Top Ten

December 30, 2013




                                             Top Ten Things I Learned This Year



10. Going to the gym IS good for me. I can now fling the snow tires out of the shed and load them
       in the car without huffing and puffing. Or crying.  Thank-you Edge Flex!


9. In keeping with the exercise theme, I can spin! I was afraid to try it but I CAN do it!
    And if I pick a bike in the back I can sit when I get tired and not be embarrassed!


8. I can drive over bridges and only get panicked when I think of the Mianus River disaster.


7. As much as I try, I HATE yard work. And planting, fertilizing, watering, etc... also car
    maintenance.


6. I'm never giving up carbs. No matter what.


5. Even though two years ago I thought I would never travel I HAVE managed to take many trips as a
     single woman. And I like it.


4. It's never too late to find people to connect with, people you feel you have known forever.


3. I AM sentimental in a very sarcastic way.


2. I can say "I love you" to lots of different people for lots of different reasons.


1. "Do what feels right." No regrets.

Come Fly With Me

November 20, 2013


It must be Frank Sinatra month for me. Maybe the holidays are making me nostalgic. I mailed my passport this week to be renewed. I didn't want to let go of it. All the stamps from the countries I've visited. Italy, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, Columbia, Hong Kong and most recently BWI. What if it was lost? All those memories... But those I could never lose. The people, the food, the different cultures, the children I've cared for and their families. The mom who wrote us a letter in Vietnamese that said we were so kind. The grandmother that kept pinching my cheeks! The warmth of the Thai people. The people we laughed with and cried over. Those memories I can never lose. And of course, my most recent trip to that wonderful tropical island. My new "happy place."


I can't wait to get my new passport. A new beginning. Clean and untouched. New pictures, new trips and new people to meet.  New stamps in every country. I hope I have many more trips ahead of me. My first trip to Florence next year and hopefully more travel to Asia. And my personal dream destination to India. All ahead of me.



Come Fly With Me  by James Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn


Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away 
If you can use some exotic booze 
There's a bar in far Bombay 
Come on and fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away 

Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru 
In llama land there's a one-man band 
And he'll toot his flute for you 
Come on fly with me, let's take off in the blue 

Once I get you up there where the air is rarified 
We'll just glide, starry-eyed 
Once I get you up there I'll be holding you so near 
You may hear all the angels cheer 'cause we're together 

Weather-wise it's such a lovely day 
Just say the words and we'll beat the birds 
Down to Acapulco  Bay 
It's perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say 
Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away 

Trip Anxiety

November 2, 2013



I used to have a huge amount of trip anxiety whenever I was preparing for a vacation. "What if" was all I thought about. What if something happened to the house while we were gone? (Flood, frozen pipes, burglary) What if I left something vital at home that I needed? (contact lenses, glasses, underwear) What if something happened to the kids or my mother or sister? ( illness, accidents, heartbreak) What if the planed crashed, we were taken hostage, or got sick in a foreign country?


But my last few trips have been devoid of such worries. I have come to believe that I can handle almost anything. Having survived the fact that my life was completely altered has brought me a confidence I didn't think possible. I did have my doubts about survival at the time but I DID survive. And now I realize that I have coping skills I wasn't aware of before. I can take a step back and put most situations in perspective.


So this trip is mainly stress free. True, going to Turks and Caicos is not Uganda but that never figured into the equation before. We are leaving tomorrow and I'm still not completely packed but not worried about it. I have done all I could to take care of things here before I leave. Anything that happens while I'm gone will be taken care of when I get back.

Rape in India

January 10, 2012



Ah, India. A place I have always wanted to visit. The exotic colors and smells. The Taj Mahal. The Indian food that I love. The refined and calming atmosphere I have come to know from the people I have met here in the U.S.

How disturbing to read of the way women are actually treated in India today. The brutal rape and death of a young women in India recently is unbelievable. From what I have been reading women in India cannot go out after dark unaccompanied ( or in this case even the presence of a male companion was not a deterrent)  for fear of assault. Not the idea of the India I had conjured up in my head. Again, I am astounded at how naive I really am.

The only thing that is different about this rape is that people are responding. The men have been caught but if they will be brought to justice is still in question. People are protesting in the street. Apparently women are not thought of in high regard in India. Or for that matter in many countries. It can still be argued that even in the U.S. we are "second class citizens." Why? Women worldwide need to stand up for themselves and REAL men need to support them. Women should not be afraid to leave there homes after dark for any reason. Men who defile them should be brought to justice. But more importantly men should be taught to respect women as equals. Not as possessions, sexual conquests or inferiors. We are your mothers, sisters and wives.

So as a single woman I will put off traveling to India. I just don't feel safe.