Contemplation
There is a time for everything. I have very often found it true throughout my life. As I got older, many things changed. Most of the time I readily left one period behind and jumped into another. For instance, I loved to play the piano and accompany Dennis when he had trumpet performances in school. Then his level got so professional that he needed a professional accompanist. I did not really play anymore after that but I followed a dream of my own. Because we lived in Pasadena, California, close to world famous Hollywood and Beverly Hills, I had access to the world of Modeling and Acting. I joined SAG and AFTRA, took private classes and got print jobs and modeling jobs, stage roles, extra work on TV programs and, when all that became too time consuming because the family at home needed me, I changed to Commercial Acting. Those years were wonderful.
Then, in 1985, Mamma gave me her secret camp journal and all my free time went into translating it, finding an agent in Beverly Hills, and looking for a publisher. I was going to write a book! It was all right to stop acting, because I had always loved writing too, and I liked translating even more. We moved to the Big Island of Hawai’i in 1990, where I finalized getting my first book published, in Canada.
After that, aside from promoting the book on TV and through newspaper interviews in Hawai’i, Canada and the Netherlands, there was heavenly swimming and snorkeling, on our island and other Hawaiian islands we visited. After two years, next to swimming, there were nine years of learning to dance hula. Our move to Prescott, Arizona, brought dancing to a stop for a while, and we spent time on building our dream home. I can go on mentioning all the wonderful things I did in my life, from doing more research, writing more books, getting a Website and so on. Change was never bad, and I learned a lot in the process.
Traveling has been a joy for many years; we started our first cruise, to Tahiti, for my 60th birthday. I always enjoyed making plans and making the reservations. I was a multitasker. Until… I turned eighty. All of a sudden, when we were talking with the kids and grandkids, the thought of planning our next family reunion in 2020 overwhelmed me. Destination, finding a home large enough for 15 people, flights, figuring out shared cost among four families: I did not think I could do it all. And help was readily available. Two of our children took over. All I had to do was ask. And all I had to do afterwards was sign on the dotted line. That was such a good feeling, such a relief! Our roles reversed. From us, parents, taking care of our children, our children started to take care of us. At least in travel planning!
The thing is that kids and even grandkids are so incredibly fast and competent on their computers, and in command of all of the new technology as well, that I can’t keep up with them. I will stick with Google when I want to know something. I have two helpers: Siri is living in the cell phone, at my beck and call, and Alexa is sitting in an Echo puck on the kitchen counter. I prefer Siri. Alexa doesn’t know the answer to most of the things I ask her. The only thing she does well is sing Happy Birthday on command and notify me in a “notification” when a package from Amazon has arrived on the doorstep. The latter comes in handy, because deliverers never ring the bell anymore and sometimes we come and go through the garage; especially lately, with temperatures over 90 degrees.
A Memorable Day
I like to plan my days with a tight schedule, and feel very satisfied when everything clicks. Last Thursday was one of them. I had an early breakfast at home after walking the dog; then I took the dog to Camp Bow-Wow for half a day – she loves the company of all the dogs there and comes home exhausted. The doggie-daycare is on the way to the dentist. So I continued to have my teeth cleaned – that took only forty-five minutes. On the way home I swung by Costco to get gas. That’s where the unexpected happened: when I started the car again there was a sign on the dashboard: steering alert – need service. I had no idea what that meant, but when I got home I called the garage. The guy there said that I could loose power at any time and I should have it towed in as soon as possible. I made an appointment for the next morning, Saturday. But I needed to use it before then! So I took a few risks. I took Mike to the Podiatrist, myself to have my nails done, and we took the car to dinner at the Club because rain was threatening. The warning never came back on. My day went well, but not without stressful moments.
So I did not have the car towed the next morning, but drove it myself. They were planning to do a diagnostic test and would need the car for about three days if they would find a serious problem. To make a long story short: At 3:00 p.m. the guy in the service department called, told me there was no obvious problem, and they only rotated the tires, took out a nail in one of them and fixed the hole.
Phew! Much Ado About Nothing!
It’s a Wonderful Life!
Until next time,
Ronny