The Power of a Mini-Adventure

 "Things look so bad everywhere / In this whole world, what is fair?

We walk blind and we try to see / Falling behind in what could be.

Bring me a higher love / Bring me a higher love, oh - oh..."

- Lyrics from "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood

"Man, what a hell of a year it's been / Keep on bluffin' but I just can't win

Drowned my sorrows, but they learned to swim / Man, what a hell of a year it's been."

- "Lyrics from "Good News" by Shaboozey

I embarked on a mini-adventure yesterday. Defying the persistent hip and lower back discomfort that seems unavoidable in post-menopause, I ventured to Denver's upscale Cherry Creek district for a third ear piercing in each lobe. My two existing piercings were done ages ago (clumsily, by a teenager with a nail gun), while Rowan, a Cherry Creek boutique, employs nurses who pierce with needles using hypoallergenic titanium posts. Quite the upgrade from the Torrance mall!

Aden accompanied me to Rowan and offered encouragement throughout the procedure as nurse Lauren precisely positioned the third sparkling post. Once the sting subsided, we strolled the streets sipping iced lavender almond milk lattes, admiring the vibrant red and yellow tulips and flowering trees that heralded spring. At Whole Foods, we purchased gluten-free cinnamon rolls and savored them on a shaded bench while tree blossoms drifted onto our plates. The thoroughfares remained relatively quiet early Sunday morning, populated mainly by pedestrians and post-yoga diners filling outdoor seating on this balmy day.

Following our impromptu breakfast, I took the scenic route to a competition where several of my swimmers awaited coaching. I hadn't traveled those roads in over a decade; my last journey along that path involved taking the children berry-picking at a Brighton farm. My playlist delivered one perfect track after another, and I relished this departure from routine even as my thoughts drifted toward circumstances I'd been attempting to avoid. Confronting life lately has proven challenging, and the lyrics seemed to acknowledge that struggle while simultaneously offering glimmers of optimism.

Speaking of optimism, Rob and I indulged in another mini-excursion last week; we both ducked out of work early Wednesday and headed to Boulder where William's startup (Measures AI) had reached the finals of Boulder's New Venture Challenge. Their founder delivered an exceptional pitch with impressive slides. We delighted in hearing all six presentations (three per category) though naturally favored Measures, which secured runner-up status by a narrow margin and received a $10,000 award. Not shabby compensation for an undergraduate senior project launched just last summer.

Afterward, we treated William to drinks at a nearby rooftop lounge, settled by the fire with a view of the 16th Street Mall showcasing its own beds of purple and pink tulips. Capturing moments of joy with our children and each other has made 2025 tolerable thus far. Breaking routine, viewing familiar landscapes from fresh perspectives, and embracing spontaneity reminds me that I can't always predict what awaits. For the price of fuel, a few hours, and some coffee, unexpected delights and welcome news might be just around the corner.

Let's Toast to 2022

 Since I wallowed a teensy bit in my last post about changes the omicron variant has wrought in my holidays and high school swim season, I thought it best to turn toward the positive in my final post for 2021. The past year has been confusing at best and dizzying at worst, encompassing not only multiple waves of COVID but also a high school graduation and two kids heading off to college. We managed one large family gathering and had to cancel others, faced down a near-empty nest and forged ahead with new jobs and responsibilities.

But undeniably good things happened in 2021, too, as my Parents for the Planet Facebook page reminds me. Recent posts left me somewhat upbeat: scientists have found a bacteria-produced protein that could help clean up nuclear waste; Hyundai Motors will reportedly no longer make cars with internal combustion engines; an Arkansas school district installed 1,400 solar panels and turned a $250k deficit into a $1.8 million surplus and was able to raise teachers' salaries; and the western monarch butterfly migration showed a huge resurgence in 2021, 100,000 monarchs counted in California this year after only 2,000 in 2020.

While no one knows the reason for the butterflies' rebound in numbers, the other three articles highlighted above result from dedicated work of engineers, scientists, teachers, and thinking people who believe in science and use their imagination to see what's possible. I want to join their numbers, to turn my energies to finding what's possible, even if it's only improving my composting, turning down the heat a few degrees, or biking to more locations. We have all we need to create positive news, we just need the will to do it. Here's to 2022, when we break free of (some) pandemic fears and restrictions to focus on what's possible in an ever-evolving world.

Happy new year!