My day started with the very good intentions of making an "adventure" out of going to "Crows Nest" for a much needed massage, I hurt my back over a week ago and have been struggling with back pain and headaches so a massage was on the agenda for the day.
Now I say "adventure" because everything I do these days is a "journey" and an "adventure" I do not simply walk out my front door, grab the car and drive to where I want to go. I must now take public transportation, ie: buses, trains or walking (not sure walking qualifies but it is part of the adventure)
So I schedule my appointment for a two hour "Thai Massage" in Crows Nest, a mere 8 bus stops and 5 train stops away, not to mention the said walking, for 3pm.... plenty of time for me to make the "journey"
So at 1:30pm I start out, but notice that the sky is a bit "ugly looking" and that it looks like rain, not to mention a bit of "wind"........
So I grab the umbrella and head out the door (after all I am resourceful and do come prepared)
The minute I step outside I realize that IF I open the umbrella I will instantly become "Mary Poppins" and end up somewhere over Sydney or worse the Pacific Ocean, the wind is blowing a gale (later reports say 95k wind gusts, translate 45 mph winds) Now I come from the great Pacific Northwest in the good ole USA and I KNOW wind gusts, so as any smart person would I do NOT put up the umbrella.
I walk the short distance to the bus, huddle under the shelter, wait for the bus, get on the right bus (yes there are more than a few buses to choose from) and ride to the train station, get off at the right stop (very important) and make my way to the train.... now mind you I have been to said massage parlor before but never via bus, train, walk...... I ride the train to "St Leonard's" and get off, walk through the train station, and take a "left" courtesy of my daughters instructions.... and walk and walk and walk.... sometimes taking three steps and only gaining one step.... yes the wind is bad, I am cold, I am hot... oh wait, that is hot flashes.... my hair is standing straight up (not sure what that means) I walk and walk and walk.... bending into the wind, but finally find "Anna's Massage Parlor" Now I think I need a three hour massage!!!
Afterwards, I make my way back to the train station, then the bus, then the walk home...
Yes, people this life is an adventure and I love it.
But today I decided I was definitely NOT Mary Poppins, I think I am more Pooh... It was a blustery, windy day in the neighborhood :)
And I survived the adventure!
travel on!
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Journeys and Adventures with a child
It seemed only right that I start this blog with the story of a little guy who has taken a big chunk of my heart this year. A little man that has taught me more than any adult, any journey, any adventure ever will.
To see the world again through the eyes of a child has been an amazing thing. It has taught me to slow down, to see the flowers, the airplanes, the birds and yes even the garbage bins and the garbage trucks in life.
I know my own children had the same "wide eyed wonder" at the simple things in life so very long ago but I also know that I was a young, busy mother too busy to take the time to just sit and watch them, to smell the flowers, walk the neighborhood and make sure every garbage bin is out, to sit in a sand box and build a sand castle (yes I did this) or to play "shops" with leaves as money and a "hello" as the sweetest greeting in the world. I have been told "Tinny (his name for me) swing too! And told to "here sit" as he pats the floor next to him. I feel like I have had a second chance at childhood!
So what makes an "adventure" what makes a "journey"? Is it traveling far away to a distant land where you experience breathtaking waterfalls, or important monuments? Is it packing a bag and boarding an airplane or a cruise ship and being whisked off to some exotic destination?
I have learned this year, because of my wonderful two days a week spent with a very inquisitive, very observant, very active little guy, that a "journey" or an "adventure" can be a walk to the park, it can be a hose and a bucket, it can be a walk to the bakery for gingerbread men. And along the way on each of those "adventures" there is great discoveries to be made, a stop to pick dandelions, smell them and then hand them to me and say "pretty" How many of you have stopped to smell a dandelion lately? Or thought they were "pretty?" It is watching a jet fly overhead and looking at it in amazement, a jet! It is finding a dog at the park and rushing up to it only to stop just short and wave with a "hello" then dash off to the swings. Every day can be an adventure, every day can be a journey.
I need to learn to make every day an adventure, stop to smell the dandelions, watch the birds or say hello to a dog. Be amazed at a jet overhead or the water in a fountain. Learn to find joy in play dough and Curious George. Learn to slow down and enjoy life and the journey that it is........
Thus my first post about adventure!
travel on!
To see the world again through the eyes of a child has been an amazing thing. It has taught me to slow down, to see the flowers, the airplanes, the birds and yes even the garbage bins and the garbage trucks in life.
I know my own children had the same "wide eyed wonder" at the simple things in life so very long ago but I also know that I was a young, busy mother too busy to take the time to just sit and watch them, to smell the flowers, walk the neighborhood and make sure every garbage bin is out, to sit in a sand box and build a sand castle (yes I did this) or to play "shops" with leaves as money and a "hello" as the sweetest greeting in the world. I have been told "Tinny (his name for me) swing too! And told to "here sit" as he pats the floor next to him. I feel like I have had a second chance at childhood!
So what makes an "adventure" what makes a "journey"? Is it traveling far away to a distant land where you experience breathtaking waterfalls, or important monuments? Is it packing a bag and boarding an airplane or a cruise ship and being whisked off to some exotic destination?
I have learned this year, because of my wonderful two days a week spent with a very inquisitive, very observant, very active little guy, that a "journey" or an "adventure" can be a walk to the park, it can be a hose and a bucket, it can be a walk to the bakery for gingerbread men. And along the way on each of those "adventures" there is great discoveries to be made, a stop to pick dandelions, smell them and then hand them to me and say "pretty" How many of you have stopped to smell a dandelion lately? Or thought they were "pretty?" It is watching a jet fly overhead and looking at it in amazement, a jet! It is finding a dog at the park and rushing up to it only to stop just short and wave with a "hello" then dash off to the swings. Every day can be an adventure, every day can be a journey.
Thus my first post about adventure!
travel on!
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
You blog?
A few years ago no one knew what "blogging" even meant. I for one was critical of the whole thing, "why would anyone want to blog?"
But here I am "blogging"
The journey of "blogging" for me started today after a series of "events" happened. (if one can even call them events!)
A post on Facebook that mentioned that maybe Facebook should be divided into sections: brag, whine, recipes, travel, etc. It got me thinking..... yes, I agree with that post, there are times when I get on Facebook and I think "oh dear not another post from so and so about their grandchild, or their dog, or their latest recipe..... but then that is their choice, to post whatever they want, and as my daughter once pointed out, if I don't want to read it or look at it.... pass it by!
But what it got me thinking was this : "that is why people blog" It is a way to write, post, brag, whine, share your thoughts at the time and only those people who WANT to read it can and will.
I think I am "getting" blogging.
Second thing that happened was someone ask me if I realized how lucky I was to travel and experience new places like I have and do..... and I thought "yes definitely feel lucky" and so maybe I should share those experiences, with people who want to read about them!
And last was just sitting here waiting for a website to reload so I can actually work and be profitable and I decided that I really really wanted to learn to blog. Lame I know.
So here goes, a blog about my "Personal Journey and Travels"
I am not a very good person to share my "personal feelings" I find it difficult to open up to how I really am feeling inside. I would like this to be a blog of "Eat Pray Love" even though I have never watched the movie nor read the book, both of which I have been given and told to read/watch. I think the end of that story is finding ones self and finding love, neither of which I feel like I have accomplished at this point in my life!
So it will be a blog about my journey and travels in finding "me" and finding my place in life and along the way I hope to share some interesting places and events with those who care to come along.
travel on!
But here I am "blogging"
The journey of "blogging" for me started today after a series of "events" happened. (if one can even call them events!)
A post on Facebook that mentioned that maybe Facebook should be divided into sections: brag, whine, recipes, travel, etc. It got me thinking..... yes, I agree with that post, there are times when I get on Facebook and I think "oh dear not another post from so and so about their grandchild, or their dog, or their latest recipe..... but then that is their choice, to post whatever they want, and as my daughter once pointed out, if I don't want to read it or look at it.... pass it by!
But what it got me thinking was this : "that is why people blog" It is a way to write, post, brag, whine, share your thoughts at the time and only those people who WANT to read it can and will.
I think I am "getting" blogging.
Second thing that happened was someone ask me if I realized how lucky I was to travel and experience new places like I have and do..... and I thought "yes definitely feel lucky" and so maybe I should share those experiences, with people who want to read about them!
And last was just sitting here waiting for a website to reload so I can actually work and be profitable and I decided that I really really wanted to learn to blog. Lame I know.
So here goes, a blog about my "Personal Journey and Travels"
I am not a very good person to share my "personal feelings" I find it difficult to open up to how I really am feeling inside. I would like this to be a blog of "Eat Pray Love" even though I have never watched the movie nor read the book, both of which I have been given and told to read/watch. I think the end of that story is finding ones self and finding love, neither of which I feel like I have accomplished at this point in my life!
So it will be a blog about my journey and travels in finding "me" and finding my place in life and along the way I hope to share some interesting places and events with those who care to come along.
travel on!
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