Food, wine, and an old friend...always worth the call

I moved most of my childhood life - suitcases open doors is not just a title, it was the way I lived - and because of that I believe that I learned some amazing life skills.  Let me be clear, growing up I am sure I did not realize the skills I was learning and am equally sure that I did not make it easier on my parents every time we moved.  Anyway, tonight I met up with a friend that is one of those pick up where you left off kind of friends - a skill I learned moving.  She and I may have grew up in different countries at different times yet we seem to have experienced similar life paths as far as tolerance, growth experiences and, well, life. 

Tonight, two of us sat for hours (many hours actually, ask Ben our waiter/bar tender) catching up on our families, our friends, our lives and eating all of things from the left side of the menu.  There is nothing like baba ganoush and hummus, haloumi, kibbie and lamb with a bottle of Ksara to make time pass; well, there is nothing like our stories and laughter to make the food and wine taste like a Croatian baby's breath garden on a way to an old chapel. 

In today's social media world it is sometimes hard to remember that life is what you make of it - it is not only the life you live online, it is also the times you live sitting across from a friend (I would never call her old, ever, she is a bad ass and I can't run that fast) catching up on the past few months.  I get the irony that I am saying this in an online blog posted on FB and IG but remember, I am not saying the online life is not something to share, I am just saying life is not only those experiences.  I have posted before about taking the time to say yes, taking your rest day; this week has been all about those rest days from life, even for a few hours, and embracing the catching up.  Go catch up with others my friends, I know I have a lot of catching up to do and that is exactly what I plan to do.  Don't be afraid about the time that has passed, true friends pick up right where you left off days, weeks, months, years ago.  Goodness knows, I have a lot more catching up to do and plan to do just that!

Wine and writing - it is how I celebrate life...
now I just need to remember to do it more often!

Water is relaxation - Wednesday is a day of rest

Wednesday is my day of rest.  For those of you that know me or follow my social media threads, it may look like I have a lot of days of rest, and I do take advantage of everyday and adventure that comes my way, but when I am home, I rest Wednesdays and Saturdays from working out.  A few weeks ago, my Mom asked if I would like to start swimming with her in the morning and I thought - Self, this is a perfect thing to do on Wednesday - a day of rest! - so this morning we got into the pool.

We didn't do laps with traditional strokes, we didn't run, no, we stretched, we meandered, we talked to birds and IT WAS PERFECT.  Last Wednesday, I shifted my day of rest to be Tuesday as there was a fear of missing out on a benchmark I had been working so hard to hit.  This Wednesday, I did no such thing.  This Wednesday I embraced the chance to spend an hour with my Mom in a pool, not sunning ourselves, not worrying about anything other than giving our muscles the stretching they needed and our souls the mother daughter cleanse they needed (as Mom and I really can only do in or near water as she is also a mermaid).   I could have done laps, she could have ran circles and laps around me as I stumbled to catch my breath but no, we just enjoyed the water, enjoyed the quiet, forgot that we were in the middle of our little town with responsibilities waiting for us.  Just the perfect way to start the day, and of course, as soon as I sat down, it got me thinking...while rest days are important, do they mean you have to sit on your butt and do nothing alone or is it more effective to rest and stretch your body and soul with someone else?  There is no wrong answer here.

For me, the answer is easy - I love people, even when I don't like people I love people - and I love my family.  Spending that hour in the pool with my Mom was exactly what this rest day needed.  It quite literally rested me, (maybe not my muscles at I did get a little over excited about the stretching in water so I am a little sore, moving on).  My challenge for you is to find what you need to rest on your day of rest - and figure out if you want to do it alone or with someone(s) else.  Is it sitting  with a book or watching TV?  Is it cooking or baking?  Is it going for a walk?  Is it swimming?  Is it yoga?  What is it?  As is the case in all things in life, what is right for one person may not be right for you, and - this is the important part - that is okay!  Don't forget that while you see all the crazy, all the movement in the world, days of rest are just as important and only you can determine what that means for you.

Enjoy your next day of rest my friends, I certainly will after starting it in water with my Mom.

Internal Courage - It's Not Always Easy and That's Okay Too

Facebook memories are meant to bring back experiences you had in life that you may have forgotten about over time.  Today, I got a reminder about a post I wrote in July of 2014 about rain making the flowers go.  It seems we had a lot of literal rain that year, and, I suppose I was having rain in my life as well - or my friends and family were - as I wrote how rain can make the flowers grow which echos a song from one of my all time favorite shows.  What is ironic, is yesterday I shared a post from Busted Halo Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes, courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow.' just in case anyone needed to hear it and a number of friends reached out saying thank you, privately and on FB. 

Often times, while running, I get outside of the pain in my legs or breathing and work through things in my head.  If my brain is focused on other things it will forget that it wants me to believe that I cannot do whatever pace/distance I am being told to do.  I digress, today, before I worked out, I reread my post from July of 2014 and that was the premise of my thoughts during the 23 minute run today.  I don't have rain right now, although the skies do look like they are about to open at any minute (and they will because my sprinklers ran this morning), but my head was full of all the thoughts of what is going on in life and sometimes that is overwhelming.  The Tall One is kicking ass and taking names at his internship as he heads into his last semester at A&M.  The Kiddo is kicking ass and taking names at his internship as he heads into his year at UD.  The Big Guy is doing what he does while we both gear up for a few days at the lake with family and fishes. Yet my head was full with all the things that it takes to gear up for a few days at the lake, and work, and the house and and and.  Roughly 20 minutes in, yes it takes me that long to get out of my head, it occurred to me that it is all going to be good.  The boys are continually reaching their next stars despite rough times (life isn't always great y'all - it rains), the Big Guy and I are planning out the rest of our trips for the summer - some with the kids and some without - that are the fruits of the hard work we put in everyday.  Rain will make the flowers grow, and sweat will hide any scared or overwhelmed tears.  And once you let go of those things you can't change, once you accept the rain or the internal courage, well then it is just you and your spirit, and in my case, a sprint to the finish. 

Off to pack - I have a great few days of family and fishes ahead!