Go Ahead, Make My Day

I spotted a reference to one of my favorite annual lists on MSNBC a couple of mornings ago, “Wear a wristwatch? Use e-mail? Not for Class of ‘14” – it’s the Beloit College Mindset List, providing readers the cultural pulse of this year’s incoming college freshmen. And yes, I again felt OLD (almost 40 – make that ANCIENT!) as I read many of the things… here were a few of my favorites.

For this year’s incoming college freshmen:

1. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.
2. Leno and Letterman have always been trading insults on opposing networks.
3. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.
4. Benny Hill, Sam Kinison, Sam Walton and Tony Perkins have always been dead.
5. Email is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail.
6. “Go West, Young College Grad” has always implied “and don’t stop until you get to Asia… and learn Chinese along the way.”
7. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrist while chatting on their phone.
8. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.
9. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.
10. Colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause.
11. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.
12. Nirvana is on the classic oldies station.
13. Rock bands have always played at presidential inaugural parties.
14. Beethoven has always been a dog.
15. Having hundred of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.
16. The Post Office has always been going broke.

Take a look at the full list, and let me know - what were some of your favorites?

Blog Procrastination

You know how you feel when someone gives you a gift, and you think “Oh, I need to sit down tonight and write them a thank you note” …. but then life gets in the way and pretty soon six weeks have passed by, and by now you’re pitifully late on sending the note, so you wonder if you should even send it… you know you’re already so tardy on the thank-you, it is painful to even think of sitting down and writing it because NOW you will have to apologize for being late on top of thanking them for the gift …. Ack!!!

I know some of you would never let this happen, but others of you – you feel my pain. I’m a procrastinator at times, when it would be SO much easier to just do it. I know it is a fault of mine. And I’ve worked (and continue to work) on it, and definitely improved in some areas of my life. But this is how I've felt about my blog for the past three weeks.... first, I didn’t want to post again until I could fix the template on my blog, because I changed it to a newer Blogger template and can’t get the old one back!

Sooo, I thought I would just take the time to do that first, but it just hasn’t been high on my list. And then comes the fretting about the backlog… “Oh, I should sit down and blog tonight…. but geez, I’ll need to catch up and put pics from the STL Cards game a couple of weekends ago… AND tell about the saga of my running shoe purchase… AND update on my new job…AND, I can’t forget that funny story about Jace… oh god, I don’t have time for this. I just won’t blog tonight.” And that, my friends, is why I have not posted anything on here since July 27th. Happy Friday!

Baseball 2010

Summer baseball is over, Jace's last game was tonight. I haven't been any good at remembering to bring my camera until tonight, but still managed to get a few good ones. Jace had a good time this season, and really has started getting more comfortable with pitching and fielding. His focus has also improved, and I think he really was happy with himself and his team.

Pictures will have to suffice for this evening's post, as I still have several other things to finish, and it is already nearing 11pm.

Three Years

"Hellooooo, my honey!" That's what you say in a silly, booming voice most nights when you call me from the road. And I love it. I look forward to talking to you, you're the person I think of when I want to share something about my day, and I know you feel the same... and I want it to stay that way.

I'm taking a cue from our friend Lucas' recent blog posts to her dad and her hubby, and writing you a letter on here tonight. You're on the road, like you are most work weeks, but I know you'll read this at some point in the next couple of days. Sometimes it is hard to believe it has only been three years since we said "I do" on that beautiful beach in Jamaica. We've definitely had some struggles, but I think going through the difficult time that we did a year and a half ago was the best thing that could've happened. Because we've had some ups and downs since then as well, but it is a whole different situation. We both know that we're committed to this and in it together, and neither of us is throwing in the towel just because things might get difficult at tiems.

I'm happier than I've been in a long, long time, Dave. Not that I haven't been happy in my life, but I've not been this fulfilled, I guess. It is a "me" thing, not just an "us" thing... I've done a lot of growing the past year or so, in several areas. And, I know you'd agree that you have, too. I remember that you used to tell me "This is just how I am, I can't change"... but you don't believe that anymore, and you have changed, you are willing to work things when you need to, and I thank you for that. Now, don't get me wrong, you can still be "difficult" to live with, and yes, your delivery still sucks at times, and - well, I could go on, but that would kill the romance. Had to make you laugh a little, though.

And that's what I love - that we can laugh together. You make me happy, you make me smile. Thank you for the past three years, my honey, and I'm looking forward to many more.

-nance

Picking Up Speed

I probably should've added "slowly" to the title, because we're not talking about any kind of quick process, on any front of my life right now. It has been a busy week and a half, but also very exciting. I haven't been the new kid at a job in 9+ years, and I had forgotten what it feels like to not know a darn thing! I guess I'm ahead of the game in some respects, since I've been in our health system several years and know a lot of people in key positions and departments. That will serve me well, and it has already been helpful as I've attended meetings with the other directors in my area.

I found myself being coerced (ha - twist my arm!) into going out to lunch four out of five days last week, a killer for my waistline and my wallet. But part of it is just getting to know coworkers - they wanted to take me out for my first day, then one of them turned 50 another day, and I couldn't turn down either one of those just to say that I needed to save money and eat healthy. And on Friday I had lunch with some of my best friends, first time we've met for lunch in months. But this week I'm trying to be better; my goal is to bring my lunch at least three days, AND to get some kind of workout in at least three days as well.

On the workout front, I walked/ran my first 5K last Saturday; it is a girls-only run put on by our system's foundation and fitness centers, and was a record setting event, with 800+ women. Hats off to all you people who are avid runners - it has never been me, but I'm giving it a shot! My friend Gail has been training for this 5K for the last several months, and I've tried to run with her at least once a week. She's able to run the whole 3+ miles at a very slow and steady pace, which I'm not able to do yet. We ran together on Saturday, but I also ran with a former coworker and her group, and found that their method of running was much more suited to my pace. They are training for a half marathon, using the Galloway interval method. So we walked a minute and then ran a minute, the entire way, and I really felt like it was something I could do and improve on. I like the faster run for a minute, and then the alternating recovery time. I'm meeting the training group this Saturday at 6AM, they are going to be running 6 miles - whew! There are apparently various intervals, depending on your skill/endurance level, but I think I will stick with the run 1/walk 1 and see how I do.

Dave's starting back with the P90X this week, it is something he can do while he's on the road. He's also been heading to the driving range some the past couple of weeks, getting his clubs back out again. Neil went with him on Saturday, and they worked on his swing for a couple of hours. It will be a good thing for the two of them to do together.

I made it to my cycling class tonight, first time in three weeks- whew. Now Gail's coming to pick me up and we're going to head the gym and put in a little time on the elliptical, AND catch up on some girl talk as well. Better burn the calories while I can, two workouts in one night - sweet!

In a Nutshell

Good Lord, how long has it been since I've been on here!? Life has been busy the last few weeks, both at home and at work. Today was my first day at the new job, and it was really strange to be the new kid, after so many years in the same place. But the nice thing is that I'm already familiar with quite a bit since it is in the same health system. And of course everyone was great, and really made me feel welcome.

We've been busy at home since returning from vacation, and the next several weekends look just as hectic. We enjoyed our second STL Cards game of the season over the fourth of July weekend, and brought one of Jace's friends with us. The game was disappointing (Brewers won 12-5) but the experience was awesome as always.

We headed to friends' house to celebrate the Fourth, and enjoyed some dinner, cocktails and silliness. See below - Dave is demonstrating his pose for eliminating that pesky double chin that we all seem to get now that we're in our 30s - or our 40s.

I also made a quick trip to Branson with Jace, to see sis Annie and her in-laws, who spend a week every summer in a condo there. We headed down on Wednesday night, and then I had to drive back early the next morning since I only had Thursday and Friday to wrap up and say goodbye at my job. But it was certainly worth the drive and quick turnaround, to see both Ann and Susan, who was visiting with her hubby and boys for a couple of days as well.

(Sisters, only missing Tare-tare!)

This past weekend was spent with some friends at the lake, and we've also enjoyed some time with Paige the past couple of days. She leaves for school in five weeks, so we're enjoying whatever time she can spend with us while she's home.

That's about it, I guess. All is good - busy, but good. Later!

Obachan

It has been a busy week - I've made it to the gym four days this week - two days of cycling/cross training and two days of Selah Strength. We're heading to STL today to see a baseball game, with Jace and his friend. I've been trying to find time to finish this post that I started last weekend.

Paige has been back from Japan for about three weeks now, and she recently had an opportunity to practice her Japanese language skills with someone who is very special to her.

Dave’s mother is Japanese, but has lived in the United States for the past fifty plus years. It is very obvious how much Paige loves her “Obachan” (grandmother), and I think she is one of the main reasons Paige has taken such an interest in Japan, the language and the culture. Obachan has not lived in Japan since she was in her twenties; she moved to Boston after meeting and marrying Dave’s father, who was stationed in the Marines over in Japan.

Since Paige will only be home for a couple of months before school starts again, we took the opportunity last Saturday to go have lunch with Obachan, who lives about an hour and a half away. Paige was so excited to talk to her, and it was wonderful to see the two of them carrying on a conversation in Japanese.

There's no need to go into great detail, but basically Obachan doesn't like to talk about her life in Japan, because she was disowned when she left. She has not seen any of her family since her twenties, and really has shied away from much discussion about the past. But I think Paige has helped to open that door, in a non-threatening way, to talk about life growing up. She sent her a postcard from Japan, and Obachan was so proud of it, had it in her purse to talk about during our visit. She talked to Paige about where her brother attended school, and wrote down several things for Paige to ask her Japanese professor about when she gets back to school.

I loved seeing the two of them talking, and sharing stories, it made me think of my own grandmother. I loved growing up with her next door to us, and she was one of the most influential people in my life. As I listened to Paige and her grandmother on Saturday, it made me realize how much I missed my Grandma G, and that I took for granted some of the times I should have been listening closer to the history that she shared. She would always talk about her family, the Boyds and the Lewises, I can't count the number of times that I heard stories about her dad and mom, or siblings.

I wish I had captured that history, written it down, or collected it somehow. I know and remember bits and pieces, but that's all. I said as much to Paige after we got home, and that it made me also think about talking more to my dad about his history. I think the whole day and experience was one that Paige will remember and be thankful for, some time with her grandma to hear about the past. And it was a great reminder for me, too. I need and want to gather more written information about my family, and I want Jace to know these things about his mom's family, as he grows up.

With my mother dying when I was young, I cherish everything I have and know about her, including my photo albums, several books and other momentos that belonged to her. My dad and my mom's sisters, Aunt Mary and Aunt Theresa, and her college friend, Margaret, have been wonderful to talk about memories and story of her life. And I know she would have made sure we kids all knew our histories, she was wonderful about pictures, photo albums, documenting, saving, etc.

But I still have time and opportunity to talk to my dad about his life - the timeline of growing up, about his childhood and teen years, when/where he went to school, his time in the military, how/when he met my mother, and all the rest. So, that's on my "To Do" list for this year, over the next several holiday weekends when we are home and all together. Thank you to Paige, and Obachan, for reminding me of how important it is to learn and remember the past, and to not take it for granted.