Good Afternoon Friends!
As I was coming home from breakfast with my mom, we drove by the little park across from my home. The air was brisk, the sky was overcast, and as I glanced at my beloved trees, I noticed golden leaves floating down to the ground.
"The leaves are finally falling", I exclaimed.
"Are you writing a song?" my mother responded a tad sarcastically.
"I suppose I am!" I responded.
I do so love the fall. The cool, crisp air. The changing colors of the leaves. The hint of winter, hunkering down with a mug of something warm to drink. A good book. a cozy sweater, and my knitting.
But most of all I think I like change. The fall signifies change. And as someone who is constantly working on myself, as if I am a human improvement project, I like the change the fall brings. Especially since I don't need to do a thing, besides prepare for colder weather!
Yesterday, being Wednesday, I headed to the corner thrift shop on my lunch break. Ever Wednesday is senior day at this particular thrift store. Half price off of all apparel for us 55 and older crowd.
I walked in with the intention of buying a few sweaters and some boots. I only had a half hour before my first piano students, so I did some speed shopping. I found a lovely rust colored sweater, two pairs of work out pants and a funky pair of camel colored boots.
The lines for the cashiers were quite long. I began to fret that I might not have enough time to pay for my loot before my students. But the line moved fast. I approached the counter with a grin beneath my face mask.
"Today is senior day, right? I'm a senior! " I said proudly.
The cashier looked me up and down skeptically. She did not appear to be smiling under her mask.
"You have to be 55 or over", she said disdainfully.
I paused. Really? Do people fake their age to get a senior discount? Was this chick going to card me?
"I'm 58 and a grandma", I told her. "Would you like to see my ID?" I chuckled.
"No. It's OK. But you don't look that old", she said again in that snarky tone.
"Well thank you!" I said cheerfully.
The lady in line next to me smiled at me with her eyes. "I"m a great grandma", she whispered in a sweet conspiratory voice.
I did a high five in the air at her.
I made it home to my students on time. With a bag full of goodies and only $8 poorer!
I am feeling really healthy and positive lately. I know it might not last. So I am not only enjoying the feeling, but stepping back a bit into observation mode. So that when the blues descend, I can remember this feeling of happiness, inner peace and contentedness.
I am trying to stay in "character" throughout the day. In the morning, when I babysit my granddaughter I am in "Zma mode". I try to stay totally in the moment and attentive to her. No emailing or texting when I am in Zma mode. When my daughter is here, I am in mom mode. I have been making daily stews, soups and curries in the crockpot along with my normal cleaning of kitchen, straightening up, vacuuming and laundry (I am getting free rent here for babysitting, so I try to make it worth their while! Plus my daughter has been super busy with work, being a mom and editing photos for her husband and her photography business. I like to be useful and helpful. That in itself is a good weapon to keep in my arsenal for keeping the blues at bay!)
Today, by the way, is beef stew and root vegetable day:
It still has another hour to cook, but my granddaughter says "something smells good, Zma!"
I usually have a 1 to 2 hour break when I can be just Zita. I usually take a walk in the park and stop at Taco Bell, the only restaurant open near by since the pandemic, and have an iced tea and sometimes a taco. By that time, it is nearing the end of my eating window. So I often pack a baggie of chocolate covered almonds for my last snack before my fast. I have become one of a "regular" crowd that frequents Taco Bell. There is "T", a very sweet man of enormous girth who likes to inundate us all with jokes. Pretty bad ones, but he means well. And another older gent that opens the door like he is walking into Cheers. At which point "T" bellows, "Look what the cat drug in!"
And everyone laughs.
Then there are the very belligerent, noisy, drunk, loud homeless guys that come in and refuse to sit in the unmarked tables and make the other patrons nervous. But they are regulars and often the manager comes out from behind the counter with some free tacos and drink cups and gently tells them to behave themselves.
I sat by the belligerent dudes last week. I was a little alarmed because the old guy was escalating in tone and volume as the younger dude scolded him for sitting at the wrong table. They settled down a bit when their food arrived. But they sat at the table directly across from me. Eventually I needed to leave. As I stood up, the older dude apologized for his foul language. I looked directly at him. His face was so dirty, his hair standing on end, his beard long and scraggly. But his eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue. And shining.
I told him it was ok. "The pandemic is making us all grumpy", I said, smiling under my mask.
He smiled back. He wasn't wearing a mask. He had no teeth. But his eyes shone brightly.
"God bless you, Sister", he whispered.
I waved. And my heart flooded with love for these men. Most of the other patrons in the restaurant were staring. I smiled at them under my mask too.
After lunch I head back home and into Teacher Zita mode. This has been challenging, because I am often tired. The walk in the park has been helpful. As has the copious amounts of iced tea and the bit of chocolate.
I practice my same mindfulness with my students, remaining in the present with each one. I always start out the lesson by asking them about online school (most of them hate it and say it's boring). At which point I say I hate being stuck at home too, good thing we have piano lessons! Then I ask them to tell me something fun they did during the week. At the end of our lesson we play a game.
Speaking of students, yesterday I had a victory in which I wanted to do a happy dance right there on Zoom! I refrained. The student in question is 10 years old. He has been studying with me since before the pandemic. He is quite gifted, but also seems bored and reluctant. I suspect he is being "forced" to take piano lessons.
Yesterday I was more patient and encouraging, choosing to ignore his sighing. Luckily for me, he is approaching the end of his book and I told him we could graduate next week and have his mom order the next level. He also had made a huge amount of progress in the "playing with feeling" realm, which my students know is very important to me.
I told him I really enjoyed listening to him play and he was becoming a true musician! He beamed.
At the end of his 30 minute lesson, we played our game. Then he looked at the camera with wide eyes, and said, "What? Lesson is over already? Next time can I have a 2 hour lesson?"
I about fainted, but I laughed and told him that he made me very happy by saying that.
Of course when his little brother approached the bench for his lesson, he said,
"Teacher Zita I want a 100 HOUR LESSON today!"
Little brother is always happy and enthusiastic. But obviously a tad competitive with older brother!
I was smiling the rest of the day!
And after Teacher Zita mode, I went into Girlfriend Mode. I was so happy that my out of town boyfriend with the very stressful job site in Texas called me. It was his last day on that site. He flew out this morning for Vegas.
I decided that I deserved a nightcap, so I poured a small shot of Vodka and enjoyed a lovely conversation with my man.
And I had 0% guilt. Because as I mentioned yesterday, my grandma used to always say (and lived it too!) "First you work, and then you play!"
On that note, I wish you a wonderful day full of smiles, even if they are under your mask!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Love,
Zita
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