My musing for the day is focused on mindfulness and how it has changed my outlook on life. Retirement has its benefits. One of them is allowing the retiree the time to become mindful at an age when the beauty of it is recognized and appreciated. To be mindful, one needs to live in the moment and be aware. There is a time and place for everything. I was certainly not mindful while doing my banking today and projecting my thoughts to Tax Day 2021. But, throughout a normal day, a mindful nature can bring you a relaxed happy heart.
Yesterday was one of those days. I baked Almond Poppy Seed Muffins for the first time in years. I’m a carb addict. I’ll start on Keto again January 2, still many days away. So, yesterday, I baked. Oh My. For me, any kitchen activities are a true test of focusing on the moment. We all know the difficulties of cooking for one, so luckily, my culinary adventures these days are few and far between. “Take Out” or “Eat In” are such lovely options.
As the muffins cooked, I thought of Miss Firecracker, the perfect person with whom to share them. With a phone call and resounding, “YES”, I was off to her home. Miss Firecracker is a friend that feels like the best kind of warm hug. She is witty and delightful, sensitive and thoughtful. She is wise with opinions that are well thought out and shared carefully. She’s a favorite friend with whom to spend time. We talk about everything, from the boring to the racy. It matters not, because there we are sharing away. There’s always laughter involved.
Now, we share widowhood. Strange it was that Bailey’s and Cream and VST weren’t booming their voices on the back patio. Those two admired each other, always having conversations interesting and intense. Both brilliant men, they kept each other on their toes, intimidating each other as they went. But, now, just two chick-a-dees chatter away. We weren’t especially mindful as we visited, looking back to remember our guys, so glad to be with someone that remembered them too.
Later in the day, Webster Girl and I meandered through valleys and peaks of widowhood and our new lives via telephone. We collided one day, long ago and late in a distant century. We were both attending a Weight Watchers meeting. Both elementary teachers, her career was a raging success, mine was in its infancy. At the 6 Am meeting, my noisy school lanyard hung around my neck, heavy with school keys and shiny, metal whistle. Webster Girl caught my attention, and after the meeting, our friendship sparked. With a little wizardry on our parts, my next school year found me teaching with her at a school that grew to be my home, with teachers that grew into a strong sisterhood.
After many years of losing touch, she came back into my life the day after VST had died. A random invitation to a Zoom meeting appeared in my emails from my teaching sisters. Having no idea they were a lifeline to their drowning friend, they were having a Zoom meeting to get everyone together again. Just a random email on my first full day as a widow. Over ten years had passed since I had seen or heard from these buddies, but time stood still at that beautiful Zoom meeting. They were all there, just like we had always been around our lunch table. Webster Girl found me that day, newly lost in the wilderness, and I don’t plan to lose her ever again.
The rest of the day was mindful and lazy. I’m so lucky to have Oliver to fill in the spaces of my otherwise quiet life. He came to live with me two years ago, on the snowiest of Christmases in the parking lot of a casino. His birth family lived two hours west, so it was a good place to meet. I had no way of knowing this little dog would help with mindfulness. Anyone who has raised a very active puppy knows that to be anything less than mindful leads to accidents and damage of one kind or another. Now, he has grown into his big clunky feet and deep soulful eyes. Oliver knows EVERYTHING. He lived through it all. Glad he has no thumbs, or he might start typing his story.
Why would I write about the past in a blog about mindfulness, you might wonder. Because through those chance meetings in random places, I came to be. Mindfulness brings me to the present, with a grateful heart for all the goodness in my life. A collection of beautiful events along the way, be they exhilarating, devastating, or somewhere in between. The beauty is found sitting quietly and smiling at how they helped me choose my path. Mindfulness in the darkest hours of night is the best for me. Without visual stimulation, my mind is free to count every blessing and be grateful for all the people I have in my life. From friends, to family, to experiences that continue to be so rich. I am the luckiest woman. Mindfulness will give you focus through your journey, wherever you roam.