The pros and woes of the writing life are innumerable. On the one hand, it is, in it’s self, a complete creative outlet. On the other, it is like throwing ones self-confidence into a boxing ring where it gets beat up on a regular basis. All writer’s find themselves routinely out-written no matter how good they might be. Writing is competitive, scary, and ballsy – all at the same time. It takes courage and perhaps a bit of ignorance to be even mildly successful – and it is unarguably, humbling. The rare acknowledgement and/or praise that may drift my way is validating to be sure. I must be the next J.K. Rowling and Erma Bombeck rolled into one! I whisper to myself as I cheerfully imagine what that combo might look like. Courage is necessary because a writer risks plenty of personal exposure, which is terrifying. As for ignorance, well let;s face it, being ignorant to the possibility that no one is actually reading anything I write – is pure bliss. Perhaps ignorance is the key to continuing on in a world where most barely breathe while a select few are oxygen themselves. It’s a relentless battle of who’s words…
Author: Mary Ann
Zoom Zoom
“Don’t quit walking,” my elderly neighbor warns. “If you stop, you may never get going again.” He continues down the road, little dog on leash, good walking shoes, sweats. Always on the move. He’s right, I know. After all, I’m not getting any younger, so I’m doing everything possible to enter old age in good shape. Great shape. Exceptional shape! I insist to myself as I power walk up the hill. Faster, faster! I’m out-walking age! I’m always stating that although I’m sixty four year old, I don’t feel old. As though there is some special feeling that age brings instead of just being myself but older. As though everyone else doesn’t feel the same way I do. We’re all just a bunch of kids wrapped up in this thing called a body that merely takes us through life like a car. We all stared out as hot little race cars, then became minivans or station wagons, now we’re some sort of four door sedan. I mean it’s not bad to be a four door sedan. It’s respectable. Yet deep inside there’s that longing to still be driving around in the hot little race car; zipping in and out of…
I could be Rip Van Winkle
I’m tired. It happens this time every year. The gray dark days settle in, and our friend, Mr. Sunshine, is lost behind a layer of thick heavy fog and looming clouds. And to add to the snooze, November 4th is just around the corner. We all know what that means; the dreaded end of daylight savings time. By three in the afternoon, darkness will fall upon us like a starving dog on a meaty bone. Time to break out the vitamin D – by the truck load. I saw the sun yesterday, for a half a minute, here and there. It heroicly broke through the fog late in the afternoon, if only to give us hope. Yet it set at 6:00 p.m., leaving us with nothing but fond memories of July 21st, when we celebrated fifteen hours of daylight – the ever so revered longest day of the year. I remember that day. I was wide awake, full of energy, couldn’t quit smiling, swimming, paddle boarding. Didn’t go to bed at 7:30. Didn’t stay in bed all day. Didn’t eat bon-bons. Yet here we are. Everywhere we look, our vision is filled with bursts of red, gold, orange and rust.…
Too Busy
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about being too busy, so I decided to go on line and read up on the most recent advice from the know-it-all’s. There was the usual blabber about how to tell if you’re too busy; like do you stand up to eat while multitasking and do you wake up more exhausted than when your head hit the pillow the night before. There was also the run of the mill advice on how to say “no” and when to say it, how much “me” time to strive for, and the importance of exercise to relieve the stress of the ever-so-busy life. Yet, none hit my hot button quite like an article I read in The Huffington Post. The author claimed, rather boldly I think, that being too busy is code for either just not interested or simply not managing time properly because of laziness. Laziness? How dare he! He went on to say things like, people who are insecure claim to be too busy so others will see they are wanted and needed by many. It’s a way to feel cool about oneself. The author said being too busy is a vanity thing, and the…
Crabby Is Upon Us
It’s almost crab time. That time of year we crab people live and breath for. When the pots are finagled free from the clutter of the shed, lines untangled, buoy’s relabeled. This is when the bottom of the dilapidated crab boat gets a little fiberglass repair just to keep it afloat for one more season. The little motor gets a pretend tune-up, life-jackets are thrown into the mess, and the licenses are bought. We’re just about ready! Now, as for the crabs. Stupid critters, really. They are easily coerced by a rotten piece of chicken into an obvious trap only to pinch each others claws off struggling to get into the impenetrable bait box. They’ll eat anything, as long as its disgusting. Which brings me to this: what makes them taste so good? Crab is an amazing food! Rich and sweet and delectable. How is it that what goes in is so different from what comes out? Not to worry, we crabbers say; the unspoken agreement being we’re better off not giving it much thought. So, the crab crackers are resurrected from the back of the drawer, we’ve stocked up on butter and Old Bay, all the propane tanks are…
Weeds
They’re everywhere! In the flower beds, invading the lawn, around the trees, choking ground covers, pansies,and tulips. There’s not enough weed-be-gone in the world to eliminate the weeds in our lives. Yesterday, with warm sun on my back and a hoe and rake in hand, I delved into the sea of weeds. As the day wore on I began to realize how never ending weeding is. There are times of reprieve; when spring ends and summer sets in. Or in the winter months – it’s not so bad. Yet, God forbid we become complacent and let our guard down for long. Ignore them, and they will march right in and take over! It makes me think about everything else that needs weeding out; like our minds. I’m always yanking out negative thoughts and tossing them into the compost. Let them rot somewhere else. And bad habits. I’ve been investigating the art of unplugging bad habits. They’re like weeds with never ending roots. It takes a lot of time and patience to follow a bad habit from the surface, through all the dirt, all the way to the end, (or maybe to the beginning?). Yet, once arrived, the pleasure of eliminating…
Change
It is said, life is full of surprises, and I’m sure we can all agree this is true. And with surprises, comes change. I’m not one for change. I like things to stay just as they are. I don’t like neighbors moving out and strangers moving in. I don’t like the physical changes happening as we age, not to mention the mental ones. It’s upsetting how this dreaded change interrupts the flow and routine of everyday life, threatening our balance. Yet, change is inevitable, and people like me need to accept it and make necessary adjustments. As I walk down our beach road, I realize how many neighbors I don’t know. There has been such turnover in ownership as the years have gone by. I need to get to know my neighbors again. Our grandchildren are four, two, and six years old now. They are no longer babies, not even the two year old. They no longer need grandma helping with every single thing. Our dear dogs, Maggie and Rita, no longer hear a knock at the door or a door bell ring. It’s important to prepare myself for the day when they will leave us. I’m afraid it won’t…
Grounding = Vitamin G
Take a brave step away from western medicine and consider the possibility of relieving oneself from aches, pains, illness, and depression by connecting to earth. Sound ridiculous? I admit it’s pretty outside the box, yet it occurred to me years ago,as my body began to show signs of aging, that depending on pain killers for the rest of my life wasn’t a wise choice, nor was it healthy. Time to seek alternative medicine! The earth is our greatest reservoir of negatively charged electrons, and it is a scientific fact that negative electrons reduce inflammation and disease. Scientists believe the reason earth is so rife with electrons is because of the approximate eight million lightening strikes a day from all around the world, and because of the suns energy penetrating earths surface. This massive dose of electrons is absorbed into the earth and available to us for healing and energy. All we have to do is take the time to connect. I’ve practiced grounding (also called earthing) for the past ten years, although sporadically. There is a noticeable improvement in my attitude and my energy when I practice on a regular basis. The thing that holds me back, as you might…
The Attack of the Alergans
Show me a single person without allergies right now and I’ll show you a visiting alien from Jupiter. Itchy eyes, runny noses, blurred vision, cough, it’s all going on and no one has been spared. Some years are just worse than others, but this spring takes the cake. Not only that, but the weather is unpredictable and un-seasonal. Oh. I guess that’s actually normal. Regardless, we are a massive community of people who just recently conquered the epic cold and flue epidemic only to be blindsided by the onslaught of extreme alergans. When do we get a break? Between the flue and sudden allergies, everyone I know enjoyed good health for about fifteen minutes. To top it off, it’s been snowing off and on, hailing, and of course, raining. I made the ridiculous decision to store my winter boots away only to dig them back out again. Same with the hat and gloves. I’m waiting for May before I try it again. Have you noticed how all the nurseries are displaying hanging baskets and flowering annuals, yet buying them now will probably result in loosing them in tomorrows snow flurries. Again, I think I’m waiting for May. After all, April…
Paddle Board Blues
Having practiced yoga for years, I’ve been interested in the concept of practicing on a paddle board in a calm body of water. Imagine the added balancing challenges this could present! I recently had the opportunity to take a SUP (stand up paddle board) yoga class and it proved every bit as challenging as I’d ever imagined. The water and weather were warm in Scottsdale Arizona last week and I was game to finally give the class a go. Unfortunately, I was the only person in the entire resort willing to embarrass myself. I was surprised by the non-existent turnout as we had experienced overflow classes every morning in regular yoga.Surely, there would be many adventurous yogi’s joining me in the pool. Yet, this was not the case. Upon arriving in my swim suit, I observed my instructor jump into the pool in yoga capris, sports bra, and tank top. Oh, well, I thought. Maybe she forgot her suit today. I jumped in. First challenge was to get on the board in five feet of water. I bounced up and down counting to three, then lunged up out of the water and pulled my ancient self onto the board using…