Life Observation 1.0

I am calling this entry a 'Life Observation' rather than a 'Random Rant' because the 'Rant' category falls under a complaint, whereas today's musings are merely bemused observations about life.

My family and I just returned from our Spring Break vacation.  We went to West Palm Beach in Florida to visit my sisters.  My bemused observation makes me think about Murphy's Law (poor Murphy).  The entire week before our trip, West Palm was sunny and 80 every day (as continuously reported to me by my sister).  The forecast for our week (7 days in advance) called for rain for the entire week.  I am happy to say that the forecast improved the closer we got to our trip; however it did not prove to be highly accurate.

On our first day, it rained all day (even though the forecast called for sunshine).  This was not one of those quick little rains that cleared up within an hour.  Nope.  It was gray and rainy, ALL DAY.  The second day was supposed to be nice, prior to a cold front moving in on Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday was going to be 80 and sunny.  And of course the following week was calling for 5 straight days of 80s and sunshine.


As mentioned, Day Two was supposed to be all sun; the plan was to enjoy our pool as well as get some ocean time in. Here was the sky as we left our condo and headed for the beach:

And here was the sky within 5 minutes of arriving at the ocean:

The walk to the beach was TEN minutes.  I could not believe how fast this storm moved in. So we grabbed all of our stuff and ran to a picnic shelter area.  I am happy to report that this was a typical, short-lived Florida storm.  Within 30 minutes, the sky cleared and returned to being a beautiful, sunshining blue.  We were thrilled that we were going to get our beach time in after all.

We walked back up to the beach, laid down our towels, set up our umbrella, and just as I was getting settled in to read my book, I kept noticing annoying little bugs biting me.  It was almost constant (certainly the antithesis of relaxation).  My husband didn't believe me because he was not getting bit.  Then he laid his white t-shirt on my towel and within seconds we saw a hundred tiny little brown bugs all over his shirt.  That was enough evidence for me to immediately high-tail it out of there.  Beach time over.

Apparently, we experienced an extremely abnormal phenomenon for the beach ... no-see-ums were everywhere.  Typically, annoying no-see-ums are not on the beach, they are usually farther inland (my sister says they are in the mangroves...and NEVER on the beach with the ocean breeze).  We found out that the weather pattern we just experienced came from the West (whereas typically the beach breeze comes from the East, off the Atlantic Ocean).  One cool thing about life...one is constantly learning new interesting facts.

Like I said at the start of this blog, this truly is not a rant or a complaint (I actually find it amusing).  I would not change a thing.  Escaping Ohio, after the brutal winter we just had, was a wonderful thing.  (And keeping in line with our winter, Ohio's spring break week brought unseasonably cold weather and snow almost every day.) 

So...I ask you...for the end of March...would you rather have a cloudy day with this view?

Or experience this view?

Enough said.  ;)


Bemusingly Yours,
Me

P.S. Ironically, a friend pointed out to me that our last family beach vacation (at Ocean City) was timed perfectly to catch the end of a tropical storm.   Hmmm...don't get me started on my luck with going out to dinner...

Motivational Moment:

1.  May you be happily surprised by cuteness. I LOVE the geckos that are in Florida. Absolutely Adorable!

2. May you get to experience the beauty of a jellyfish without experiencing the pain of swimming with one.

3. And finally, if you happen to go on vacation to a warm place and you unexpectedly experience a cold front, may there be a hot jacuzzi to warm you up and chase away your blues. *sigh*  What a view!

Unexpected Moments of Bliss

Every now and then, the stars align and you unexpectedly have a good night. This is particularly a beautiful thing when you are dreading the night to come.  Tonight, I 'volunteered' for my daughter's middle school spring dance party, which was an orchestra fundraiser.  Usually, it is my husband who fills in for these things because he is currently out of work, (his company closed 6 months ago) so he gets all of the kid running-around duties.  Typically, by the end of the work week, I am exhausted (aka falling asleep on the couch by 8:30pm).  Besides the usual end-of-the-week tiredness, this week had the dreaded time change, which makes morning come one hour earlier.  Now let me tell you, if you are like me and are not a morning person, then you well know how horrid this time change is.  Getting up at 6:30am is bad enough, but getting up at 5:30am is downright disgusting.  Anyhoo, I was not looking forward to tonight. And since hubby had a job interview, I had to leave work early and go to my 3rd graders dance party until 5:30pm and then had to be the ticket taker and door watcher for the middle school kids from 6:30 - 9:00pm.  Needless to say, after a long week at work AND the time change (AND cramps!), I was dreading my evening.

I am really happy to say that my evening was not only not horrible, but it was actually downright enjoyable.  My mom, who is 68 and absolutely amazing, had volunteered to work both parties (the elementary school party as well as the middle school party).  Yes - this woman constantly makes me look bad. She is the freaking energizer bunny; and yes, she is my hero.  I was watching her work the floor (as I was in my position guarding the door) and I realized how blessed I was to have her in my life.  She has endless love and energy for her family and for school functions (she is raising a granddaughter who is in 8th grade) and she is beautiful, on the inside and out.  She can seriously pass for a woman in her 50s, despite the fact that she is almost 70 (a positive aspect of her genetics I hope to inherit).

I realized my evening was actually becoming enjoyable as I found myself dancing and singing to the blaring popular songs being played by the DJ.  I also loved watching my twin 12 year-old's dancing the night away with their two bffs.  The innocence of youth is fleeting.  These girls will be graduating from high school in the blink of an eye.  So it was with a big smile on my face that I watched their little group of girls dancing all night, partaking in a hula hoop contest and a limbo contest, as well as being the last ones on the dance floor as the night came to an end.

As I was driving my daughters and their friends home and listening to their animated discussion and boisterous laughter, I was amazed at the sense of happiness that came over me.  It was a pure moment of bliss.  I wasn't exhausted.  I didn't have a headache.  My joints weren't killing me.  All was well.  That is until I realized the girls' conversation had drifted to talking about a certain boy. *SIGH*  It's only a matter of time until the drama of young love hits.  In the meantime, however, I'm happy to say that I treasured this cherished moment in time.


Carpe Dieming,
Me


Motivational Moment:

Today's Moment is one of my Life’s Little LaughablesTM :

Last night, as my husband was prepping for a job interview, I was telling him to say that he fits the job requirements to a 'T'.  Daughter B asked what that saying meant, so I explained to her that he fit the job description perfectly.  Then she said, well shouldn't the saying be that he fits the job requirements to a 'P' for perfect?  I thought that was a pretty good point.  :) 


Enjoy the ride my friends!