Sistah Pat

The thing about a Demolition Derby is that you’re hit from all directions and you keep getting banged up but you can’t really whine about it because you put yourself there in the first place. If you don’t want to crash and burn, you better drag your sorry butt out of the way and limp back to safety.

I keep putting myself right back out there. Taking one hit after another. I really blew it yesterday. Ate a ton of junk last night. I worked my butt off and didn’t even take time for breakfast or lunch. I did manage to munch on a cheese stick and a handful of pretzels but I was starving when I finally got away from school at 3:30. I decided to go by the store on the way home which is not a good thing to do when I’m starving. I bought a lot of crap that I shouldn’t eat and then came home and ate junk all evening. Not much of a perfect day. Seems like the past couple of weeks, that’s what I do. I don’t seem to have much control over what’s going on. Even today, I have committments that will put me right back out there on the track. I have to go to Pam’s birthday party and DH won’t be able to go. That means I’ll be wandering around lots of food and drinks and kind of left on my own to socialize. There will be a few people that I know but most of them are strangers to me. Hopefully, I can visit for a couple of hours and leave without totally blowing it.

I also wanted to work out this morning but I have to take Andrew to Balfour to look at designs for his senior ring and they close at 1:00 today so I’ve got to get moving. Looks like I’m in for a bumpy ride today. Hope I can hang on and get away without too many dents.

12:30 - Word of advice about senior rings, ladies. Never try to order from a catalog or website. After looking through the brochures and catalogs over and over and trying to figure out what things look like, what’s included and what’s not, and how much all the different options cost, we finally gave up and headed down to Balfour. What a difference! You can look at all the rings, have them tell you what options are available and what’s included and be done and out the door in nothing flat! The process was really streamlined and Andrew really enjoyed seeing what things actually look like. It made it so much easier to pick the stone and the cut. Andrew could look at all the differnt stones and pick out the exact color he wanted and then look at the stone with all the different cuts and facets. He chose a navy blue sapphire and changed his mind from a fireburst to a more traditional cut when he saw what it actually looked like. I’m really pleased to have this taken care of. Final tally…$747.00! (gasp!) Senior rings ain’t cheap!

8:30 - Had a good time at Pam’s party. She didn’t want any presents except rocks for her “garden to be” so I tied a nice gold wired ribbon around a large chunk of pink granite from the Crazy Horse Memorial and gave it to her. I collect rocks from all the places we travel. I have beautiful red ones from the Arches area. Pink and coral from the area of Bryce Canyon and a lot of other beauties. I actually scrubbed the one I gave her and the flecks of gold, silver, and black sparkled against the pink grain. She likes my gardens and I’m not sure if the idea came from my gardens or her own thoughts but she got quite a few nice specimens.

I came home and sat in the spa for a while. The moonflowers and jasmine are beautiful and I don’t know how much longer I’ll get to enjoy them. There was a cool, gentle breeze dancing through the treetops and a lazy swirl of crisp yellow leaves drifted down to the spa. I was enjoying the sensuality of the experience when it occured to me that I spend a lot of time naked, in the dark, in the water. Almost every night and many mornings, I’m out there. I swim in the pool after dark, I relax in the spa, I even go out occasionally in the rain and stand there with the water pouring down on me.

A long time ago, I read an article about the sensitivity of a dolphin’s skin. They have an extraordinary number of nerve endings in their skin and the article said they spend their lives exhilarating in the feel of the water gliding over their bodies. I wonder if I have a little dolphin blood mixed in. I love feeling the water and the wind on my body. It’s not that I’m an exhibitionist. I have a nice, tall privacy fence in the backyard and a heavy canopy of leaves overhead. I’m not out there to be seen but I wouldn’t lose any sleep if I were. What are they going to see? An overweight, middle-aged woman with the same parts as any other woman. (Even though some of the parts may have shifted and dropped a little)

I think that’s one reason I love our place in Florida so much. Ten acres surrounded by dense woods.  All that privacy…no neighbors anywhere and my big old clawfoot tub out there in the flower garden under the moon and the stars. I love it when it rains at night. I just shed my clothes and run out in the meadow and enjoy the warm, Florida rain. I might startle a deer or a rabbit but there’s not much else out there.

The thing is…I don’t know anyone else who does this. Am I a bit strange or is it just that I have more opportunities to enjoy such experiences? I don’t guess it matters. I love the wind, and the water, and the rain, and the dark, and the moon, and the stars.

Fess up, ladies. Anyone else running around naked out there?

9:15 - Oops! Joy reminded me…I got so caught up in the spa experience I didn’t say much about the party. I did okay…had a beer and a glass of white wine. Ate a few appetizers and a slice of a concord grape pie. Had to try that! It was really good! I tried to stick to finger foods. I rationalized that there aren’t as many calories in them if you don’t break down and use a plate. Met a few new people with fun, appealing personalities. Actually had a very good time.