Los Angeles, California
The holidays are upon us, and, as can happen at any time of year, the planets in my universe are not aligned. Holidays can bring their own out-of-whackness, but other things are random and can happen whenever. We can rail about the unfairness of that, if we like. Or accept it as one of the vagaries of life. I write that, but I still struggle with it.
Recently I wrote to my friend, Max, that I was feeling like emotional velcro. He wrote back that he thought I had coined a great name for a rock band. In the course of tussling a bit about claiming this terminology, I knew I would use it as a blog post. I'm surprised I didn't come up with it earlier as it describes an aspect of my nature to a T. Tell me that you've got a migraine and I will instantly feel a throb in my temple. My mom is currently dealing with skin lesions, and I am now itching all over. When Billy's back goes out, I find myself hobbling with low back pain even though I never have any back problems as a rule.
We all take our place in our family's structure, and Billy has often said that I am the sin-eater for my family. But my family barely exists anymore. There is only my mom and she has been dwindling for several years with blessedly slow-progressing dementia. So now, with my frister Lydia suffering from an interminable bout of vertigo, I find myself dizzy and disoriented. Or maybe that is the state I would find myself in anyway, given recent news.
Sandra, my frister especial and blog namesake, meets the challenge of a second go-round of difficult treatment starting late this week. She got through the first round two years ago, and was still recuperating from that and putting weight back on when this news hit. She is the strongest and best woman I know. She is in so many ways who I strive to be and that is the reason I named my blog What Would Sandra Do? She is the reason I attend Mass in Carmel which has put me on a spiritual quest that I have yet to completely conceptualize but that has brought a great deal of meaning to my life. And, she is the most wickedly fun person I know. She brings out the best in everyone, and I feel profoundly fortunate to have her in my life. We have a history that includes masks and funny hats, face-painting, Halloween jewelry that lights up, toys -- including wind up cars that we raced around the groove in the Bora Bora Bar at the Kona Village Resort. There was no stopping us at the Village and everyone gave up trying (we just dragged them down with us). We have spent ten of my birthdays together at the Kona Village Resort, and have traveled and spent time together together in Tahiti, Panama, Las Vegas, Napa, San Diego, Lake Tahoe, and Carmel.
Strong girl that she is, with all the family and friend support that she has, I still think she could use some extra wind beneath her wings right now, and I ask you to think of her and send prayers, good thoughts, meditations, whatever you've got - in her direction. I believe our lives are about good work, the choices we make, and the friends and family in our circle. But at times life is also about the fight. Sandra's up for this. And so am I. So, please throw what you can her way. I believe in the power of prayer and positive thoughts, and especially in the strength in numbers. This, as much as I believe in her.
The holidays can be tough for many. They stir up all kinds of feelings and memories. My friend, Lydia, and I had a tender heart-to-heart recently when she expressed how she now felt during the holidays, after losing both her parents. It reminded me of my mom saying that every time she started to bake bread (the special Christmas bread that my grandmother, mother, and I have baked -- a photo of which you can see in the post entitled A Loaf of Bread, A Glass of Scotch, and Thou which is available here throughout this holiday season...and beyond) she would sit down and have a good cry because she missed my grandmother. Holidays can do that to you. And even with all the good in my life, and with our impending trip to Carmel, the longing, and the missing, are just barely below the surface.
So let us enjoy the season. Let us think of those we love, and cherish them or their memories. Let us make merry this Christmas and/or light the Hanukkah candles with a full heart. And let our emotional velcro collect all the joy, all the good, and all of happiness that this season holds. Thank you for reading my blog. Love you, my Frister Especial.
Showing posts with label Apple Store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple Store. Show all posts
December 12, 2012
January 25, 2012
Shopping, Shopping, and Shopping
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
No small part of our job, as fristers, is to support and encourage. During our recent Las Chicas weekend, Debra, Lydia and I shared problems and fears; our individual, unique takes on life and philosophy -- even religion raised its head during a weekend filled with conversation, discussion, and, well, silliness. This is what we do when we are together. We turn over stones, we question life's meaning, we laugh a lot, and . . . we shop.
Now, remember my blog's mission statement (if you will) which is stated on the home page? Before beginning my blog, I had this epiphany (if you will) that one should focus on three things in life -- three things which bring you joy; about which you feel passion; which are the top three interests in your life. To reiterate, my three things are cooking, dancing, and writing. Well, this topic came up again, when, during the weekend, we started talking about our eventual retirements (as if). Both Lydia and Deb work for school districts, so when the time comes, they will be guaranteed a pension. No small thing.
Financial support aside, the question of how people will fill their time once they are retired remains. I worry a bit about this with Billy. He hasn't really zeroed in on his three things (or five, or one, for that matter). But he's got time to work on this. He is good at art and design. Despite struggling with a learning disability when he was young, he reads a lot. And he has the makings of a pretty good golfer. But, I'm straying away from the subject (yeah, like that's a first . . .). This weekend we spent a little time trying to convince Lydia that she needed to start thinking about her three things.
And, to be fair, it's not like the woman has nothing going in her life. She has a consuming job in special educational administration. She has a multigenerational and multiethnic (it's like the United Nations at her home) family. And, as illustrated in a previous post entitled The Monogram, she has, in recent years, taken on the responsibility of doing all the cooking at her home. She be busy. And, she's also a voracious shopper. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this girl SHOPS.
She pointed out that she already had a hobby, and that is, again, shopping. I responded that shopping was a good pastime (I mean, I'm in), but that she seriously needed to focus on choosing three things as follows: 1) one that is physical; 2) one that is artistic/creative; 3) one that feeds her soul. She gave me a long look then said shopping is physical -- you have to walk around. Shopping is creative because you have to choose to purchase things that work in concert with each other and/or with things you already own. And, lastly, shopping feeds my soul. So, asked and answered. The girl's good to go.
And this is how I got exercise, got creative, and fed my soul yesterday. I bought a table. It was a table from Pottery Barn that I had lusted after for about three months. Yesterday I discovered that, on line, it was sold out. But I found one at a Los Angeles area store. Billy is not a Pottery Barn kind of guy, and I had to do some campaigning to get him onboard. Luckily, he was in Happy Wife, Happy Life mode (he's in LA; I'm in Carmel, and absence makes the heart, oh you know . . .). With the table ordered over the phone, I took off for Del Monte Center to find out if my iPod (which rolled over and died during our recent Las Chicas weekend) could be resuscitated. It could not. But instead of replacing it, I replaced my phone with an iPhone, which I am already loving (I seem to be in total Mac conversion mode). Last but not least, I bought a raincoat (it hadn't rained since we got here on December 17th, but a front had finally passed through late last week).
Ms. LOL was right. I hiked around and got some exercise at Del Monte (which is an outdoor mall -- love that). I got artistic/creative by picking out a table which will compatibly fit in the eclecticism of our home furnishings. Plus, I picked a color (silver) for my iPhone, as well as a color (black) for my raincoat. And, seriously, no one can say that a spree like that didn't feed my soul.
Now, I might consider changing my three things. I think Lydia might be onto something. I've learned, through the many years of our friendship, that you can do a lot worse than to follow that girl's lead. And, in the last analysis, when judiciously accomplished, there's actually a lot to be said for shopping, shopping, and shopping. I thank you, thank you, and thank you for reading my blog.
No small part of our job, as fristers, is to support and encourage. During our recent Las Chicas weekend, Debra, Lydia and I shared problems and fears; our individual, unique takes on life and philosophy -- even religion raised its head during a weekend filled with conversation, discussion, and, well, silliness. This is what we do when we are together. We turn over stones, we question life's meaning, we laugh a lot, and . . . we shop.
Now, remember my blog's mission statement (if you will) which is stated on the home page? Before beginning my blog, I had this epiphany (if you will) that one should focus on three things in life -- three things which bring you joy; about which you feel passion; which are the top three interests in your life. To reiterate, my three things are cooking, dancing, and writing. Well, this topic came up again, when, during the weekend, we started talking about our eventual retirements (as if). Both Lydia and Deb work for school districts, so when the time comes, they will be guaranteed a pension. No small thing.
Financial support aside, the question of how people will fill their time once they are retired remains. I worry a bit about this with Billy. He hasn't really zeroed in on his three things (or five, or one, for that matter). But he's got time to work on this. He is good at art and design. Despite struggling with a learning disability when he was young, he reads a lot. And he has the makings of a pretty good golfer. But, I'm straying away from the subject (yeah, like that's a first . . .). This weekend we spent a little time trying to convince Lydia that she needed to start thinking about her three things.
And, to be fair, it's not like the woman has nothing going in her life. She has a consuming job in special educational administration. She has a multigenerational and multiethnic (it's like the United Nations at her home) family. And, as illustrated in a previous post entitled The Monogram, she has, in recent years, taken on the responsibility of doing all the cooking at her home. She be busy. And, she's also a voracious shopper. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this girl SHOPS.
She pointed out that she already had a hobby, and that is, again, shopping. I responded that shopping was a good pastime (I mean, I'm in), but that she seriously needed to focus on choosing three things as follows: 1) one that is physical; 2) one that is artistic/creative; 3) one that feeds her soul. She gave me a long look then said shopping is physical -- you have to walk around. Shopping is creative because you have to choose to purchase things that work in concert with each other and/or with things you already own. And, lastly, shopping feeds my soul. So, asked and answered. The girl's good to go.
And this is how I got exercise, got creative, and fed my soul yesterday. I bought a table. It was a table from Pottery Barn that I had lusted after for about three months. Yesterday I discovered that, on line, it was sold out. But I found one at a Los Angeles area store. Billy is not a Pottery Barn kind of guy, and I had to do some campaigning to get him onboard. Luckily, he was in Happy Wife, Happy Life mode (he's in LA; I'm in Carmel, and absence makes the heart, oh you know . . .). With the table ordered over the phone, I took off for Del Monte Center to find out if my iPod (which rolled over and died during our recent Las Chicas weekend) could be resuscitated. It could not. But instead of replacing it, I replaced my phone with an iPhone, which I am already loving (I seem to be in total Mac conversion mode). Last but not least, I bought a raincoat (it hadn't rained since we got here on December 17th, but a front had finally passed through late last week).
Ms. LOL was right. I hiked around and got some exercise at Del Monte (which is an outdoor mall -- love that). I got artistic/creative by picking out a table which will compatibly fit in the eclecticism of our home furnishings. Plus, I picked a color (silver) for my iPhone, as well as a color (black) for my raincoat. And, seriously, no one can say that a spree like that didn't feed my soul.
Now, I might consider changing my three things. I think Lydia might be onto something. I've learned, through the many years of our friendship, that you can do a lot worse than to follow that girl's lead. And, in the last analysis, when judiciously accomplished, there's actually a lot to be said for shopping, shopping, and shopping. I thank you, thank you, and thank you for reading my blog.
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About Me
- Bronte Healy
- California, United States
- Once, I came up with this brilliant idea (well, I thought so, anyway) that the key to happiness was to concentrate on three things -- to choose three interests, then focus and funnel your energy into that trio. I was an English major in college and have always written in some shape or form. So, my first choice was writing. I've always kept journals, and have also written plays, novels, poetry, and shopping lists. I do have a day job. It deals with numbers (assets and finances). Go figure. I went to college at a California University. I live in California, Los Angeles, but not downtown. No children, and sadly, between dogs at the moment (dog person, not a cat person). Enough info? I was going for just enough to not be a cypher, yet not enough to entice a stalker. And, I started my blog after being dragged, kicking and screaming, to do so. Blogs! Read about ME here, right? But I have been advised that this is a way to write regularly, and to put your writing OUT THERE. So, here goes. My name is Bronte Healy. Thanks for reading my blog.