast and it doesn’t feel like exercise.

I have an Apple Watch that shows me my steps and miles. It also helps me stay accountable. Plus it’s fun.

I’ve learned as I get older that if you don’t use it you lose it. And I would like to keep walking throughout my 70s and 80s.