Soul Runnings

Saturday evening I fell asleep on the bus. Let me rephrase that. I P.O.O.F.'d on the bus. (P.O.O.F. is my acronym for "Passed out on floor". Much nicer than the often used P.T.F.O. - passed the F*ck out. But  I am a grandma and a Christian. I should not say "P.T.F.O". Even though that is essentially what I did! Except I was not on the floor. Still in my seat. Thank God!) It has been way too hot in Portland. We are just not acclimated to this weather. And we say it every year.  But I think hot summers are here to stay.  Unfortunately, not all buildings have suitable A/C.  T Take for instance the church I teach piano in on Saturdays.  No A/C.  Just a fan.  I have trouble keeping my eyes open in the early afternoon anyway.  Much more so when it is 85 degrees + indoors.  So there I was.  Pinching myself to stay awake during my piano lessons. On breaks I would go into the bathroom and splash cold water on my face and neck. I was so happy when my last student

I had a good night's sleep last night.  I slept like a dog. I slept like the dead. Or maybe a dead dog! I think I got a solid 6 hours before I regained consciousness. It was about 4 a.m. I got out of bed, stretched, drank a bit of water, visited the restroom and then crawled back into bed. I felt a lovely breeze coming in through my open window. I knew that once the sun came up, I would have to shut it.  So I lay the enjoying the experience. Then I shut my eyes for another two and a half hours.  I felt groggy, but rested. I decided not to hoop this morning.  I felt the need to move slowly.  I decided to pack my gym clothes. I will be going to the gym after I return to Vancouver. I teach in Portland today. But first, breakfast with my mom.  She rolled in precisely at 7:30.  We headed over to Portland to our favorite diner. We were looking forward to talking with our usual server. She told us she had planned on seeing "Equalizer II" last weekend.  My mom and I are ser

I did it! I survived my sleep study. It was quite intense. I think my expectations were a bit skewed. I was envisioning more like a mini retreat.   It was all business. Sleep business. And the minute the lights went out and the door shut behind the sleep technician as she whispered, "good night", I went into full panic mode. Luckily I was really tired.  She had asked if I wanted to watch a bit of television before I fell asleep. But I declined. I knew to take advantage of the heavy lidded, dull brained feeling I had when I was really sleepy. Television might wake up my brain. As she was attaching my electrodes, I watched a show on Animal Planet called "Lone Star Law", about Texas game wardens. I was hooked!  It was fascinating. I rarely watch tv, and we don't have cable at home, thankfully.  But this show drew me in. In retrospect, I should have continued to watch it until I fell asleep. Something about being hooked up, tucked

It has been a very good day so far. My toe is almost completely healed. I slept pretty well last night, despite the heat. I woke up early, did my morning chores and then went to the park with my daughter and Gracie for some hoop time. The exterminators are coming to our apartment complex today to spray for Box Elder Beetles. We had to cover everything on the balcony. It was like a scene from a horror movie. My son-in-law went out with me to cover my bicycle.  Above his head, thousands of beetles scurried about.  My daughter inside with Baby Gracie. She watched us through the window, her mouth wide open in an "O" of horror! We made it back in with only one bug. He was on my leg.  I brushed him off and told Honey Dawg to go after him. She sniffed and turned away. Hopefully after tomorrow, there will be no more beetles. I am teaching piano in Portland today. My commute from Vancouver was seamless. I left home at 11:30 a.m., walked through the park to the Vine stop.

No, I am not talking about "white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants". I'm talking about the vicious, flying insect that stung me.  Saturday.  On my big toe. There I was, walking back to the church where I teach piano. I was happily sipping an unsweetened iced tea.  Thankful for a little break between students. I turned onto the sidewalk, through the parking lot, when suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my right big toe. It felt like I had been cut by glass.  I stooped over and removed my sandal.  Sticking out of the side of my toe was what looked like a miniature poison dart.  I pulled it out, thinking it was a stinger of some kind. Then I saw the squashed lifeless, form of some kind of an insect, on the ball of my foot. I flicked it off. I should have examined it. Because I spent the rest of the day in agony. The pain was excruciating. But even worse was the fear. What was I stung by?  Would I have a reaction? I spoke with a few parents of students, as I limped about. Unanimo

"per·i·pa·tet·ic" ADJECTIVE traveling from place to place, in particular working or based in various places for relatively short periods. "the peripatetic nature of military life" synonyms: nomadic · itinerant · traveling · wandering · roving · roaming ·  http://www.dictionary.com/browse/peripatetic " ... O ikophobia... is an aversion to home surroundings. It can also be used more generally to mean an abnormal   fear   (a   phobia ) of the home, or of the contents of a house ("fear of household appliances, equipment, bathtubs, household chemicals, and other common objects in the home"). .. The term derives from the Greek words   oikos , meaning   household ,   house , or   family , and   phobia , meaning "fear". In 1808 the poet and essayist  Robert Southey used the word to describe a desire (particularly by the English) to leave home and travel. " https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oikophobia " Wanderlust  is a strong d

Already a much better day then yesterday. And it is not yet even 10:00 a.m. My sleep was not much better though. I woke up with a start at 2;59 a.m. and had much trouble getting back to sleep.  So I caught up with the news.  Played a few games of Words with Friends.  Checked in on Facebook.  I ended up amusing myself for over an hour with the Police Lip Sync battles, some of which were hilarious and some of which were quite inspiring!  In particular, the K9 cop who sang "I Can Only Imagine!".   https://www.facebook.com/K9s4Cops/videos/2118383794841668/ What really started my day on a good note, besides seeing Baby Gracie's happy face, was that my daughter, her husband's niece, Honey Dawg, Baby Gracie and I went to the park early this morning.  I went first and did my morning hoop workout. The girls joined me shortly afterwards. I walked Baby Gracie in her stroller while the big girls ran with Honey Dawg.  Running is still on my list of short term goals.  But the

Well this is embarrassing. My daughter and I just had a hilarious conversation that ended with us laughing until the tears came. Apparently, every so often, I have what my daughter calls one of my "crazy sensitive days". She suggested I blog about it. So, in an effort to be completely real and transparent. Here I am. Blogging about it. She said she has known me for 28 years and she has seen it many, many times before. And I never seem to remember them.  Or I try to rationalize it. I guess today was one of those days. It started out to be a lovely day. Wednesday is my long day babysitting Baby Grace.  My daughter left home about 8:30 a.m. She had two back to back meetings and then returned home at 1:30 p.m. She left me with bottles, organic baby food and finger food.  I got out the notebook we used last week. I find I work best if I have a schedule.  Last Wednesday, I wrote down the time of each activity.  For instance: 8:30 a.m. Change diaper 8:40 a.m. Floor a

On breaking news this morning, all 12 boys from the Thai soccer team and their coach have been rescued from the cave!  My soul is singing! I was pondering the subject of my blog today, as I perused the internet, reading the incredible story of their rescue. I was moved to tears by the heroic efforts of the Thai Navy Seals. One of whom lost his life in attempt to rescue these boys. And then the hair on my arms stood up as I read the following from Steven Charleston, " a Native American elder, author, and retired Episcopal bishop of Alaska." "Like all of you I am grateful for the safety of the children in the Thailand cave. I have watched their progress with white-knuckled hope. This long ordeal has made me think deeply about the meaning of rescue. To be lost in darkness, to be isolated, to be found: it seems the classic model of being brought back to life. But the one element made even more clear to me is the willingness to take the risk of rescue. Coming out of

Today was my first official day of no work in my new home.  No work outside of the home, I should add.  I did take care of Baby Gracie, clean, make a scrumptious chicken dish in my crockpot, hoop, and walk Honey Dawg with my daughter, Baby Gracie and her cousin. At first I felt a little restless. I felt like something was missing.  Something was missing. Many bus commutes!  I have so many bus schedules and routes in my head, it's a wonder I can keep track of them all and even make it to work on time! Taking care of the baby and housework is a different kind of work. Watching Baby Gracie, takes mental concentration. I have to be full present, lest she catapult herself from my lap or put some foreign object in her mouth.  Plus, I am diligent about being attentive to her needs. Diaper change, feeding, distraction when she misses her mom, activities when she gets bored.  We have agreed on letting her watch only one episode of "Baby Einstein" a day. It is Mommy's g