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Time to write, catching up with the grandkids

Sara MoserLeave a comment

I discovered while on my road trip that if I really wanted to make time to write, I could. I drove all day, then, because I had made a commitment to myself, wrote a little and posted a mostly pictorial blog every evening. And still had time to chill.

I started a writing course on OM called A Year of Writing to Uncover the Authentic Self. The first assignment is to identify obstacles in your life. This is what I wrote:

Obstacles to writing –the answer would be making time, and I discovered on my trip that I can make time if I want to.
Obstacles to….. Actually, I feel like I am in a place of doing what I want to do, for the most part.
In the past, obstacle was fear – Fear of the unknown, of what people think. That was probably my longest running fear. Fear of change. I’ve come a long way, baby.

So, I put a date on my calendar to do each lesson. And we will see how it goes. One thing I have learned in life is not to fret if things don’t work out exactly as planned. Or, if I’m not enjoying something I’ve decided to do, it’s ok to change direction. But I hope this works out, and my plan is to write in my journal every day and do at least one blog post a week.

I’ve enjoyed the five days off since I got home. I was totally exhausted, and napped several times a day for the first two. Then I caught up with the grandkids, and rested some more after that!

  • Made apple crisp with Massachusetts apples
  • Park time!

Tomorrow (Monday) I will go back to work. I signed up to work a full week for someone who is on vacation, so my week will have a different focus. I’m still committed to write.

Happy Fall!

Road trip Day 4: Across Illinois to Indiana

Sara Moser2 Comments

The sky was solid gray when I left Rolla this morning, but as I drove west through the Mark Twain forest, it cleared and became a beautiful sunny day. Before noon I was crossing the Mississippi River and humming along through southern Illinois. Except for being slightly more hilly, it reminded me of the Texas Plains.

The trees increased in Indiana and fall colors began to show. Hints of yellow, with an occasional flash of red caused me to smile with the anticipation of actually experiencing a bit of fall as I continue my travels north.

My companion on the road today was the book The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus. It is based on historical fact, the tale of a young man who joined an expedition to attempt to rescue a boy taken by the Apaches, and all that befell him and his companions along the way. It is well written and well narrated.

Finally, I arrived at my destination. My daughter and her husband live in Bloomington, Illinois, and I had not visited them there. (They moved last year). He is a college prof, working late, and she and I spent the afternoon/evening catching up, got delicious takeout, and just enjoyed each other’s company. I will sleep on their comfy couch tonight, glad to be with family instead of the sterility of a hotel.

Me and my daughter Rachel

And I have a funny to tell about tomorrow.

Sayings I’ve found that I really like

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Delight in another person is only a reflection of what you have suddenly remembered in yourself. – Rumi

The stereotype of aging as a progressive loss of function is generally true only for people who stop functioning. – the Woman’s Book of Life

Be like the sun for grace and mercy. Be like the night to cover other’s faults. Be like running water for generosity. Be like death for rage and anger. Be like the earth for modesty. Appear as you are. Be as you appear. – Rumi

In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia, until we ultimately become enslaved by it.  – Robert Heinlein

When it comes to life, we spin our own yarn, and where we end up is really, in fact, where we always intended to be. – Julia Glass, Three Junes

Yogini

Sara MoserLeave a comment

Have you ever looked back on your life and wondered, wow, how did I get to this place?
I do it all the time, and more and more as I get older. I just turned 64 and perhaps it is making me even more introspective.

How did I get here, calling myself a yogini and ayurvedic practioner, studying Jyotish astrology and practicing meditation? One step at a time, one breath at a time, one experience at a time, one decision at a time.

The stereotype of aging as a progressive loss of function is generally true only for people who stop functioning. – the Woman’s Book of Life

Certainly Uncertain

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I had kinda decided I was done with this blog. Even made a print book of it, pretty cool.

But I felt a need to write here, for what more uncertain time are we in but now? Covid 19 has changed everything. Remote working for many, stores and restaurants closed except for pick up, many people without paychecks… and no one really knows what will happen next, in spite of the government making moves to “open up the country.”

I feel at loose ends, because I took today off.  I’d really like to go to the beach, get my feet wet, feel the wildness of it. But it is an hour and a half drive, each way, and no guarantee that I could find a beach that is open. So, instead, I have been lounging around in bed with coffee and computer, listening to the birds through the open window.

I am feeling the loneliness of this time. Many people are posting about the trials of working at home and having to care for and/or homeschool their children simultaneously. I know that’s hard, and the thought of it sounds pretty exhausting. But it is also hard to be in long distance relationships, not only with your children and grandchildren, but also with your husband. I’m very thankful for the technology that allows us to see and speak with each other face to face. But it is no substitute for physical presence.

Five weeks ago, I got my hair cut. A week later the hair salons were ordered to close. My husband, 200 miles away, not so fortunate. He is getting pretty shaggy. My coworkers who get their nails done consistently are all au natural. Conversations focus around those type of trials and tribulations. It is the small things that are easier to discuss. Harder to talk about are the people who are dying, and the businesses that will not bounce back.

This year’s high school seniors missed out on prom, and graduation ceremonies are postponed or cancelled. The Class of 2020 will have a different sort of story to tell their children. College students have gone home to study online, and parents are wondering if they will get reimbursed for dorm costs, and some colleges plan to continue with online study only – a wave of the future? Some remote workers will never return to work in an office.

The new normal isn’t just coming, it is here. Some of it will look like the old normal. But this is the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, the ushering in of unity with diversity. The old ways will fall away, they always do, in spite of resistance and the abundance of conspiracy theories. There is often great suffering when great change is happening.

There is a new industry that I expect will be around for a while – Fashion Face Masks. We will see people wearing masks for a very long time. And I, for one, will never shake hands again.