You May Be Living in La La Land if…

Lately, the residents of La La Land seem to be swarming like zombies on patrol for fresh humans. Everywhere I turn I see people stuck in unrealistic expectations, antiquated thought processes and determined denial.  I really don’t mind too much (after all if someone desires to stay stuck that truly is their choice) but it’s often tough to deal with them.  See if you recognize a La La Lander you know in any of these descriptions (apologies to Jeff Foxworthy).

You may be living in La La Land if:

•  You’re convinced you know everything there is to know about a subject because you graduated from college (whether recently or a billion years ago).  Really? In 2003, a study estimated that new information grew annually at a rate of 66% annually. What would the rate be now, I wonder?
• You still think the Yellow Pages are the answer when you have online access. Race ‘ya!
• You believe in Karma…for everyone else. Please be extra careful when you cross the street.
• You think you need to check with your physician before you decide to quit eating wheat products (this is the primary requirement in going gluten-free).  Really? Would you talk to your doctor before you quit eating candy? Or yogurt? Or drinking coffee?
• You’re convinced you know exactly what family values are now. Seriously? The sheer number of dysfunctional families (encumbered by alcoholism, narcissism, drug addiction and any number of other syndromes or diseases) and the effects of those dysfunctions on children, should force us to redefine what exactly a family is and what value it has.
• You still believe that acquiring money and status defines success. After this last recession, need I say more?
• You think doing something in the same old way will result in a change. You know what they say about the definition of crazy, right?
• You still don’t know that being kind is the very best attribute a person can have. No jokes on this one. It’s the truth and has been forever.

May you chuckle because you’ve escaped La La Land and live among the thinking humans!

A Time to Celebrate

Red and I were having lunch yesterday with a dear friend, Sandy, who is nearly the same age I am. Let’s just say that Sandy and I have raised our children. We were talking about how often women are depressed by reaching certain notches on the time belt.  I personally went into a deep funk when I hit 60. Sandy reminded me of that fact and sat back just a little before she made a thoughtful comment. 

Sandy:  You know… that’s all wrong. 

Red: What is?

Sandy: Getting depressed at this time in our lives. 

 

Kathy: Why do you say that?

Sandy: Okay, so we’ve raised our kids, finally know ourselves pretty well, have extra time on our hands and what do we do – cry about not being young anymore! I don’t want to be “Forever Young” or even “Young at Heart.” I want to be my  age and celebrate it. This IS a time for celebration. 

Kathy: (smiling widely as realization dawns) Ah! I see. So, embrace the freedom and knowledge that comes with the age. 

Red: Hey, ladies, I have quite a few more years before I reach your age and I don’t have kids. 

Sandy: Oh, hush. I hate to be the one to remind you but you’re fictional.  You can be and do anything Kathy thinks up for you. In fact, some of the stuff you’ve done are things Kathy wishes she’d done. Right, Kath?

Kathy: Well, yeah. That’s probably true of most writers’ characters. 

  

Red: But in real life… you still think getting older is something to celebrate?

Sandy: Of course! Now we have time to spend on our dreams. Now we know ourselves well enough to try new things; not to get ahead or prove we can do it, but just because we always wanted to. 

Kathy: Like what?

Sandy: Well…like playing with fusion glass. I’ve always wanted to try that.  You’ve always wanted to travel more, so figure out a way to do that.

Kathy:  You’re right! And I’ve always wanted to try my hand at sculpture, silver smithing, prospecting for gold…

Sandy: (laughing) Whoa, girl! You probably have a list a mile long. The truth is now you really can do these things. There’s nothing to stop you. 

Red: Yeah, Kathy, let’s push our funk over a cliff so it can’t come back - ever! Time to celebrate. 

Kathy: Our funk? (I asked quizzically)

Red: (giving me a frustrated look) Well, except when you write me into scenes, I live in your head. Why do you think I zipped off to outer rings of consciousness? It was getting a little dreary in there. Hey, girls, how about a pitcher of Bloody Marys?

Sandy: Count me in!

Kathy: I hate to break it to you ladies, but they don’t serve anything but wine here. 

Red: Ah, well, the sacrifices we make!

The three of lifted our glasses of tea, water and Red’s imaginary Bloody Mary and toasted to finally getting to the ripe old age of “Freedom to Explore.”

Yee Haw! Red’s Back in Town

You may not be aware, but Lydia (Red) Talbot has been off on an Inter-Consciousness-Brilliance quest, searching for the energy fields of Albert Einstein and Mark Twain for some months.  She took off in September 2012 and was due to return sometime in August, but she got caught on the outer ring of Nebulous Consciousness after a brief encounter with the two, unfortunately. But she’s back and I’m brewing up a pitcher of Bloody Marys in celebration. 

Kathy: Hey, Red! It’s so good to have you back! It’s been a bit lonely on the Veranda without you!

Red: I missed you, too, and I have to say – I really missed the Marys. Did you know there’s no alcohol in the levels of alternate consciousness? Not exactly party-city. 

Kathy: I guess I hadn’t thought of that. So, no contact with the guys?

Red: Well, I did get a glimpse of the two of them on a veranda of their own, in white wicker chairs, both smoking pipes and sipping something tall and cool. But it was probably sweet tea. 

Kathy: Sweet tea?

Red: Yeah. It looked like they were on a porch in the South. 

Kathy: Ah! But no actual contact? Did they speak?

Red:  No...no speech.  Mr. Twain winked at me and then they both disappeared. 

Kathy: No kidding?! He winked? Too bad you didn’t get to speak to either of them. What would you have asked?

Red: What was in the glasses?

Kathy: (laughing loudly) Really? Your big question to two of the most brilliant men of all time would have been, “What’s in the glasses, boys?”

Red: Yep. Don’t you want to know what brilliant men sip on?

Kathy: Oh, Red! It’s good to have you back!

I handed her a tumbler full of what the two most smart-aleck women of all time drink – Bloody Marys – and we settled back in our own white wicker chairs and gazed happily over the imaginary duck pond on my imaginary country estate. Life’s good.

My Watershed Year

Apparently I’m not the only to be glad that 2012 has moved on. For a while there, I was convinced that I had some kind of spell on me, and not the good mojo kind.

First, I had to leave my job for health reasons so I’ve been among the unemployed for what feels like forever.  Since March, I’ve been scrambling to either find another job that would not put in the same position as my previous one had OR figure out a way to make a living on my own. That led to a lot of stress and failed efforts.

As I’ve written about a few times, I lost my Pops after his long fight against COPD came to an uncomfortable and grueling end. This hit me a little harder than I expected since the family never expected Dad to outlive his prognosis by five years and I thought we were all prepared. As many know, there is no such thing as preparation in the death of a loved one. Loss is loss. The only good thing about being out of work has been the ability to be there for both my father, when he was still alive, and my mother.

I seriously thought I’d lost the ability to write until National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) came along and then the skies began to clear. I managed 53K+ words in the month of November and although I’m just now heading into the rewrite, I feel like someone who had been about to drown and was pulled out of choppy waters just before going down for the last time.

I honestly don’t remember much of December.  Visiting my daughter in Phoenix for Christmas is clear as a bell, but the rest of the month is a big blur.

That brings us to January, when life began to shift – for the better, much better. Blog posting came back. Story ideas appearing in my dreams came back, like how!  I dreamt about a business idea, and after fermenting for months as I applied for a business license and set up a bank account, etc., the vision is now reality. I’m off and running like a bat out of hell after my own business that sprouted out of a literal dream, from which I woke up laughing and saying these words, “Uncover Granny”; more about that in the near future.

Maybe it was my determination to get back on track. Maybe it was the turning of a new leaf at midnight December 31, 2012. Maybe it was my own desire to crawl out of a hole that had become way too cramped.  Writing down my resolutions helped. Waking up determined to change things helped. But, I swear, 2012 had me by the throat. It was truly my watershed year and now I can go on; clean, refreshed and believing in the future, again.

Does 2013 feel different to you, too?

Gluten-Free and Me, Maybe You Too!

Okay, this little episode in my life is too important not to share. Early in January I was at Sprouts Market, a “healthy” food store here in California, and spied a magazine about eating gluten free. I’ve always been curious about gluten and purchased the magazine.

There were several great articles in it and one that gave me enough of a clue about gluten intolerance and Celiac disease that I wanted to know more. So, of course I went online.  Here’s what I found on the Celiac Disease Foundation's website –

CLASSIC SYMPTOMS MAY INCLUDE

·         Abdominal cramping, intestinal gas

·         Distention and bloating of the stomach

·         Chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both)

·         Steatorrhea – fatty stools

·         Anemia – unexplained, due to folic acid, B12 or iron deficiency (or all)

·         Unexplained weight loss with large appetite or weight gain

OTHER SYMPTOMS

·         Dental enamel defects

·         Osteopenia, osteoporosis

·         Bone or joint pain

·         Fatigue, weakness and lack of energy

·         Infertility – male/female

·         Depression

·         Mouth ulcers

·         Delayed puberty

·         Tingling or numbness in hands or feet

·         Migraine headaches

Without being too personal, I had 10 of these symptoms. Now, I have no idea if I have celiac disease or just gluten intolerance, but it doesn’t really matter because the treatment is the same – quit eating gluten.  I’ve done that since Jan. 8^th and all 10 of the symptoms have disappeared. The one symptom that truly troubled me the most was persistent fatigue. Long daily naps were a constant in my life. No longer. I’ve taken two short naps since the 10^th of January and I don’t feel as life has conquered me anymore.

What it takes to go gluten-free isn’t all that arduous. It’s too much to explain here, but all the resources are online anyway.

If you’re experiencing quite a few of these symptoms, I urge you to give it a try. I’m also a diabetic so it had become a mental refrain “it’s the diabetes”. Well, in this case, it wasn’t, and I'm so glad I gave it a shot.

Best news – Blood Marys are gluten-free! Red’s a happy camper.