Feel Good 5 Friday … On a Saturday

Sometimes seeing old friends helps you remember who you used to be.

And the music that blasted through with The Weekend Top 40 with Casey Kasem hits you with a kaleidoscope of memories filled with your Nike Cortez days and TrapperKeepers in that JanSport backpack. As is with everyone these days, it’s been difficult to see people and old friends. But sometimes you find moments where it can happen. You make every effort to be cautious, get outdoors, and you get some sense of good vibes that can carry you.  

Visiting with someone that knew you way back when brings out your highlight reel and you start to think back of where you were in your life and who you used to be back then. Sometimes those are good memories, other times they may not be, depends. But this particular meetup made me think about how this person contributed to my growth as a person and that meant a lot, especially if you just want to go and say thank you to someone for making such a positive impact. She knew me during both difficult and positive times, and made life better.

I hoped she would remember all those times, but it may have been difficult considering she was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It was sad to hear that happened to my old coach, my mentor. I know she was looking forward to retirement and traveling with her family, enjoying the rewards of all her hard work. But this major curve ball got sent her way and it hit me in the pit of my stomach. 

Don’t know if she’d remember all the pieces of advice she gave me on and off the court, the lessons in leadership, the lessons during a loss, during season-ending injuries, during wins, during championships and of course beyond school and into the “real world”. She wouldn’t remember coaching us and everything she contributed. That’s the part that made me sad. She was such a big part in everyone’s life and here she was sitting a few feet away unsure of what the future would bring now that she’d have to live with this new life, different from what she imagined.

I don’t know how fast it will progress but I hoped for the best, I hoped for her memories to last a little bit longer. That’s what I wished for her as a sat there looking across at her and I reintroduced myself. I wanted to talk to her but didn’t want to overwhelm her with too many memories. Too much too soon. We all took a beat to slow it down. 

I stopped thinking of what she might lose and just tried to talk to her and make her smile. Enjoyed the conversation that everyone was having, picked up on the bits and pieces of their lives, and found comfort in taking a trip back to the past. Talking about old times and cracking up at our old ways and old game stories. Thanked her for being able to come, just to see her and get a chance to talk to her. I know she probably changed the lives of many girls, girls who grew up to be leaders, teachers, mothers, CEO’s, coaches, or writers.  I drove off hoping that she’d remember today and even if she didn’t remember all the details of the conversation, maybe at least she’d remember the feeling of being there and the comfort of knowing that she inspired so many people to become better versions of themselves. And being there reminded me of who I used to be and who I wanted to be. It was a good feeling. A good flashback, followed by a good soundtrack. 

Buen Camino …

.

.

The Romantics — What I Like About You

.

Technotronic — Move This

.

Los Hermanos Flores — La Bala

.

Rob Base — It Takes Two

.

UB40 — Here I Come Baby

.

.

.

Advertisement

Monday Flashback: Gravity and Ice Packs

The last time I remember falling this hard was at a high school track and field competition, I mean I’ve fallen before, plenty of times in my adulthood and parenthood parts of my life, but you know there are those times that you remember, reeeeeeeeally remember. The ones that stick with you when you can picture what you were wearing, the time of day, who was there, the street you were on, if anyone saw you, and maybe the sting of the dirt or pebbles that broke your flesh open.

Yeah those stick with you. High-school track meet. 400-metter hurdles. Yeah that was a big one.

I added to that epic list this weekend and ice packs were necessary.

I didn’t break anything, I’m fine. But I was reminded that gravity is still a very powerful force. I find that potholes and long laces often contribute to these stumbles as well, but I can’t tell you how this actually happened. I had double knotted my shoes, but the laces were still pretty long, and I hadn’t tucked them, so can’t be sure what caused it but it happened.

I found it interesting that while my right knee and both hands were bleeding, I didn’t stop. I got up. Jogged for a bit to make sure the potential cars passing by had not witnessed this epic crash, which in fact no one did, unless they had video recording doorbell ringers that captured it for their amusement. But I doubt it, a lot of tall bushes and gates.

After a couple minutes of jogging, I walked for a bit. I pressed my shirt against the palms of my hand to try and stop the bleeding, and squeeze my hand to try and stop the throbbing painful sensation but it didn’t stop.

Then I had a flashback of my son at one of his first triathlons. Right after my race the kids race had begun and during the race he had take a tumble during the excitable and crowded field of SpongeBob-watching population. He winced a bit, got up, and kept going before I got a chance to ask him if he was OK. I had gone into mom mode immediately, but he waved me off and kept going. When he got to the finish line I was so proud of him for finishing the race. It was hard, an unexpected obstacle. But he persevered. Big smiles, big hugs, and high-fives at the finish line.

I remember taking our picture after the race, smiling with our medals and the pride he felt in himself. In getting up after that fall, not giving up, and the smile on his face when I saw him at the finish line. I remembered all this as I walked along my running route with my hands still bleeding. The marks of The Stumbler. The one who falls, and stumbles, but continues to get back up.

I smiled thinking of my son. I squeezed my hand, tried to make a fist, and finished the 3-mile run. Sometimes kids give you that extra push you need, even when they’re not there. And ice packs still feel good after Band-aids and Neosporin.

Beware … gravity is still very powerful.

Buen Camino my friends …

Monday’s Flashback

Cha Cha Cha Chia.

Remember that?

That commercial be haunting me almost as much as 1-877 Kars for Kids … K … A … R … S Kars for Kids. Yeah, you’re totally welcome for that one.

In any case Cha Cha Cha Chia be making a strong comeback. I remember that commercial and thinking what is that? A sheep? A bear? So what happens after you grow, is there a flower or just clover like plants? Is it an herb? Do I need to keep watering it? I mean what’s the excitement?

Well, it didn’t matter really as I never bought one back in the day, and no one gave me one either. It may have been the commercial, who knows. Maybe the sheep or the bear wasn’t that cool. Maybe I needed the X factor …

.

.

I know.

I know.

This put Cha Cha Cha Chia in a whole new light. The kids busted out a present from one of our neighbors. It had been sitting there, camouflaged between the a LEGO and art supplies in the corner for about a month or two. They had completely forgotten about it and were so excited to have found it again. After a clay and painting project this weekend this box became a highlight.

They were like … it’s onnnnnnn! After school, distance learning that is, they were ready for theirs next project. They gave each other a high-five.

This was pandemic excitement in the making.

Normally I’d situate myself over there and say, hey make sure you read the directions, get all your supplies, but I stayed back and let them handle matters. They were way too jazzed up about the Baby Yoda possibilities. And you know me, with my destruction of plants, many basil plants have suffered in my presence as my superpower, the inability to grow anything, strengthens. But I remain on this gardening journey. I’m on a mission.

And so they soaked it and spread the chia paste where they wanted it to sprout … and now they wait.

I’m hoping it’s a positive experience and not a Nailed It leaning opportunity, although that would be fun too.

I’ll let you know how it pans out.

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program of Feel Good 5 Friday’s this week, but I just wanted to take a break as the week caught up with me, with the kids, and the research on my latest project. I couldn’t even make it to Friday Feel Goods on a Saturday or Sunday. But I’ll catch some tunes this week …

Buen Camino!

.

.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting

Fleeting

 

I hadn’t seen one of these since junior high school … when we were chasing the paletero down the street for an ice cream cone.

We got it at the fair when my son won this as a consolation prize for not tossing the frogs onto the lily pads. It made me think of all the times I sat on the steps of my building, hung out with friends, talked about how awesome our lives were going to be when we moved on up.

My life is not awesome, but the Ring Pops still rocked. It reminded me of the times when I actually sat down and enjoyed the moments without having to remind myself to be present. Ring Pops … who knew.