The Last Dance

I have come to realize that I spend far too much time on the computer. Some of it is required because I teach many university courses online. However, after much soul searching I have come to the decision that I need to spend far less time on the computer and far more time interacting with people I love. It is too easy to sit at the keyboard and waste time. I am sixty years old! I have only so much time left on Earth. I do not want my latter years to be spent playing online games or reading blogs or surfing the web. Rather, I want to give attention to the people in my life that I care about. If one of my precious grandchildren is here, I want to give him or her my undivided attention, someting wee ones sorely need. They learn everything through social interaction ... how to eat with utensils, how to use language effectively, how to interact with others on a personal level, how to problem solve, and so on. But they can't do it alone by merely observing. They NEED as much positive interaction as they can get. Besides, they do not stay little for very long. Some of my very favorite memories involve Hannah and all the fun we had doing goofy things--playing "monkey ball", whipping cream for strawberries, trying on hats and bo-bo shoes, my making up Princess Hannah stories while she lay in bed with me, and so on. Those memories are what makes life worth living. I do not want to miss out making memories with my family; no longer will I allow my computer to rob me of these opportunities. There are many better ways for me to spend my time than vegging out in front of the computer even if it serves as a tranquilizer or an escape, which it can easily do. For the past six weeks I have been going to the gym regularly and I am back cooking every day being careful to prepare healthful recipes with local ingredients. My house is now cleaner than it has been for quite a while (thanks in good part to Paul), and it spurs me on to want to be more productive. While I am tidy and fairly meticulous, I realize that keeping my house SQUEAKY CLEAN makes it a better place to live and a safe place for my grandchildren to visit. Look what has happened since I began to limit my computer use: My neighbor, Greg, and I have had many laughs over vino and good meals. Paul is such an interesting conversationalist and talking to and with him has been far superior than wasting time on the computer. I am back to reading more books ... mostly biographies and historical accounts. My father and mother can now count on receiving regular newsy letters from me. The plants in my container garden are doing well because I take the time to attend to them every single day. Yes, dear readers, life is for living, and in my opinion sitting in front of a computer, no matter how enjoyable, is not truly living. It is escaping. Our lives are over in the blink of an eye. I wonder every single day how in the world I am already sixty. SIXTY!??!?!??! If I got to be sixty so quickly it means the next years of my life will go by at an even greater warp speed.

While I have never been lazy, I have allowed some things to slide since I moved to North Carolina. I took solace in using my computer as an escape mechanism. I know that what I have recently given up in terms of computer time has had a dramatically positive impact on my life. I am convinced that taking that next step and using the computer as a tool only when necessary will be a good thing. So, this is it. It is the last dance. I am ending my blog almost one year to the date that I started it. I will now embrace life more fully and get much more accomplished. I'll have time to give to others and to pursue interests that I put on the back burner. I will go fossil hunting and will attend rock and mineral shows. I'll continue my workout program and will work hard every single day to prepare healthful meals that Paul, Greg, and I can enjoy. I will go to more lectures and more live shows. I'll visit more museums and will plan more international excursions. And I'll see if I can convince someone to take ballroom dancing lessons with me. Yes, you are never too old to rock 'n roll and I'll do more of that as well ... even if it is only in my kitchen while I am preparing dinner.

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to visit. I hope that after reading this blog post you will think about your own life and prioritize how you spend your time so that you are getting as much as you can from the myriad of possibilities that lie before you. Most of all spend QUALITY time with those you love. Put forth the little bit of extra effort it will take to go for a walk or to smell the roses or to sit at the table together to enjoy a meal. Make your home your haven, your nest, one that is a joy to spend time in. Keep it clean and tidy. You won't believe how relaxing it is to end a hectic day by walking into an inviting home where the beds are made, the dishes are done, and the entire place looks and smells clean.

Finally, I am giving up making excuses. In addition to not wasting time, I am making a commitment to acting like a grownup at ALL TIMES (it's about time, eh?). I always have told my daughters, "Duty before pleasure" and I've been pretty good about following my own advice. But I am putting this out there publicly. I will force myself to do all the things I loathe like balancing my checkbook or denying myself one more piece of junk my house does not need. I will make wise purchases and wise decisions. I will do what SHOULD be done BEFORE what I WANT to do. I know I'll be a much happier and much more productive person.

Coming Up For Air

This week and next are the busiest in the entire year for me. So, I asked Paul if he would be willing to be in charge of selecting recipes, making the grocery list, buying the groceries, cooking dinner, and cleaning the kitchen. The sweet ole thing said he would. Let me tell you ... this is one of the most wonderful things that has ever happened to me. I can sit in the livingroom grading and working on my classes (read that as responding to email, sending out announcements, answering questions when students call, etc.) while Mr. Wonderful is in the kitchen. Now I know what it is like to be called to dinner in my own home. Is that cool or what? I think so. Too bad this will all be over in two weeks.

Grading, Grading, Grading

Module 1 work rolled into Digital Dropbox Thursday night so I'm up to my ears grading work. I want to have everything returned by Monday morning, so it's a commitment. In the meantime, my students are busy working on Module 2 and I'll then have to attack getting that graded and returned. The Fourth Annual Academically or Intellectually Gifted Camp begins on the 13th and there is still much to be done! It is likely that I'll have little time to post over the next two weeks. This is strictly a 7:00 a.m - midnight job at present. Overseeing my students in their practicum experience is serious business, and it simply takes loads of time.

Our Outing to Raleigh

Early Wednesday morning, Paul, Terry, John Alexander, and I took off for Raleigh. My hybrid car did well; we obtained 41.8 mpg going 70 mph (legal speed in NC on the road we traveled) with the air conditioning on. After a short trip to the downtown farmers' market where I bought sun gold tomatoes, Italian bread, and fresh basil, we made our way to the North Carolina Museum of Science on Jones Street. Tickets to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit were $22, a small price, indeed, when you consider that tickets to see Barbra Streisand are as much as $600. We had a nice surprise, though, because senior tickets for those 60 and over were only $16. So, I got in with an $8 discount! The entire exhibit was quite well done. You enter through a cave and have a hand-held listening device that you hold up to your ear to hear pre-recorded information about each facet of the exhibit. I learned so much ancient history that my head is completely filled and the rest has leaked into my body. This is probably why I look fat. :-) Because much of the exhibit focused on them, I was reminded of a book I had read in my early college days about the Essenes. The author's perspective was that Jesus was an Essene, though I am not convinced that he was. It is believed that the Essenes may have created some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

As we went from room to room, the light grew dimmer. By the time we made it into the high-security chamber with the actual scrolls, the light was so low that it was eerie. This is required because the scrolls are disintegrating at a fast rate and can have only so many minutes of light on any given day. There were pieces--literally fragments--of six different scrolls. I think that many people do not realize that there are various versions of many books of the Bible written in several different languages. The gospels weren't written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John; in fact, they were written 70+ years after Jesus died.

So I can now say that I have seen Dead Sea Scrolls. They were interesting, of course, but so were all of the other artifacts on display. I kept wondering, "Who made this? What was this person's life like? How would he feel if he knew that thousands of years later, people like me are filled with wonder as we gaze at his handiwork?" I have so many questions that I have a ton of research to do. The next time I go back, I'll take notes so that I can be better organized about my research. I was left with one big question, though, one I've thought of at other times I have visited ancient treasures: What else is out there and when will it be uncovered?

Exciting Plans Afoot

Tomorrow Paul, Terry, John Alexander, and I are going to Raleigh. Two exciting things are on our agenda:

1. Visiting the North Carolina Museum of Science where we will see an exhibit about the Dead Sea scrolls. (This has me so excited that I can hardly wait!)

2. Having lunch at Caffe Luna.

We'll leave early and spend the day enjoying our two stops. If time, we'll also visit the Farmer's Market. Raleigh is the state capital and there is a lot to see and do.

Tomorrow I'll post about our adventure.

More Cards

We made cards again today. Rachael's ability to design cards is simply amazing. She designed all but one of these cards. I designed just one. Can you pick out the one that Rachael's creative brain did not plan?

Pandora.com

It is no secret that when Rachael and I make cards we listen to Air Supply and the BeeGees. We do this by logging onto www.pandora.com and creating a radio station tailored to our tastes. It's simple. You enter the name of an artist or a song that you like and Pandora searches it's vast storehouse of tunes and selects ones that complement the artist/song you picked. You can hit "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down" to accept or reject a song or you can just hit the skip button. I've created many radio stations for myself that reflect my age: Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the like. Tonight I was in the mood for some good ole R & R and Little Richard popped into my head. For the last half hour we have been rockin' round the clock to songs like "The Twist", "Too Much Monkey Business", "Tutti Frutti", "Great Balls of Fire", "Jailhouse Rock", "Jenny, Jenny", "A Big Hunk 'O Love", and "Night Train to Memphis". Many of these songs have been off my radar for so long that I had forgotten all about them. What fun it is to dance in the kitchen with complete abandon! Who cares what I look like? I know my age. But I also know that you're never to old to rock & roll.