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Thursday, June 24, 2004
Mother-Daughter Weekend X 2
A few weeks ago, my mom drove her mom up from San Diego to visit for the weekend. We've been meaning to do this for a long time, but like so many things in life we kept putting it off. "Someday", we would sigh. Finally we both decided to stop putting it off and have a mother-daughter-daughter weekend.
We had a great weekend. It couldn't have been more perfect. We went downtown, drove to Morro Bay and up to see the Elephant seals.
Everytime I see my Grandmother for various events she says to me, "It's about time you moved back home, dear." She couldn't accept that SLO is my home now even though I've lived here for 10 years.
This trip helped her realize why I call this town my home. She kept saying how she didn't realize it was so tropical here. We spent a lot of time on my porch enjoying the surrounding plants and trees and walking downtown. She was fascintated by all the different foliage.
Here is one of my favorite stories of the weekend:
My Grandmother is very old fashioned and cares a lot about looks. When I was little she used to lift up my dress to make sure I was wearing a slip. Every picture that is taken of her, she has to take off her hat and sunglasses and makes sure everyone else does the same. Notice in the picture below that she is holding her sunglasses and hat (and my mom is being defiant). She is never seen without make-up on. She is constantly getting on my case about wearing more make-up. I told her I was starting a job working for Cosmetic Surgery web sites and she gasped about how I better start looking nicer. In case you didn't know, I hardly wear any make-up.
We were going out to a comedy club on Saturday night so I decided to put on a lot of make-up and look nice for my Grandmother. I even put on BLUE eyeshadow. This is usually only used on Halloween. I came out of the bathroom with what I thought was a lot of make-up and my Grandmother said, "I can't see a thing. You didn't put enough on."
Oh well, I tried. I guess I shouldn't go around trying to please other people. It was a fabulous weekend even without the make-up.
A few weeks ago, my mom drove her mom up from San Diego to visit for the weekend. We've been meaning to do this for a long time, but like so many things in life we kept putting it off. "Someday", we would sigh. Finally we both decided to stop putting it off and have a mother-daughter-daughter weekend.
We had a great weekend. It couldn't have been more perfect. We went downtown, drove to Morro Bay and up to see the Elephant seals.
Everytime I see my Grandmother for various events she says to me, "It's about time you moved back home, dear." She couldn't accept that SLO is my home now even though I've lived here for 10 years.
This trip helped her realize why I call this town my home. She kept saying how she didn't realize it was so tropical here. We spent a lot of time on my porch enjoying the surrounding plants and trees and walking downtown. She was fascintated by all the different foliage.
Here is one of my favorite stories of the weekend:
My Grandmother is very old fashioned and cares a lot about looks. When I was little she used to lift up my dress to make sure I was wearing a slip. Every picture that is taken of her, she has to take off her hat and sunglasses and makes sure everyone else does the same. Notice in the picture below that she is holding her sunglasses and hat (and my mom is being defiant). She is never seen without make-up on. She is constantly getting on my case about wearing more make-up. I told her I was starting a job working for Cosmetic Surgery web sites and she gasped about how I better start looking nicer. In case you didn't know, I hardly wear any make-up.
We were going out to a comedy club on Saturday night so I decided to put on a lot of make-up and look nice for my Grandmother. I even put on BLUE eyeshadow. This is usually only used on Halloween. I came out of the bathroom with what I thought was a lot of make-up and my Grandmother said, "I can't see a thing. You didn't put enough on."
Oh well, I tried. I guess I shouldn't go around trying to please other people. It was a fabulous weekend even without the make-up.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Ride the moment
On my way out to my weekly bike ride this evening, Marya yelled out to me, "Have Fun". I thought about this statement a lot on the ride tonight. It may seem like a simple thing - to have a good time on a bike ride. To get out in the mountains and get some exercise. Bret and my ex-co-workers and I get together at least once a week to go riding. I do love these group rides, but most of the time I love them after the ride is over.
First of all, it's important to note that I started mountain biking 3 years ago. I never saw myself as enjoying this sport. I'm a scaredy cat about most things. Especially anything that has to do with going fast. I never was really into biking as a child either. The main reason I got into it was because I was doing a spin class at my gym. I was really enjoying it and some co-workers told me I had to get out and experience riding on trails.
I've been hooked ever since.
Even though I am hooked, I'm beginning to notice that most of the ride I'm not enjoying it. The following things are what I'm focusing on during the ride. I didn't realize that I was focusing on these things for most of the rides until tonight.
You're probably wondering why I even ride with a list like that. I really do enjoy riding. This is why I was thinking about Marya's comment to "have fun". I was thinking about why I can't just be in the moment on my bike rides and enjoy every part of the trail - even the hard parts. Instead of thinking about what is coming up next that I'm afraid of. There are so many moments on the trail that are fun. I don't have to think about that scary creek crossing coming up around the corner that I'm never able to cross or the section where I fell that one time or the hard hill that I made up once so I really want to make it up this time.
We ride the most amazing trails. We ride out at the beach, through canyons, up mountains, through meadows, and along creeks. The feeling of riding downhill is almost like flying. We get to see beautiful sunsets and flowers blooming. I get to experience these amazing adventures with close friends. Funny things happen on our rides that we can laugh about. We get to witness each other improving our bike skills on the rides. I love the feeling of conquering a hill - making it through the tough points when I thought I was going to give up.
I'm always striving to live in the moment in life. Not to think too much about the past or the future. It's funny how this theme carries through all aspects of my life. My new goal is to practice being completely present on our bike rides. I'm going to appreciate the fact that I'm out on my bike in nature and not take everything so seriously. I'm going to have fun!
On my way out to my weekly bike ride this evening, Marya yelled out to me, "Have Fun". I thought about this statement a lot on the ride tonight. It may seem like a simple thing - to have a good time on a bike ride. To get out in the mountains and get some exercise. Bret and my ex-co-workers and I get together at least once a week to go riding. I do love these group rides, but most of the time I love them after the ride is over.
First of all, it's important to note that I started mountain biking 3 years ago. I never saw myself as enjoying this sport. I'm a scaredy cat about most things. Especially anything that has to do with going fast. I never was really into biking as a child either. The main reason I got into it was because I was doing a spin class at my gym. I was really enjoying it and some co-workers told me I had to get out and experience riding on trails.
I've been hooked ever since.
Even though I am hooked, I'm beginning to notice that most of the ride I'm not enjoying it. The following things are what I'm focusing on during the ride. I didn't realize that I was focusing on these things for most of the rides until tonight.
- I'm always last. I start to push myself to catch up and then I get tired easily.
- I get down on myself for being slow and making everyone wait for me.
- I'm always thinking about the next hard part of the trail coming up - like a steep hill or hard downhill.
- Going up a steep hill is HARD and sometimes I really want to give up and turn around.
- I get really nervous in super technical downhill portions and all I can think about is falling.
You're probably wondering why I even ride with a list like that. I really do enjoy riding. This is why I was thinking about Marya's comment to "have fun". I was thinking about why I can't just be in the moment on my bike rides and enjoy every part of the trail - even the hard parts. Instead of thinking about what is coming up next that I'm afraid of. There are so many moments on the trail that are fun. I don't have to think about that scary creek crossing coming up around the corner that I'm never able to cross or the section where I fell that one time or the hard hill that I made up once so I really want to make it up this time.
We ride the most amazing trails. We ride out at the beach, through canyons, up mountains, through meadows, and along creeks. The feeling of riding downhill is almost like flying. We get to see beautiful sunsets and flowers blooming. I get to experience these amazing adventures with close friends. Funny things happen on our rides that we can laugh about. We get to witness each other improving our bike skills on the rides. I love the feeling of conquering a hill - making it through the tough points when I thought I was going to give up.
I'm always striving to live in the moment in life. Not to think too much about the past or the future. It's funny how this theme carries through all aspects of my life. My new goal is to practice being completely present on our bike rides. I'm going to appreciate the fact that I'm out on my bike in nature and not take everything so seriously. I'm going to have fun!
