The New Aerobics

I just finished forty-five minutes of aerobic weed pulling. I bet you thought weed pulling was a sedentary activity. Wrong.

The first of the season weeds in my back yard are an average of two feet high and today the air is a chilly fifty degrees. Since my back yard is so bad, I thought I’d rush out and pull only one large bag full, something I didn’t think would take too long based on the size of my weeds. So rather than sitting down on a towel on the grass and scooting along, pulling them until they all disappeared, I utilized the seldom-employed bend over method. Unfortunately, the weeds kept compressing in the bag and I removed twice as manyas I had intended. Although we recently had rain, a few of the roots were stubborn, so I also experienced the side benefit of upper body muscle toning along with my cardio.

Next time I need to remember to do this in front of an audience as I did with my hot summer edging and mowing in the front yard. When I exert myself my face, neck, and shoulders turn a brilliant red. At the time, my new, much younger next-door neighbor must have thought I was going to have a heart attack because when I loaned him my mower, he volunteered to mow my yard, front and back, along with his own. He continues to do this now, three years later.

The way I was huffing and puffing when I came in from my weed pulling, surely he would have volunteered to do my weeds, too! Actually, he already did volunteer to mow and bag them for me since many were the thorny kind, but I asked him to give me a chance to pull them so I could get the roots out of the grass.

To encourage him to continue helping me, in addition to letting him use my mower, I bake banana bread for him, but as nice as he and his family are, I don’t really think I’d have to do that. Anyway, it’s great having a thoughtful neighbor.

Life Should Be Simpler

It’s been two and a half years and I still haven’t mastered organization of my side-by-side freezer/refrigerator. Rather than having regular shelves, the freezer has wire racks and is almost too narrow to hold a pound of bacon crosswise. Containers that are not in rectangular boxes just seem to slide right off of each other. Therefore, having a neat freezer or putting certain items in logical places is nearly impossible. And I may as well forget keeping my 22-pound Thanksgiving turkey there or storing more than one half-gallon flavor of ice cream. Fortunately I have a whole freezer in my garage!

But, every time I come across a problem like this, my first thought is, “It must have been designed by a man!” Granted, I do not own the largest version of this refrigerator/freezer because I am a one-person family. That doesn’t mean I should have to tolerate a messy unit.

I'm still trying to catch the frozen stuff before it slides out to crush my toes.

Formative Years Bonding

Why is it that knowing someone a short period during your formative high school years can have an effect on you all of your life? Even with a multi-decade gap in contact, the bond is firmly in place. This phenomenon can happen between best friends who have lost touch, previous lovers, or even with the relationship you only wish you'd had.

When you are young and some of these special people disappear from you life, you might be sad or disappointed. Then, later perhaps, you forget about them-until sometime ten or more years later, you find yourself lonely or feeling depressed. You think about your youth that leads you to them-wondering where they are, what has happened to them, if they think about you. If you're ambitious, you try to search for them-unsuccessfully. The Internet hasn't been invented yet.

More time passes. You miss a reunion, and suddenly it's 30 years since you've seen your former friends, and time for another reunion. Attending with anticipation, you find many who have changed on the outside. But usually a look into their eyes brings on recognition to confirm their identification, and you pick up where you left off with them...as if no time had passed. There are just new and different experiences to exchange.

After the event when everyone has left the gathering, your mind reviews the evening and the newly received list of classmates with their locations (for the ones who aren't lost). Suddenly, you realize how many of your special friends were missing and once again wonder where they are, what has happened to them.

With new determination you begin your search again. Now thankful for the Internet, you are able to track down some of these people. You find best friends, former acquaintances, and even the lover you wish you'd had.

Because of the new communication advantages, you are able to email and catch up on the past 30+ years. Some of the friends who also moved to the area where you now live, meet you for lunch or for fun and games on a regular basis. A few times, the object of your romantic desires attends an event and you realize how right you were all those years ago. But it appears to be too late to realize your dream.

As I prepare to attend my 40th high school reunion on South Padre Island, I will be seeing many of these people who have helped mold me into who I have become. It will be a happy weekend, assuming my old friends and that someone special shows up.

After celebrating at the event, you are once again alone, reviewing the weekend and about whom you missed again at this reunion. You're easily smiling about those who were there and how much you enjoyed interacting with them. But unfortunately, when all these thoughts have settled, you realize everyone's age and feel heart wrenching agony, realizing this might be the last time in your life you'll ever see some of them.