And 5 Years Goes By in a Blink...

I had to Google myself to find this old blog, and realized I haven't touched it since 2014. In 5 YEARS! Reading back to the last few posts, I am laughing to myself-- my, how things have changed.

I just turned 49. How the heck did that happen? 5 years is really a lot in middle-age. Things-a-changin'. I am still cancer-free, and back in "gen-pop" for risk-factors. No special treatment- just mammograms once a year. I guess one result is my sensitivity to estrogen, so no hormone replacement allowed for my full-on menopause that the cancer radiation and medications forced several years ago. Which means daily hot-flashes and stubborn weight gain, no matter how many times I work out each week or eat healthy. I am still struggling with finding a formula that will get these extra 8-10 pounds off. All my tricks in the past (see old blog posts) are NOT working. Beyond frustrated!

This is not me. But the sentiment is.

Aches and pains: something ALWAYS hurts. Possibly due to the aforementioned 8-10 lbs, I realize, but I see a chiropractor weekly, stretch, roll, massage, Biofreeze, etc, etc, etc....its a dance with my body. Wake up to a numb hand. Stand up and my knee pops. Lean over and my back tweaks. WTAF? My very disabled mother says my constant working-out is breaking my body. As opposed her her complete lack of movement and lost muscle tone forcing her to no life beyond her couch? Ummm, no thanks, Mom, I'll keep doing me. Camp Gladiator 3-4 times a week, dog walks and bike rides. I'm no slouch.

At 49, I also have restless-life-syndrome. Too young to retire, but have been working for waaaay too long. I have friends in their late fifties, and sixties, who have partially retired or retired. That's the Goal. I'm not working until I can't enjoy retirement. Last year, in my 24th year at my company, I finally came up with a job description I've wanted for a while, and took it to my boss. It has taken over half a year to come to fruition, but I've just started working partially from home, and partially in my old office and other offices who need my help for staff training. I'm part of "Corporate" as they say. My company is small, so the corporate group is small. I have been looked to for several years for administration help, and my many years doing my job gave me the natural ability to answer those questions and provide the help, but I wasn't recognized as that next level until now. Still full-time, but more freedom to set my days up the way I want, and work from anywhere. Getting out of the "box" which was my main office for 19 years is the feeling of running through a field with the sun shining down on me. I deserve this and love it. It will pacify me for a while, until I decide I want to take my hours down to part-time.

Whoo-hoo!

In the last 5 years, family has changed. "Sinatra"...aka John, and I are married. Our 3 year anniversary is coming up in October. Yes, only 3 years because it has taken us all this time to find our path with the kids. In these last 5 years 3 of our 5 kids graduated from high school and moved OUT. His boys live together in an apartment and work at the same company, and my "Lil Lady", aka Cam, is a college Junior! The boys decided against college when they realized they didn't want to be students anymore, and thankfully they didn't waste too much of our money before deciding this. They both took almost a year after high school to wander aimlessly, working hardly, before gaining employment in a ground-level position at a computer company. They make decent money for young adults, and can mostly take care of themselves. Saving the college money means when one of their cars breaks down, John can spend the extra cash they don't have, and we still come out on top.  We call that #winning.

My girl Cam has been on the Dean's List for 3 of the 4 semesters she's been in college. It's truly a wonder after reading the last post I wrote here , where I complained about her lack of give-a-shit every day of her high school sophomore year. She had a rough patch through her junior year of high school, where she ended up leaving her large public high school and changing to a very small charter school.  There she worked on her 4 core classes at her own pace, without AP status, without electives, just a goal to finish HS with a diploma. Soon after the switch, she went through a hospital stay to treat a serious blood clot that formed in her leg (at age 17!), and had to make up a bunch of school that she missed. But she still finished all her requirements before spring break of her senior year, and graduated in the top 3rd of her class in 2016.

By this point she had been accepted to Texas State University- not a small school, but one an hour from home, and suddenly she was going to orientation with 3 roommates she'd never met before.  She was blossoming into an unafraid and motivated kid, and I held my breath as she moved out and into her dorm.  The first semester was a few weeks of OhShit with the studying and the figuring out what professors want. And basically realizing college professors have the material for you to learn, but won't hold your hand to get the grade. She ended up that first semester with a 3.1 GPA, and I was thrilled. Her roommates, which are now her friends, all pushed each other and became great study-buddies, and she was Dean's list by end of freshman year.  And now she's a junior and starting her College of Education classes to become a teacher. She was born for this.

My other pride is "Chillgirl" aka Jo, who is now soon to be a high school junior. She was a baby middle schooler at my last post, where she still listened to her mama and behaved silly without worry of what others think. Now, at 16, she's the typical teen- secretive and moody, but at the core, still my chill girl, with only rare flare-ups of attitude and yelling matches like I had so many times with her sister. She's still the passive-aggressive one, closing her bedroom door, or putting in her airPods when she wants to be left alone. We still have good conversation when its just me and her driving to/from volleyball tournaments or games from high school. She knows she can recount her playtime or team dynamics with me, and say anything to vent her frustrations or amaze at her good performance. I'm her cheerleader and sounding board. She's making some big decisions in the next year about college and about volleyball, so grades and school requirements are a big topic right now. What college fits her desires? Will she be able to play volleyball? Recruiting is a huge thing with this age-group and when I'm with the volleyball parents, its almost all we talk about. The kids feel the pressure. She's unclear on going to the school she likes, or going to a school to play.

HS Volleyball HOCO- Living the Dream

Right now her summer is filled with her school volleyball athletic training, her club indoor volleyball practices to be ready for Nationals in July, and her club beach volleyball practices to also be ready for Nationals, again in July. She lays in her bed between these practices watching YouTube in a vegetative state, so there isn't much time for heart-to-hearts with Mom. I take what I can get.

Our Babies

My step-daughter Mak is also an almost-junior, and living in north TX still heavily involved in her competitive cheer club and HS cheer, as well as running around with her driving friends until she gets her license finally next month. The last of the kids to get a license, she's chomping at the bit. John and her are car-shopping for something like my girls have- reliable but sensible. It will be great to have all the kids driving themselves around. Our insurance bill is the only downside of this.

John and I are the executive managers of these five young persons, navigating them through their new grown-up adventures such as travel on their own, apartment leasing, and oil changes. The older three take care of their medical needs by themselves since we can no longer talk for them at over-18. The two younger girls have only a year really to decide their next plan before the world-wind of their senior years in high school. How fast will these two years fly? 

My dear husband and I travel with friends, with the kids, without the kids, and even by ourselves when possible. He flies his own Cessna so we can take off for short trips without much notice. We make some of the volleyball tournament destinations a mini-vacay, but enjoy the us-only wine country or beach trips too. Ski trips are short, but sweet. We are lucky to have friends who live by the slopes, so we get to visit while we ski. Our wedding was on Lake Tahoe, literally on a boat in the lake, and the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to, truly. We will plan a summer/fall trip back to Tahoe to go out on a boat tour again to commemorate our 5 year anniversary, if we don't go before that to ski.

We are allowing ourselves some special experiences, because we've earned it. John's main work provides us all the health insurance and stable paychecks, and mine pays the bills too.  Our side mobile canning business keeps him busy and we are creating our nest egg for later. He still travels to north TX every other week as we've always done. The thing I worried in the beginning would be our undoing, has become our savior. Its our norm, and the break from each other on those days apart have given us time to regroup, get the mundane tasks done, and remain independent, while creating excitement when we are back together. We have great friends at home and in travel destinations, so we always find ways to relax and laugh. It turned out how it was meant to be.

Beautiful Wedding on Beautiful Lake Tahoe

At almost-50, we think about how to finish our lives, since what we have done up until now has created what we have. To me, the hard work is lessening, and finding the time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor is what we strive for each day. Watching our kids do the hard work is rewarding too. Grandkids some day, more travel, cherishing our family and friends while we have them. We are sure not to miss a thing.

Who DOES this?? Costa Rican Paradise Revisited

Certainly not a 42 year-old mother of two at mid-life, working full-time as the sole provider for her family, all the while keeping up with new-school-year preparations and extra-curricular activities. Wait, yes with all that, THIS vacation was just what the doctor ordered.

That smile is for reals...during a walk through a rain forest on my way to a natural waterfall.









Since my trip to Costa Rica two years ago, I remembered the lush green all-naturale views of the countryside and the dirty brown rivers with crocs lounging on the banks. The humid air with a seaside smell, the native Costa Ricans walking or riding bikes alongside the roads as our driver Juan Carlos hurled our van down the road without regard for the painted middle lines or speed limit signs. These things were the same, but no less thrilling to experience again.

                       Our home for the week. No, this isn't a postcard~ I walked out of the house to this!

I don't know if it was because I was with my Sinatra, or my bestest work-friends, or because it was a bit longer than last time, but this trip opened my eyes to so much more beauty and appreciation in Costa Rica. I breathed in the salty air more. I looked around and took mental snapshots, as well as literal snapshots, of every gorgeous scene.

 We weren't exactly laying around getting sand in our shorts however. Day one brought on a gondola ride up a severe mountain with nothing but deep forest greenery for miles...only to zipline down that same mountain on thousands of feet of wire, hanging over the waterfalls and streams and treetops.

Strapped in and ready....

                                                                        

Soar Woman!

Sore abs aside, we ended the day with a scrumptious meal of sesame tuna and fried plantains cooked by our chef Carlos, and a rousing game of Yahtzee with my housemates.  Yeah, throw in a few Coronas and Imperials, and a shot of Patron with my sweetie, and it was a damn good day.

Day two was an all-day nautical affair. A 2-hour boat ride on a yacht with a group to La Isla Tortuga. Yes, Turtle Island. Yes, we saw a few majestic sea turtles as well as a couple of whales peeking out along the ride. But that was just the ride out.

                                                                   Clearly I'm jazzed


We arrived at the small beach off the island and immediately were wisked off to an even smaller island to snorkel. Quite lovely, swimming with the fishies. Then back to the beach to eat lunch and relax.

                                                                      Fantasy island

I slept in a beach chair to the sound of the waves, I played in the surf with my friends' two 11 year olds, I lost my sunglasses in the surf (waht-wahhh), I spoke with colorful parrots and inhaled the boat captain's BBQ chicken, veggies and rice.  All things relaxing.  I watched the clouds roll in and worried a storm might catch us on the ride back, and then I kept my eyes closed to ward off the nausea as I dozed next to Sinatra on the bumpy boatride back.  I was grateful the pouring rain only let loose as we climbed into the van for our ride back to the house.

A shower and more relaxing later, we were made more yummy cooking, shrimp pasta, and Yahtzee into the evening. I think I went to bed early that night, since my sense of time was all vacation-y, so it didn't really matter.

Day three was a bit lazier, but began with a 2-hour ATV drive up in the mountains. I was given my own to drive and wasn't sure I knew what I was doing, but managed just fine. With the day before's rain, it was muddy but thankfully only puddles to ride through.

At the top of the mountain was a little cafe with a little lady cooking little empanadas that were the real deal. The tour guide suddenly started chopping some huge sugar cane sticks and had us work a grinder to make sugar cane juice. Random, but really cool.

Working it!

Do these greens exist in the crayola box?

                                          We made it back to the house with plenty of time to play on the beach out front...Sinatra and I boogieboarded, and got completely water-logged, but loved every minute of it.

We look so professional, no?

Day three's evening was something of a treat.  Our driver Juan Carlos invited us to Mass at his church, which was held on this Wednesday because it was Mother's Day in Costa Rica.  All of us sunburned Americans file into this open air Catholic church and were blessed to witness a Spanish Mass, with pure loud singers and even un perro (dog) walking through in front of the altar during.  The rain began to hit the metal roof which gave the air a cool wet feeling, and it was really something special.

This was taken after Mass, where I understood only 5% of what was being said

Then dinner at a local restaurant where I ate octopus and fried rice...the octopus was like really...octopus-y, but once I ignored the little tentacles on the meat, strangely, I liked it.

Day Four was really my favorite.  We had Juan Carlos drive us an hour and a half outside of town to a woman's untouched property.  It took so long because the road we rode on was brutal with rocks and pits and we had to go really slooooww.  We paid four colones a piece for her to allow us to hike through her property.  It was muddy, it was hot, there was heavy brush which I had no idea if little creatures would pop out of, and it was treacherous walking.  We slipped and slid and got muddy, would cross a creek and rinse off, then on to more mud and fun.  Juan Carlos knew the way and finally we arrived at the end.  A three-pool waterfall, "Tres Piscinas", completely hidden in the forest and naturally flowing huge gobs of water.  I was tentative at first.  Got in the first pool and braved it.

I'm not mad here, just am being pummeled

We saw some local boys up at the third tier crawling around and some of my friends started walking up the muddy hillside to go up there...Juan Carlos in his flip-flops took the easy route up the rocks.  I decided I could do that.  I'd rock-climbed before, you know, at the ballpark or amusement park.  This was just the same except it was real rock, real water, and moss stuff everywhere.  I did it anyway.  Then Sinatra followed.  He ended up going to the next level where the boys were, climbing in his bare feet.  My treaded hiking shoes had an easier job on the slick rock but it was still a scary climb.  The local boys began to jump off the top pool into the second one.  Huh. That looks fun.  I was already up there.  Why not?

             Sinatra turned into George of the Jungle somehow....was it to keep up with me, Jane, here?

I was the first estupido American to jump.  The locals assured me, in Spanish so really who knows what they were saying, that I was fine if I just jumped out from the edge, to avoid rocks near the waterfall.  Sinatra followed. The two 11 year olds with us did as well.  My adrenaline was running high but I used it to climb down the slick rocks and wait for Sinatra, while he did another jump, just to tempt fate.  He met me on the rocks and we shared a precious moment.  High on adrenaline, we sat down and took in the whole scene over the roar of the falls, and have this fabulous picture now:

                                Now my wallpaper on my laptop because this pic is freakin' RAD

After a picnic lunch on the rocks (sitting on them, not drinking them) we hiked back to the van all smiles and happiness, singing George of the Jungle and Gun's and Roses' Welcome to the Jungle...really a great experience.

Sinatra and I came away from this trip with Costa Rica's slogan of "Pura Vida!", or pure living, as our new mantra.  Yes we have busy lives and kids needing things and work to do, but when it all becomes too much, we have to take a minute and remember nature's beauty, happy Costa Rican's simple lifestyles, and the sound and smell of the ocean.

                                                                    Pura Vida, ya'll