Giving it Away:


The object of my attention from the third class was a young teacher in training,  willowy, long ponytail, earnest and open.

The next week, I brought a tiny yoga book to give to her.....101 Poses...and I received a spontaneous hug.

In the weeks that followed, I gave away several more books, then moved on to videos.

The regular teacher noticed, and they both may have wondered if I might be dying, or nuts, or both......but then one night I just mentioned that I was moving and that my new house would not hold all of my books.  

I've been blessed.....and now have exactly what I needed:  someone to pass along my yoga books to.  To her, it may seem that I appeared as if by magic, but this was intended all along, just waiting for the right circumstances to present themselves.

so much fun.

The summer lake house.



Shaffer Road entrance/driveway

 While very modest-looking from the entrance  (mom asks "honey, does the cabin have a coffee pot?"), this two level house overlooking Lost Bridge North is a beauty.   Hardwood floors, a large kitchen, great deck w/view and privacy all contribute to the rural feel.  

Since you might know I count things, here's "how I spent my summer vacation.":

17 visits (from Wichita, it's a 600 mile round-trip not counting running around while there, back and forth to Rogers, Garfield, Eureka Springs or the campgrounds), or an estimated 12,000 miles!!:

March 25 (closing), April 11,  20, May 3, 11, 24 (Memorial Day week), June 7, 21, July 3 (Fourth of July), 19, 26, August 16 (week), Aug 30-Sept 1 (Labor Day), Sept 6, Sept 13, 21 (week) and October 13 (week).

THATS A LOT OF MILES!  
Spread the trips among our trucks and vans, rental cars, once riding with family.

28 different guests: Derek  Rana, Kings, Morrisons, Maylene and Kevin, Roz and Bob, Schraders (total of 5), Pattie, YB, Beau and Brian, Jeanne, Amy, Lisa, Tash, Margaret, Shelley and Gina, Ron and Madeline....

THATS A LOT OF GUESTS!

Now it's time to turn it over to the caretakers for the winter, and settle in to wait for next spring and summer!

Shaffer Road

Yes.    After years of searching...the right property presented itself.   While searching through real estate for sale in the Beaver Lake area, one picture of a deck looking out over the lake was interesting enough to click on.    It was mid-summer 2012.  Many of them do sell quickly; so when one appeared, it was worth a closer look.   Unfortunately, things at home and work got in the way and the property was forgotten.  Then again in the fall.....the picture came up again in a search...this time the real estate company had done a much better job of presenting the property, the pictures were sharper and more descriptive.

It was worth a visit.   Why was this house still on the market?   Was there some flaw that could not be determined by the advertising layout?   The price seemed to be reasonable.......

In late fall there was finally time to drive down and see the place in person.     After the tour - knew the house was right.....but hesitated to make any offer - by this time the holidays were right around the corner, all funds fixed and locked down for the year (you know, capital gains and such).     Told the agent that it would be 2013 before any decisions were made.

As it turned out, the property was still available and with a couple of weeks of negotiations and some repairs, the deal was finalized.

Closing is March 26th.

Yes.

 

Ending 2012

2012 marks the end of my yoga teaching career here in Wichita -and what a great experience it was to be able to teach yoga for these past few years.   I had the opportunity to work with the elderly, upward-bound high school students, and spend one very memorable evening with a bunch of 12-year old Girl Scouts and a few of their moms.  I met many special yoga students at the Heskett Center on WSU’s campus, spent countless evenings at both Edgemoor and Linwood Recreation Centers (part of the Wichita Park Board) and one short summer session at Genesis Health Club.    

There were times it seemed impossible to juggle my full-time job, my love of travel, my big ole’ yard and all the housework while also planning and teaching yoga classes, sometimes 3-4 per week.    My secret:  Stop, breathe, find the richness and beauty of this precious life, and take the moments as they come – each one a gift. 

Losing a co-worker, and life's "what-ifs"

Losing a co-worker is hard, especially if it is unexpected.   The Company Chairman died in late August after being very ill for a few weeks, but then the staff and I were surprised at the loss of Gary, our Treasurer, from a heart attack one bright and sunny October morning.  Not only did we lose an associate at work, but he had no family.  It was his "work family"that made the arrangements for the service, cleaned out his office, and my boss will likely be the executor of his estate.

As we age (gracefully?) together at work (most of us are just a year or two apart) we were immediately and starkly confronted with our own mortality.    I, of course, turned to yoga to remind me that nothing is permanent, and as soon as we think things will not change, we suffer, because of course they always do.  

Here's the rub:  we work, for years, and hopefully we save for an expected retirement, a time to travel or enjoy life with hobbies, volunteer work, friends, and the activities of our choosing without the stress of a career.   But of course we know many who are not on this path....they live from check to check -with very little saved for the future.   Then we hear or know stories of people who grind it out year after year with large retirement funds that they never get to spend because they die young, get cancer, or have a car wreck.  

As we confront these possibilities, we have to make choices......choices that can have an immediate impact on our lives.   Lot's of "what-ifs"  - starting with the very real possibility that none of us will live to retire to that life of "choice"....so what if we enjoy it right now?  This moment is really all we have, there is no future that's real, guaranteed, or even possible at this very moment.      "The Power of Now" by Eckart Tolle is an interesting and thought-provoking discussion (some of it is in question and answer mode) down this very road.   I recommend it to anyone thinking about the future that they might not ever have.

candles....cake........guest book............

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.