GREAT week...

My week was crazy.. but GREAT... It started off Monday with working with some amazing students to begin filming for our community service day project... filming people saying what they are thankful for... kids will edit it and we will be sending it to some troops in Afghanistan.  Can't wait to see the finished product.  That afternoon I got the BEST news I have gotten in a LOOONG time... My friend, Debbie, who has breast cancer, got results from her most recent scans and the news was good... the tumor in her breast has shrunk and the other tumors have not grown and there are no new tumors... so doctors told her that treatment is working....for now... told her that she will never be cancer free... but that it is possible to keep the cancer under control... I was excited for her... no further tests until after the holidays... something for which I am grateful...

Then Thursday our school hosted our annual Diversity Day... I helped organize the event and was responsible for all the scheduling and for the most part the day went off without a hitch.  It was great.  I was pretty tired after that, just because I was stressed about making sure it went well...and when it was over it was a huge relief and weight off my shoulders...and that night had to stay at school until 8:00 for parent teacher conferences.  Parent teacher conferences continued into Friday.  My conferences went well.  The kids in my homeroom are great and their parents are very supportive and involved.  It was nice.  Then the fun began...

After work on Friday, my colleague and co-planner for Diversity Day,Sarah and I went to get manicures and pedicures.  Ahhhh... it was so nice to relax and get pampered while having a chance to visit and debrief from the week.

Then on Saturday one of my out of town friends came to visit.  This weekend marked twelve years since we first met.  We had a great time.  Started out by playing tourist... he wanted to see Portland Headlight... but we didn't stay there long because it was windy and cold.  We then went bowling.  I am not someone who is a great bowler... usually.  My friend had forewarned me that his bowling skills were less than stellar, but I did not believe him... he was true to his word... he was pretty bad... and I had the best bowling streak of my life!  My best score was 154, my worst was 136.. his best was 104 and worst was 85 I think... It made for some good laughs... we had put a wager on the games and after he had not won any of the first three... asked if the last game could be winner take all..double or nothing.. I agreed... and kicked his ass! We then had something to eat at the bar and he said he was feeling a bit ashamed of his performance and wanted to compete with me in something he could have a chance and suggested we go to a sports bar we had been to before that has those arcade basketball games... so we did... we played side by side and I was pretty sure that I was player 1 and he was player 2.. player 1 kept winning, but he was sure his machine was player 1... so I said fine... let's each do a round, using the same machine so there cannot be any mistakes... I beat him.. and he demanded another round... and again,  I beat him.. He just shook his head... and then we had to play scrabble... we had been doing some trash talking about our scrabble skills... and he did not realize that scrabble has been a part of my family's culture for a long time, despite that I had told him my family were pros... So we started.. he went first... with some crappy three letter word and I built upon it adding my own three letter word right above his making one three letter word and three two letter words.. and he challenged one of my words... ae... and I told him it was in the scrabble dictionary, which I had brought with me... and I was right... it went down hill for him from there... I ended up with 393 and he had something like 179...  Again he said his ego was suffering so I agreed to arm wrestle... and he won, hands down.  (Pun intended)  After that we went to a really nice restaurant and had some drinks and some food.  We laughed a lot and talked and I had so much fun.  We left the restaurant around 9:30 and it was snowing like crazy!  Insane really... and we quickly shuffled through the wet slush to another bar where we continued laughing and talking... So much fun.

It was so nice after a busy and hectic week to be able to kick back and relax with someone I have known for so long.  Good times.

And yes, for the record... I said SNOW.  I hate snow.  We got like 5 inches in some areas... I did eventually take some pictures of it this morning, but it had already melted significantly.  But thought I would share anyway...

Does this mean kayak season is officially over?  Ugh. 

One Year...

Time, as they say, flies... when you are having fun... and I suppose that is true... One year ago something happened that changed my life... for the better... 

It was the night on which Dad and Betty had their first date.  Awww... yup a whole year already.  Betty had tickets to a show in a town about an hour from where they live and after several call attempts that ended with her hanging up the phone before completely dialing the number... finally she called and let it ring.  Dad answered.  Betty asked Dad to join her in seeing the show and Dad accepted. Since then the two of them have been pretty inseparable.  (Insert smile here.)  

The difference in my father's quality of life has been beautiful to see.  I am so proud of him, for opening his heart to Betty.  Although Mom had told Dad she did not want him to be alone... that he was too young to spend the rest of his life without companionship.  Even though Mom had given him permission, I feared that Dad would not be open to the idea... 

Enter Betty.  

I am thankful for her courage... for calling Dad and asking him out.  Thankful for her self proclaimed inability, as the home economics teacher, to make brownies, needing Dad's assistance (date two).  Betty has provided Dad with companionship..., and more importantly has helped him find his smile.  She tells me that he has a great smile, that he smiles with his whole face... and I hope she know that she has played a part in that.  Dad's smile and laughter has, in the last year, become genuine, not forced... and he is happy.  

She and her daughter have welcomed Dad in to their lives and along with that accept my sister and I and my nephews... a big package deal!  

When mom and I talked one afternoon, on her bed, when she told me that she knew none of us wanted to think about life without her, but that she needed me to know that she wanted Dad to find someone to care for to be with... it was hard for me to imagine.  It didn't take me a lot of time to know that offering my blessing to Dad  was important to him and was absolutely what I wanted for him... Of course it was hard to see Dad with someone besides my mom... but... in some ways Mom may have had something to do with Dad and Betty.... and would be happy at the way Dad is living life... 

Thank you Dad, for being brave enough to open your heart to Betty... Betty, thank you for loving my dad... you are a gift to him and to our family.  

Think Pink

Today I walked 3 miles in an effort to raise money for breast cancer research.  I did the walk because one of my best friends, Debbie, has breast cancer.  I have mentioned her here but have not shared much about her journey here because I have struggled with what and how to share it... It isn't my story to tell, it's hers... and I have tried to be mindful of that.  As the date of the walk got closer, Debbie got more and more emotional.  She was all about doing it, getting it done... she hates to be the focus of people's attention and to have people participate in a breast cancer walk with her because she has breast cancer has been overwhelming to her.  She handled it gracefully today.  This is a picture of most of our group... about 20 people were there as part of Debbie's Bosom Buddies... not to mention the hundreds of other people there, walking in honor of someone they know or because they have or have had breast cancer.  

 This is Debbie's son.  He walked the entire time... no complaints... I think a lot about him... wonder what he is wondering.  Today there was a girl scout troop there, giving pins to people doing the walk.  They approached people offering the pins and explained they were there because the founder of the Girl Scouts had died from breast cancer.  Debbie's husband told me that the girls said that in front of Zach... It's one of those tough situations... the girls were doing a great thing, being involved in such a great cause... and probably none of their troop leaders thought about how that would sound to a seven year old boy whose mom has breast cancer...

This is the sign Debbie made so that we could all find her.  A journalist form the local paper saw her sign, photographed it and approached Debbie to ask about her reason for being there.  I thought Deb may fall apart and not want to talk to the reporter, but she was poised and shared a bit of her story.  Perhaps Debbie will be in the paper tomorrow as the headline talks about the hundreds walking for breast cancer... but will the article be able to convey how cancer truly effects people and their families?  Debbie did not want to buy one of the t-shirts for the walk... does not want things to remind her, to be in her face, about having breast cancer...because it is there enough, without a tshirt...

 This is Mark, Deb's husband, being a good sport sporting the pink scarf.

This was one of my favorite parts of the day...Debbie got to meet, in person, for the first time, a woman with whom she has been corresponding since her diagnosis.  One of Deb's friends connected them because the other woman has gone through what Debbie is going through and has been able to understand in a way nobody else truly can.  Their meeting was emotional for both of them... I look at this picture and think.. how beautiful she is.. my friend... my beautiful friend.

There were a lot of cool shirts being worn at the walk.  This was one of my favorites:

The path of the walk took us by the Occupy Portland 'camp.'  This sign was posted there, for their cause, not for breast cancer... but... I thought it was fitting... Imagine a world without cancer... Imagine...

This walk was different than the other walks I have done.  I have done walks in recent years where participants are racing, trying to beat the clock.  Today... there was no competition... just walking.  It was nice to see the groups of people walking together, all ages... As I have mentioned here before, a book I often revisit, Conversations with God, says that humans act for one of two reasons... out of fear or out of love... Today's walk... was out of love...

This is the Portland Observatory.  We walked past it on the walk and I like the picture!

The course took us through the city of Portland and down to Casco Bay.  Our group paused for a second to make sure everyone caught up.

Lots of people... think about that.. this is one walk in one city in one part of the US... Not every person whose life has been impacted by breast cancer in Portland participated today.. but many many did... Breast cancer is ONE form of cancer... and the lives it invades... are numerous... Think about the other cities, the other states, the other countries... and how many people have had to deal with breast cancer... and of course other kinds of cancers...

I love Debbie's dace in this picture, the smile!  She is so full of life!  I love her! I hate that she is fighting for her life.

Of course there were people walking in memory of someone they loved...someone who wasn't here today to join in the walk... Real men wear pink ...

On the way to the walk today I picked up my friend Suellen who is also friends with Debbie... we were talking about Debbie and how she would do today... I shared that Debbie was worried about the emotionality of the day..and she asked me how I was doing today, emotionally... that is a hard question.

Before the walk, in the days leading up to it... I have had some anxiety... some angst...and if I am candid... some resentment... and guilt that accompanies that resentment... I am glad that research has been able to improve how breast cancer is fought....that many many people are able to survive and live life in remission... but I hate that there was no way to fight the cancer that killed Mom.  After having gone through what we did with Mom... I am not sure that I believe in a cure for cancer... I think some are treatable and manageable... but I don't think there is a cure... There are not walks for every cancer, for every other disease... there are not enough miles...

I hope... that we can do this walk together again next year,  that Debbie's battle with breast cancer is behind her... that she wins the battle.... but... I am also terrified...

Videos

I have found that the best way to post videos is to post them on youtube, then share links here..

So here is the blue heron video... it is sideways, I forgot to turn my camera...
CLICK HERE


Here is a reflections video inside the tunnel...
CLICK HERE

Yes, I am a nerd who takes videos of reflections... But it is purty!

Finally, pictures from my practically perfect weekend...

For some reason I was unable to upload pictures to the blog for a while.  I tried disabling things, enabling others, blocking pop-ups, allowing them... tried it all.  I googled the error message I kept getting and eventually found something that said upgrade your browser to firefox..which is, I believe a mac thing... when it comes to computers I am a PC!  I have to use apple computers for work, but I prefer my PC.  So I refused to do firefox... and instead installed Google Chrome... and it worked... and I like that I can upload multiple pictures at a time... so I guess it is a win win.  

So here are some pictures from my fabulous weekend!  

First up is Miss Maria and I.  Isn't she AMAZING?  She is such a beautiful baby.  I am so glad that I got to spend some time with her and Sara.  Sara is battling Bells Palsy and it has been a long battle for her.  I was going to go back up tonight, but I have been sick this week and the last thing they need is for Sara and/or Maria to get my cold... so I stayed put.  It was so fun to visit.  

Last Saturday I went kayaking and it was beautiful.  The leaves had not yet peaked... apparently they are peaking now, but it is rainy.  I may get up early in the morning however and if it is not raining, see if I can find some pretty colors on the river.  

Here are some pics of that adventure.  I have posted pics of some of these sights before, but the color and light are different so I am posting again... 

This tree... I love this tree... I am worried it won't survive the winter.  It is literally split down the middle... 

I found two different birds nests along the river that I had not previously seen.  I love that I can paddle someplace and see new things each time.  

The stone bridge/tunnel, again...  

This is a picture of the ceiling of the tunnel.  I was taking a picture of the water reflecting and realized you could see the outline of my kayak and paddle.  

This is one of the cows that were grazing along the river.  It was pretty cool to see cows while kayaking.  A definite first for me.  

Mooore cows! 

This picture makes me think of a kaleidoscope for some reason.  

So calm... so peaceful... my serenity... 

This is me... a self portrait, taken in my kayak... the background, apparently is a little confusing... the trees are reflected in the water so it is hard to see the water, but if you look closely you can tell... It's me, doing what I love! (With, as Jill's daughter would say, pirate hair!)

The power lines that cross the river.  I love the blue of the sky in this picture! 

Approaching another bend in the river... you know I don't think of that symbolically... HA! 

The next set of pics is from Sunday.  I kayaked 11 miles with some coworkers.  It was AWESOME.  We went to a place I had never kayaked which was a lot of fun.  

We put in on one of the ponds before heading to the river where we spent most of our day.  The pond was pretty big and had a lot of boat traffic and PLANES! 

Still not prime foliage...

But there were glimpses of color... 

I like the sun in this picture! 

This is a cool thing... the river where we kayaked has a set of 'locks'.  This green bridge has to be turned to allow people in and out of the locks or to allow cars to cross the river.  It was pretty cool to watch the process of going through the locks.  This is stage 1, going past the bridge... 

This was phase two, entering the locks... Boats have to pay $6.00.  They gave us kayakers a deal... all 5 of us for the price of one boat!  (Price is round trip.)  

This is us inside the locks when the water was high.. in front of us the water level drops significantly.  So they slowly lower the water level as we are in there, and let us out on the other side when the water is low enough.  

The guy cranks this thing by hand to change the levels... It's science and mechanical... an engineering wonder... but to my mind... it's just plan COOL! 

You can see that we are getting lower... (That's Anton in the green hat... a fellow teacher... quite a character! Love working with him!) 

This is a sign explaining the history of the locks.  

We are getting lower!!!  That's Terri talking to Anton.  She is great too, also works at my school and has become one of my kayak buds! 

After we went through the locks this blue heron flew in and landed.  After all the boats had left the locks and my friend started paddling, I stayed put.  I got some great pictures of this guy and a great video of it catching a fish.  (I will try to post, but have not had good luck with videos here... )  I was so excited.  I have never been so close to one of these amazing birds.  

After taking a bazillion pictures of the heron I caught up with my friends who had pulled off to the side and waited for me.  They know I go a little crazy with my camera and they know I will catch up eventually.  

It was an AMAZING day.. October 9th and temperatures were in the 80's!  Crazy!  I got sunburned.. my only burn of the summer!  (well, fall...) 

It was beautiful... I am so lucky to live in Maine.  

I wonder how long this tree has been here... the roots are so cool! 

After paddling through the river we paddled out to Sebago Lake, the biggest lake in Maine.  There is a sandbar there and this log was there.  

This was taken looking out at Sebago.  There were a lot of people on the water! 

This is the sand along the sandbar.  I loved the ripples in the sand.  Anton teased me for taking a picture of sand.. but I love the texture! 

Another tree... 

Roots can be complicated... 

We paddled to Sebago State Park to use their facilities.  I like the picture of the kayaks lined up.  

The return trip through the locks... it was a bit more crowded this time... 

A self portrait of me with some cool coworkers... 

This is looking back at the lower part of the river we were on as the water was rising in the locks... 

This was looking off to the side of the locks, part of a dam.  

I wanted to show the difference in the water levels... we were down there, now we are up here... that's Linda.. another co-worker.  

This is the last leg of our trip.  Headed back across the pond... I had my feet out... nice and relaxed... 

It's days like this I need to think of when it is snowing...

This loon was swimming in the pond... not too far from us.  I loved watching the loons this summer. I felt like he was saying good bye to me... 

Monday... Before my cold hit really hard... I went to the ocean.  I didn't stay long because while I was there my head suddenly felt like it was in a vice.  

Here are some ocean pics... it was almost too hot to be there... not much of a breeze... but beautiful.  

I love Maine... I hate winters in Maine... but... this is the kind of stuff I LOVE... and this year I have been so lucky to really enjoy it.  I am grateful.  

I will try to post some videos soon... if I have any luck!