Sunday, September 24 – September 30
Highlights of this week include several reunions with friends I haven’t seen in years, my first MLB Mariner’s Game and some soul-baring.
Lowlights include being attacked by a killer cricket in (my own vehicle!) and that same bout of some soul-baring.
Sunday, September 24th
You know those days when you wake up and just know that it’s going to be a good day, even when you are heading into a rough week… This was one of them.
I was up and out the door early (for a Sunday) because it was a full day reconnecting with some old friends.
My friend Paul Honeman was in the area, so we met up for an early breakfast at the Vintage Cafe in Everett.
Here’s the thing about Paul (and his wife Valerie, too). He is a genuinely good person . I mean – GOOD, the kind of person you want as a friend, neighbor, relative, etc. Both he and his wife have hearts of gold and live their lives with generous intention.
I met him 30-ish years ago when he and my mom both worked for the Municipality of Anchorage, and he had become friends with both of my parents.
We’d fallen out of contact over time as my life and circumstances had changed, but I think God made a concerted effort to bring him (and his family) back into my life. I say that because God orchestrated that one of Paul’s grandchildren (Violet) would end up being MY (beloved) goddaughter. What makes the whole situation so special is that when Stephanie R. and I met and became friends, I didn’t know about the family connection between her and Paul. In fact, it may have been weeks (or even months) after we’d become friends that specifics (like the names of extended family members) came up and we made the connection. See what I mean? Friendships that were meant to be. ❤️
What proves that our breakfast reunion was kismet (there are no coincidences) is that restaurant that was picked appears to be frequented by the local PD. 🚓🚨 When I arrived and took my seat in the back, there were half a dozen officers enjoying breakfast together at the table adjacent to mine. When Paul walked in and saw them there, he looked at me, looked at them, and then we both smiled and shrugged, laughing a little. IYKYK. 👮♂️
We had a great time catching up over breakfast, and I am so appreciative he made time to stop and see me as he was traveling in the area. His generous heart, kind words and encouragement were very helpful. And of course, we had to take pictures together to share.
After our delightful breakfast, Paul H. and I parted ways so that he could continue on to Seattle to meet up with a friend for a Mariners game, and I hopped in my Tahoe and headed to Gig Harbor to reconnect with my friend, Claire White, who I haven’t seen in a decade. It was so great to catch up with Claire, see her husband (Patrick) again, and meet her sweet daughter Isla!
Monday, September 25th
Despite the lovely start to the week and the Sunday I had just enjoyed immensely, I knew it was going to be a bit of a rough week. For reasons I can’t explain, I had foolishly decided a three-day water fast (starting today) would be a good idea to clear my mind and refresh my spirit. Consequently, it could be a rough three days for everyone who has to be in my presence. I decided that sticking close to the house for the next few days seems like a good idea, and I celebrated that decision with a nice, long three-hour nap. By the time C. returned home from work, I had more than enough energy to put her to work sorting, discarding and organizing the items I had hauled down from the attic. As her reward, I got her hooked on the Witcher TV series on Netflix.
Tuesday, September 26th
Slow start to the morning- I overslept and missed the first 1/2 of my online morning bible study group, but managed to jump into the discussion and engage with the group for the last half. Then I did some puttering around C’s place before finally dragging myself out to the pool for my morning swim. My normal one hour swim time was cut short due to a medical emergency on the pool deck. We all had to exit the pool and return to the locker rooms for the duration of the ‘event’, and since I only had 10 minutes left in my normal swim time, I just called it a day and showered and headed back to the house. (I checked with YMCA staff later and they let me know that the man was fine–he had been dehydrated and then overheated after sitting too long in the hot tub and had collapsed upon exiting, but had recovered).
I was crabby and short-tempered, and I only made it 36 hours into my fast before deciding, for the sake of all mankind, that 36 hours was more than enough. While I had been intentional about the timing and days of this fast, the timing itself was a poor decision given the significance of the dates, my (il)logical reasoning, my (poor) mindset and my emotional health. I opted to eat a big lunch and take a nap.
(No ice cream was eaten. ☹️)
When C. got home, her evening of torture began with me having her set up online access to her utility accounts, enrolling in paperless billing and setting up automatic payments. There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth, and I encourage C. to get a therapist to discuss the trauma she was enduring under my heartless ministrations. 🤣
She responded that she was going to tell my dad on me… 😱
Wednesday, September 27th
Today was ‘busy’ — I was up early (YAY!) and to the YMCA by just after 6:30 a.m. for my usual one-hour swim. I had *finally* stopped procrastinating and made it to an eye doctor for a long past-due eye exam at Silver lake Eye Clinic. Back at the house, I knocked out two great coaching calls with clients and then my own UM call in the mid/later afternoon, then pounded the keyboard into the early evening. Nothing remarkable happened, and that’s ok.
Thursday, September 28th
C. has done a great job of paring down on ‘stuff’, and we had boxes and boxes of books to donate. While she was at work today, I made a series of road trips to various libraries (Mill Creek Public Library and Everett Public Library, just to name two), as well as some donation centers to drop off books. The highlight of my day was a chance to reconnect with my friend, Brady Clark. Brady & I’ve known each other since high school (he’s one of the ‘gang’), and he had suggested that we meet for drinks at a place called 20 Corners Brewing Company in Woodinville, where we dug into some yummy food, a couple drinks and deep conversations.
Here’s the thing about friends like Brady. With friends like him- and the other high school friends like Debbie (RIP 💔), Jerri, Erica, Jason, Diedre and Bhree who’ve remained connected, as well as others like Stephanie, Billijo, Marcia and other tried & true friends, I don’t ever have to be anything but myself. I don’t have to hide the truth about my situation or how I’m feeling, and I can safely share the ‘not-so-pretty’ behind the scenes experiences that aren’t generally made public. So I guess neither of us were really surprised when Brady looked me in the eye and asked me if all my adventures were as wonderful as the pictures looked. My response was to immediately burst into tears.
All That Glitters is not gold, but friends you can count on are priceless. He listened and offered encouragement and support for where I was at, and that means everything. ❤️
Friday, September 29th
After my normal morning swim routine, I puttered around the house a bit, then realized I way behind schedule and hit the road, heading for a fun weekend with my friend, Kevin. I realized I was going to miss the 3:15 ferry (and quite honestly, I was a bit intimidated by trying to navigate the process of taking it for the first time), so I ended up driving the long way around to get to Silverdale.
I arrived at Kevin’s in the early evening and after he got me settled into the guest room for the weekend, we relaxed over drinks and take-out sushi from Trapper’s Sushi.
I want to pause and say that one of the sushi rolls he ordered- we think it was the Monster Roll- was absolutely delicious. I can’t stop thinking about how tasty it was. I usually get the same thing each time I order sushi (the Rainbow Roll), but he encouraged me to sample some of two sushi rolls he had ordered and I am so glad I did. It was a good reminder that even little steps outside our comfort zone offer terrific(ally tasty) experiences!
While we chowed down on sushi, we caught up with each other’s lives briefly, then binge watched a few episodes of a TV series he had recommended, Rabbit Hole, before I crashed for the night.
Saturday, September 30th
I woke early and headed to the YMCA for my morning swim. I’m always curious about what my experience at a different YMCA will be like and I was thrilled by Silverdale’s Haselwood Family YMCA. As always, the people were friendly (staff and members), and everyone was very welcoming. I had a lane to myself for the entire hour and really enjoyed my swim. I was pleasantly surprised to find the water was warmer than both the Flint YMCA pool and the Everett YMCA pool.
But the best part of my YMCA visit to Haselwood was that the Haselwood YMCA has a salt water pool, YAY! 🎉 (I prefer saltwater pools because they have significantly lower levels of chlorine, making the water gentler on skin, eyes and hair. Saltwater pools also don’t fade towels or swimwear the way chlorine pools do.) I could feel (and smell) the difference the minute I entered the pool. The hour passed quickly, and I was sad to get out of the pool.
After my swim, I showered quickly and returned to the house, where I found Kevin was up and ready to go. We headed into Poulsbo for the morning to explore the area.
Poulsbo is part of the Kitsap Peninsula and is known as ‘Little Norway’. Kevin recounted stories about growing up in nearby Silverdale as we wandered Front Street, stopping in various stores and shops along the way.
We paused for a late breakfast/early lunch on the waterfront at the Brass Kraken Pub, then wandered a bit more before stopping for pastries at Sluy’s, a family-run bakery. There was a line OUT THE DOOR, but oh my goodness, it was worth it!
After indulging ourselves with Sluy’s goodness, we made our way back to his truck and drove to Bainbridge Island to catch the ferry to Seattle for my first Mariner’s MLB game (he even loaned me a jersey to wear to the game! 😀).
We wandered around outside T-Mobile Park, checking out the various vendors. Lines were long but attitudes were good and the excitement was contagious. By the time we navigated our way through the lines (and security) and found our seats (Kevin got us GREAT seats! 🙌🏽🎉), I was on my way to becoming a baseball fan.
Yes, we did the ‘Wave’ the first half dozen times it came around and yes we had peanuts (but no Cracker Jacks). 🤣
I found myself really getting into the Major League Baseball Experience.
I learned that there’s a lot more to baseball than just balls and bats, and strikes and fouls. The statistics that came up on the board for each player were staggering. While I understood the fundamentals of the game, Kevin would occasionally share his knowledge about strategy, the game itself and the players, which made it even more interesting to me.
We had a super fun time at the Mariner’s game (despite the fact that they lost) and I loved being part of an enthusiastic (and mostly positive) sports crowd.
After the game, we had an extended wait for the (delayed) ferry, but I was so caught up in the experience that the ferry ride from Seattle back to Bainbridge Island was over before I realized it. It was a relatively short drive back to Silverdale for the night, where we binge watched a little TV, then this tired panda crashed hard and was asleep in minutes.
