Monday, August 13, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Waving to the Man in the Wheelchair and his Dog.
My drive to work takes me on a road we call the "Canal Route". It's a divided road, three lanes each direction, with a large concrete drainage system down the middle. Several walkways cross the highway and on one walkway in particular, I usually see a man in a wheelchair with a blanket on his lap. Next to his chair sits his dog, still and patient they watch the cars below. Each morning, I roll my window down and wave to him......and he waves back. I started waving before he actually saw me a while ago, I would lean forward and place my hand close to the inside of my windshield. I guess he couldn't see me so I started rolling down my window part of the way and waving to him from there, and sure enough, he started to wave back.
After the wave exchange, I continue my drive to work and sometimes my thoughts stay with him....who is he? Does he wish he was on his way to work like the rest of us at that time of the morning, or is he content with his life now, a spectator to the morning rush hour? Does he still drive at all?
And I sometimes wonder what life will be like "after career", with all the time in the world to take a dog for a morning outing, to watch traffic, to let my gaze rest on the chaos of the swiftly moving cars below me.
On the days that he is not there, I wave at him in my head. May he be well. May I be well. May we meet someday for a handshake, and not just a wave.
After the wave exchange, I continue my drive to work and sometimes my thoughts stay with him....who is he? Does he wish he was on his way to work like the rest of us at that time of the morning, or is he content with his life now, a spectator to the morning rush hour? Does he still drive at all?
And I sometimes wonder what life will be like "after career", with all the time in the world to take a dog for a morning outing, to watch traffic, to let my gaze rest on the chaos of the swiftly moving cars below me.
On the days that he is not there, I wave at him in my head. May he be well. May I be well. May we meet someday for a handshake, and not just a wave.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Time to retire.....
I have taken a seat to the teachings
Now return to the place where they start
The beauty is all on the inside
An intention, a posture, my art.
A shift in perspective is welcome
I stay quiet and listen again
For to know where it is that I am from
Is to know where I'll be at the end.
Now return to the place where they start
The beauty is all on the inside
An intention, a posture, my art.
A shift in perspective is welcome
I stay quiet and listen again
For to know where it is that I am from
Is to know where I'll be at the end.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
I must have missed January......?
Winter has not arrived in Wichita yet this year........January slid by with new yoga students at Linwood and a pretty big group at Edgemoor. People still wearing shorts! Dry though, very dry.
Sold the Bobcat on 1/31/12. 11 years of great times with this one, but it has a very nice family to live with (in Oklahoma) -with kids! Excited, rambunctious, young kids! Never knew we had that much stuff inside until I had to unload it all!
February begins, 55-60 degrees every day, sunshine, light winds, wearing light jackets and sweaters to work and to yoga.
Sold the Bobcat on 1/31/12. 11 years of great times with this one, but it has a very nice family to live with (in Oklahoma) -with kids! Excited, rambunctious, young kids! Never knew we had that much stuff inside until I had to unload it all!
February begins, 55-60 degrees every day, sunshine, light winds, wearing light jackets and sweaters to work and to yoga.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Holiday Letter 2011
Happy Holiday’s to you in 2011!
This was the year Beth had back surgery, and was off work for 137 days. As she was recovering from the spinal fusion procedure, we both turned 50 years old, (we are only 9 days apart). I went to the lake with Beth, Jeanne, Bobbie and Larry, and some of Beth’s friends came out the next day. We kept a campfire going all weekend, and although the weather was cool and cloudy, it only rained a little bit overnight the first night. Bobbie took this picture when the sun came out the next afternoon:
This was the year Beth had back surgery, and was off work for 137 days. As she was recovering from the spinal fusion procedure, we both turned 50 years old, (we are only 9 days apart). I went to the lake with Beth, Jeanne, Bobbie and Larry, and some of Beth’s friends came out the next day. We kept a campfire going all weekend, and although the weather was cool and cloudy, it only rained a little bit overnight the first night. Bobbie took this picture when the sun came out the next afternoon:
The” 5-0” at Marion Lake
For Beth’s birthday, I threw her a surprise party at a local hotel. She had the whole weekend for role-playing with her best friends. We reserved a big room next to the lobby to play (and eat) all weekend long.
Our annual trip to Arkansas’ Beaver Lake was enjoyable –great weather this year…..no burn ban. I could add many more pictures of Beth’s fish-catching ability, she caught fish everywhere…..the freezer is stocked.
White bass
Even with a record-setting heat wave over the summer, we still went camping at least once in every month between April and October!
There were no international yoga retreats this year, but I made time for yoga weekends. I made a trip to Tyler, Texas to support YogaBeth’s workshops. She invited a guest teacher from Colorado to three different studios where she teaches. In September I made the trip to Estes Park for the Yoga Journal Conference by myself, sharing a cabin at the YMCA of the Rockies with a yoga teacher I know from Wichita. She had her two dogs with her, and they were great company while I was there.
Biking at Lake Estes
I started teaching a new yoga class at Linwood Recreation Center, turning over the Edgemoor yoga classes to a friend of mine who had been away from teaching for a couple of years and mentioned that she wanted to teach again. It’s well-attended and I love the time slot….I can go home from work for a little while before class starts and I don’t have to change clothes in my office bathroom with the cold tile floor!
I bought my first boat in 2011, a kayak. No batteries, motor, tires….toss it in the truck, carry it to the water, and paddle!
Lake Afton, late summer
Mom and I are wrapping up the year with one more adventure - a mother/daughter weekend in San Francisco. A little yoga for me, and some sightseeing for us both. I had asked friends there to “stop the shaking” before I arrived (they had been having earthquakes in the Bay area)……and unbelievably, the next weekend: we had one right here in Wichita! It originated in central Oklahoma, and I absolutely felt it underneath the house that night. I was completely surprised and amazed at the event….my first-ever experience of an earthquake.
I hope you and yours have a great 2012!
Monday, November 21, 2011
What will you do when your suntan fades......
I once put a song on a music mix for a friend of mine called: "What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?" by Beulah. Cute song, and it will make you smile.....but there is a note of seriousness (at least for me) contained within the lyrics. Like this:
The days are getting shorter
And what will you do when your suntan is fading and the summer's gone?
Do you feel afraid?
This goes back to a time when I was at a crossroads. I was re-locating to another city, all the familiar faces and places were going to be gone, and my future was unknown, so it was pretty scary. The last few evenings I spent with my friends before I left were crisp and cold, it was dark very early, and you could see your breath in the air. Believe it or not, over 30 years later, and I still have that sense of foreboding at least one time or another in late fall. It may catch me as I leave work and it's already dark. It may appear with a gust of cold, biting wind, or the smell of leaves burning. With yoga, I have learned to see this as only a groove, a pattern, a memory, and I know that there is really nothing to fear. When that feeling happens, I take a deep breath, count my blessings, and embrace it. Yoga teaches us so much more than how to do a proper forward bend........
The days are getting shorter
And what will you do when your suntan is fading and the summer's gone?
Do you feel afraid?
This goes back to a time when I was at a crossroads. I was re-locating to another city, all the familiar faces and places were going to be gone, and my future was unknown, so it was pretty scary. The last few evenings I spent with my friends before I left were crisp and cold, it was dark very early, and you could see your breath in the air. Believe it or not, over 30 years later, and I still have that sense of foreboding at least one time or another in late fall. It may catch me as I leave work and it's already dark. It may appear with a gust of cold, biting wind, or the smell of leaves burning. With yoga, I have learned to see this as only a groove, a pattern, a memory, and I know that there is really nothing to fear. When that feeling happens, I take a deep breath, count my blessings, and embrace it. Yoga teaches us so much more than how to do a proper forward bend........
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