Going Home...When Home Isn't There

The little old lady grew up in Southern California. In the late 40s and 50s and even into the 60s it was an exciting place for a kid - always something to do. But as the years passed it became more crowded and seemed a bit inhospitable to the lady who had become accustomed to the pace of life in Nebraska. While Mama and Papa were in Inland Home I made MANY trips and became a bit more accustomed to the So Cal pace but since 1994 I have made very few trips 'home', particularly since 'home' isn't there in the sense that one has a parent home to go to.

A fast six day trip with so much crammed into it that I can't remember half! I rented a small car and traveled south out of the Ontario Airport on Haven and headed for dairy country - home! I was totally astonished at how many houses had tarps on roofs (no one is going to fix anything that is going to be bulldozed for new construction - when the economy picks up in So Cal). I saw that 'our house' was still there - but it looks so different from the clean white with dark green trim that Papa kept up. My neighbors' houses are still there too...but definitely not the clean, neat dairy country of my youth. After driving around a bit I headed to Inland Home. I made a quick visit with the mother of a first grade classmate. She still recognized me (my stature is pretty much a give-away)! I visited with a dear friend who was my rock and support when Mama and Papa were in Inland - she is now in the Alzheimer's wing and she is only 65. We sang some hymns together. The words are embedded in the brain - both hers and mine. I drove to Ontario and stopped to see a high school classmate and had dinner with her - what a joy to visit with her. I stayed with Evelyn in her lovely Upland home, we visited, and remembered the past together...especially Case.

I drove to Hemet and couldn't figure out where my cousins live because I printed out the Mapquest map with the wrong address. Thank goodness for cell phones - but Donald must think I am a complete idiot. We had a great time catching up quickly. We did take a quick trip to the hospital to see Cousin Joyce as her husband was in surgery. Elaine put on a great spread for lunch. I called friend Joyce (another high school classmate and long time friend) and got directions from cousins' to her new home...and I found that easily. Joyce and I played catch-up in all too short a time - I had seen her last in San Diego at least 5 or 6 years ago. Very quickly it was time to head south to San Diego and the Swimming Workshop...which was the purpose of the trip anyway.

Picture is of Betty, Cousin Joyce (the little ones in the family) and Cousin Donald and his wife Elaine. I'm the kid in the group. The three of them are 80ish.


San Diego was beautiful at this time of the year. Everything was in bloom. We stayed in a beautiful hotel that overlooks the bay and ocean. We socialized with USA Swimming friends and attended a workshop. Saturday we were bussed downtown to a training center. It was a very good workshop and training. Two friends and I were dropped off at the harbor area and decided to tour the USS Midway. Although we arrived rather late in the afternoon we were still able to see most of the carrier. The audio tour gave us lots of historical information. The evening meal at the Red Marlin was superb. Watching the sunset over the water was magnificent. An early morning walk to Belmont Park brought back memories of a high school band trip that included time in Belmont Park. After a couple hours of unstructured workshop I was on my way to La Quinta.


It has been MANY years since I have been in the California desert and I was looking forward to both the drive and the visit. Neither disappointed. The drive through San Gorgonio pass was incredible...watching 3200+ windmills churning and generating electricity for 1000s of people. Why can't Nebraska harness all of our wind? Trying to find Julia in La Quinta took a few phone calls and directions. Again I had a wrong address and printed out wrong maps. But we found her in a lovely home in a gated community in La Quinta. We spent lots of time catching up. She took me to a great spot for a quick, reasonable meal - the Cliff House at the bar! Best fries ever! We relaxed, walked, did a little shopping, enjoyed the wonderful warm weather (not too hot yet). We enjoyed another meal together at the Cliff House and I got on the road heading back to Upland and Evelyn.

Now I knew where I was going...right! Julia mentioned taking the 210 (I have normally traveled the 60) and which exit I should get off and I heard Carnelian and Campus. I thought Carnelian as I needed gas. I got off, got gas, and headed 'east' as I thought I was 'west' of Euclid and Evelyn's home and pretty soon I was at Archibald. WHAAAAT! Where the h... am I? OK, stupid. Remember that you used to take Carnelian to get to Joyce's when she lived in Alta Loma? Carnelian is EAST of Euclid! Am I lost? Not really. Just delayed a bit and at Evelyn's a little later than I wanted to be. We visited a bit and both headed to bed as I had a very early flight (0 dark 30), and E was facing surgery on Thursday.

Trip home was uneventful...early flight left on time, arrived on time in Denver. I made my connections and arrived in Omaha on time. The drive home was uneventful - but long. I was very glad to be home.

I have a love-hate relationship with traveling. I love to go and visit with friends and family and see new places and things. I hate to be away from home. My psyche is much more grounded when I am within the confines of home.

But going 'home' after being away most of the last 50 years is still a wonderful experience, especially when one can rekindle past close relationships with family and friends.

The Swim Meet from H...

OK, maybe that is not a fair assessment. It is what it is! Offering the opportunity for all swimmers to swim a championship meet and participate as a team is the goal of the Nebraska Y Swim League. BUT...it makes for a very long, difficult day for the club hosting the meet. More than 375 swimmers, most of them 'novice', 8-lane facility, not much seating room for spectators, parents who don't understand how swim meets work, or how timing differences are reconciled and no amount of explanation will get them to understand, inexperienced officials, and a 'gray' day.

This is the second year in a row that Hastings has hosted the meet. (No one else wants to host it because it is such a marathon/nightmare.) We have designed it so that it runs as well as it possibly can. We seed like events together and score them separately by age group. We put the long session in the morning (8:30 a.m. - 1:10 p.m. - should have been done at 12:30 p.m. but...). If we get through that, we are home free.

I backed up the meet at 5:10 p.m. yesterday. I only had a couple of timing corrections and only one parent-from-h...! I consider that a HUGE success!

The concessions income was tremendous but a HUGE amount of work. We think we will let someone else handle it next year!

A One Year Journey

One year ago on February 1, 2008, I began a journey to lose some weight and get healthy. I don't know what expectations I had, but I had put on 40 lbs in 20 years and at 4'9 3/4" I looked pretty awful - a short, fat, toad was my description. Over the 20 years I had tried on a few occasions to get it all under control, but life got in the way. Always excuses. So I found myself with very bad numbers - high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high weight. Besides all of that, everything hurt.

I joined a team at work through N-Lighten Nebraska. I weighed myself - or rather had a co-worker weigh me and refused to look - and I began to follow some of the guidelines of the plans. I journaled what I was eating. I tried to eat what I was supposed to eat. I tried to get some more sleep. I tried to relax. And I tried to get some exercise. I had the co-worker weigh me weekly, still not looking - until I lost 10 lbs. Then I began to wonder where I actually was. By that time I was around 132 lbs.

On March 17, 2008, I found The Daily Plate and since that time have been logging in everything that I put in my mouth - almost daily. By the end of October I weighed 117 lbs. I have put on a couple of pounds since then and today I am starting another N-Lighten Nebraska journey, hopefully to get a few more pounds off and remain healthy.

Over the last year there are several things that I have decided work well for me and things that I need to do to maintain my health for the rest of my life.

1. Journal everything that I eat. When I don't, I am wont to put more in my mouth than I should, and also probably putting in some wrong things.

2. Portion control is most important. I really need to measure because sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach. OK, that is an old expression of my mother's.

3. Be extremely vigilant and be aware of what I am actually eating, when I am eating, how much I am eating, and where I am eating.

4. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

5. Get some exercise at least 5 days a week. I have been mostly walking, even walking the treadmill. I still use the age and time excuses for not doing more.

6. Find a support system. The co-worker who helped me begin this journey is still encouraging me. Another co-worker is walking with me. The groups on TDP have been great encouragement. Even oldman is joining me on my journey now.

7. Cook my own meals. Pack my own lunch. This way I know what I am eating and can make good decisions. If I must eat out, I try to make reasonable decisions on both the choice and the portion.

Thank you to all who have supported me along the way. Here's to another year of good health!

Fast Food - Ugh!

And we wonder why Americans are obese.

After a trip to the barber in GI and before a 6pm bell rehearsal, we decided to grab a quick bite in GI on the way home. Neither of us had eaten at Long John Silvers in a very long time, and the $1.99 Fish and Chips special sounded good for a change. Oldman ordered the dinner - two pieces of battered fish, two hush puppies, coleslaw, and fries (no drink, just water), and I ordered the $1.99 special (just water). OK, it all tasted wonderful - for a change.

Fast forward...time to log in the meals on TDP for the day. We thought we would start with oldman's meal. Fries, 1 3/4 pieces of fish (I ate the rest), 1/2 coleslaw (I ate the other half), two hush puppies (he didn't save me one of those), and minimal tartar sauce. Eeeeekkkkk! Calories - 900. Not that bad. BUT...percentage of fat and the amount of sodium were just outrageous!

Now I know why Americans are obese and why we have not eaten fast food and definitely not eaten at Long John Silvers in a very long time!

New Year Thoughts

What does one think when someone writes so very persuasively and yet their behavior is so contrary to what has been written? Disappointment. What makes us able to talk the talk but not able to walk the walk? Being human! We are all capable of giving advice based on our vast experiences, but often we are not able to live up to the advice that we give.

And why does this fault so often come to light when dealing with weight issues? Are our body images so much a part of our psyche that we cannot separate what we want to be from what we actually are? Perhaps the failures of others in this regard just exacerbate our own failures?

What to do about it?
*Quit thinking I can eat whatever I want to and that I am in control!
OK, that was negative. Let's try the positive approach.
*Control the portions of what I eat and control the food itself.
*Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Just have a glass on the sink and fill it!
*Walk at least 1/2 hour a day 5 days a week. NO excuses.
*Log in everything I put in my mouth.
*Take a positive approach to life!

I don't normally make resolutions and I don't know that these are really 'resolutions', but they are just some small things that are doable in my real world.

The Cat Lady

Yes, the cat lady. That is what people coming into my office call me because of the cat pictures, cat figures, cat calendars, cat everything. I have always been a cat person, from my earliest cat that I can remember (a black cat named Nancy - when I was a very young child living on a dairy in California) to my latest JazzPurr.

In between there have been many others - all with special places yet in my heart. Ming Toy, Thomas Cat, KikiKat, Moedi, Ollie, Bow Wow, Mausli, Izi, Zowie, and now Jazz. Most lived very long lives (Kiki was 19, Ollie was 18, Bow Wow 17 and Zowie 15). Each had a personality to be remembered.

Ming moped profusely when I left for college. Thomas Cat loved to roam. Kiki was my cat and alway slept between my legs. Moedi just came and stayed - he was well fed. Ollie was the black cat Heidi had to have, the one with the softest fur ever who lived his last years with FIV. Bow Wow - well, one minute he could be purring in my lap and the next minute my hand was toast. Mausli loved to look out the front window - or in the front window when he wanted in. The best Mausli story is the time he followed Dale Higgins to the grocery store, let Dale pick him up and carry him through the store because as Dale said 'he came along to pick out his own food.' What a puss!

Izi was the wanderer. We never knew what prize she would bring in the door in the middle of the night. She would waltz down the hallway and we could hear her 'mrrrrrttt' and we knew she had something to show for her night stalkings. Zowie became 'my' cat. She slept on the bed with me - always! Her 4am alarm clock mode was a very strong head-butt aimed at shoving me out of bed and feeding her. It was a very sad day when she had to go to the big mousefield in the sky (she had necrotizing pancreatitis and it sure took her quickly).

Jazz is just a huge furball. He leaves fur on every piece of furniture in the house! He has a good personality. Sometimes he is a lap cat. Sometimes not. He is one of the few cats we have had who has attempted to be a lap cat to Vern.

For now we'll fondly remember our wonderful feline friends and hope they have found many mice in that big mousefield in the sky.

Holidays

Quiet holidays. That is what I really love. Nothing to do except cook, eat, read, sleep, and enjoy my own home.

We have enjoyed getting together with the kids this fall. A wonderful trip to San Francisco and spending time with the little granddaughters was the best. Walking to school with Ute and pushing Athena around the museum - it doesn't get much better.


The train trip to Chicago was uneventful and the time spent with Zane and Cael was very special. Walking with Zane through the mall holding his hand and watching the delight in his eyes at all of the sights and sounds of the holiday season was wonderful. Cuddling with Cael was the best. Life doesn't seem to get any easier for that little one. At this point we pray that something in his digestive system will start working normally - soon.


Weight...well...still OK, but we have to get serious again after New Year. Holidays are really difficult as there is so much good stuff around and I just can't leave it alone. So as long as the new wardrobe still fits we will not get too discouraged - but we will definitely get back on the proverbial wagon *after* the holidays!