Re-Creation

I'm leaving for my two-week vacation. My flight out of Pensacola is scheduled to leave at 11:05 A.M.. After a three-hour layover in Atlanta{ and providing that nothing goes wrong with my connecting flight to Pittsburgh} I'll arrive in Pittsburgh at 5:42 EST.

I NEED this break. While I' will miss Best Dude & Big Dog terribly when I am away, I know that I'll be home to the Gulf Coast .

Friends up North tell me that it is hot & humid there , too. However, I feel a need to escape the Deep South at least once per year . I need to remember my roots in order to rest & re-create .

there will be hiking, swimming, eating & late-night talks with friends.

On Sunday I am worshipping at the church where I was baptized.

I'll spend July 4 NOT WORKING at the Lake for once.

I'll see a friend  in person for the first time in 16 years.

Hopefully Grandma Anne will take me to Sunday Mass in Butler & I will enjoy Sunday supper at her house with kin.

It is already looking up to be a great time of Re-Creation for me.

5 days out.....The ATL airport.

Five days out until  Northern Vacation Trip 2013.

I'm stoked, but also a bit nervous. In order to get anywhere from where I live in Florida, one must go through Atlanta's airport. Four three years in a row---my travel plans have been delayed by flight issues in Atlanta. Now perhaps this trip will be different--but I'm not counting on my connection in Atlanta being easy.

I hate airports. While I love flying " shotgun" in private planes, commercial airports & airplanes freak me out. there are too many people crammed into a small space on those big jets & I almost ALWAYS end up with seatmates with no clue about maintaining one's personal space. Yuck. I'll be sure to pack some of my prescription anti-anxiety pills in my carry-on luggage ---I will probably need to use them.

I hate airports in general & the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in particular.

It is HUGE. Literally, I think that a whole small city can fit inside the main terminal.

The gates' seats are not good for someone with issues regarding personal space. Usually I sit on the floor against a lwall as far away from my sister & fellow travellers as physically possible.

The wi-fi at that terminal is not free! Yes: the tiny Pensacola airport offers free wi-fi to patrons but Hartsfield-Jackson expects travellers to pay to get online. No, thanks.

I'm HOPING to make plans to attend the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta with some friends while I'm up North this year. This is exciting for me: I have not been to a regatta since I was a child & I am REALLY looking forward to sharing that experience with some good friends from First College.

Mobile blogging. Yeah there is an app for that

 Best Dude bought me an Ipod Touch for my birthday. This morning I downloaded (for free) the Blogger app. I am not sure how much I will use this feature, as the pull-out keyboard on the Ipod is hard for my clumsy hands and fingers to maneuver. 

another foray into the world of fiction{writing}

My muse is back. She has taken quite a long hiatus, but returned in full-force.

Alleluia!

There is nothing quite like one's approaching 20th high school reunion { next summer, Class of 1994!} to put one into a retrospective mood.

Anyhow, I recently signed up for the online fiction-writing & sharing community called Fictionpress.net. { my screen name there is: sarahbethmac}  I'm still in the process of writing my first fiction to be published there, but if anyone is interested, just message me on Facebook. I can let you know when I upload the finished product.

One of my reasons for joining Fictionpress.net is so I can get some online motivation & accountability from other writers. years ago I was part of a writers group here in Beach Town, but I've since stopped attending meeting  after I realized I hadn't any work to share with others. Plus, since I cannot drive, attending the nighttime meetings depended heavily on rides from other people.

Anyhow, the basic premise of my story is as follows:

A woman returns to her hometown in time for her 20th high school reunion. She agrees to meet an old flame from her college years at a restaurant.near her alma mater. As they chat, they both come to realize that, although they will always be good friends, their lives have taken them in paths that are not compatible now.

This story is actually one that has been " floating" around in my mind  since I first heard the Garth Brooks song _Unanswered Prayers_.

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A friend is a friend forever...until you get " unfriended"

I am getting closer to Vacation 2013. Today I organized my clothing in our spare bedroom, made a " to-do"list of tasks to complete within the next few days and made a phone call to my favorite aunt in Pennsylvania.

On the agenda for this trip is a visit with a long term friend from my First College. We met in church when I was a freshman & we've maintained a very good friendship ever since then. We haven't seen each other in person for 17 years, so I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with him after years of maintaining contact via email, occasional phone calls & now Facebook.

Although I've MANY gripes regarding Facebook, at the same time I'm grateful that this social tool has put me in contact { or in closer contact} with people whom I otherwise would not hear from at all{ or very rarely}

Which brings me to the phenomenon known as **UNFRIENDING**. If you use Facebook at all, there is a good chance that you have been "unfriended" by someone. There is even a better chance that you have "unfriended" someone. Now I know that online " unfriending" is {usually} not one-and-the-same with actually ending a friendship IRL {in real life}. Its especially awkward when someone whom you DO know & see regularly suddenly chooses to end your association online.  Maybe I'm reading too much into this , but if I've offended someone, I generally wish for the chance to make amends. If I am " unfriended" by an associate without an explanation, I am wary of contacting him or her again offline.

Now I know that, in the great scheme of human interactions, that unfriending is not really much of a big deal. But let's be honest for a moment, when one finds out that an associate IRL has " unfriended" one on Facebook, one feels a bit miffed.

Or perhaps it is worse when someone "unfriends" you and you KNOW his or her reason for said unfriending. An example from my own life: I was e-pals with this woman whom I'd met via  Facebook on a Facebook group for socially-progressive Episcopalians. We have a lot in common & emailed/talked regularly. She lives in a northern city & although we'd never met in person i considered her a friend{ you know, sort of like the "pen pals" of old} Anyhow, when Best Dude & I started dating , this e-pal suddenly unfriended me. Although I'm not positive{ she hasn't contacted me since} I'm almost certain that my changing my relationship status from *single* to *in a relationship* bothered her to the point that she wanted to cut off contact.

Whatever.

Just sayin' .

Various & sundry musings.....

I know it has been awhile since I have composed an update.

It is hot as Hades here in Northwest Florida. I'm still going to the gym faithfully almost every day & I'm REALLY seeing results of my training. This morning I completed the 30-minute pre-set "cardio challenge" on the treadmill **and** followed this intense workout with some lifting. I was tired , but after a rest & a healthy lunch I felt reinvigorated.

Life has been treating me , Best Dude & our dog pretty well lately.

I went to Atlanta last weekend for my sister-in-law's baby shower & it was okay{ I've never been the sort of woman who enjoys bridal or baby showers--but this one WAS for my soon-to-be-born nephew after all!} It was great to get the heck out of Beach Town for a weekend & on Saturday my Original Family & I ate supper at a very hip little diner  that specialized in healthy { and mostly vegetarian} cuisine.

My trip to the mountains will happen in approximately one week. This morning I started gathering clothing that I plan to pack to take with me. Since AirTran charges 25 dollars per trip per luggage, I am squashing everything I need into one carry-on-sized suitcase & my one " personal item" bag. I've done this before & with a bit of planning & access to a laundry facility it is possible.  I have the money to pay these baggage fees, but I object to doing so on principle. Really, I cannot see the reason { other than pure corporate greed} for charging paying passengers an additional fee just to check ONE bag through to one's destination.

Anyhow, that is what has been happening in my life.

Snapshots via my Ipod

I have a new IPod Touch 5 { the best boyfriend in the world bought it for me as my birthday gift} Anyhow, one of the coolest features of the IPod is its mobile camera.

Recently I've discovered Instagram & I am TOTALLY addicted to posting photos of mundane slices of life. {If you want, follow me on Instagram at :Springermamma12.}

Anyhow, here is a photo that I took today of our dog, Seamus.

I also have an app for the Ipod that allows me to make photo collages. Here is an example of some of the work I've done with that feature. This image is the " profile photo" for my parish's Facebook page.

For all those " Not-Moms" out there...

One of my very least-favorite social conventions is that of the bridal or baby shower.

I hate attending these social events. First of all, my personality is more suited to events where there will be a mixed -company guest list. I'm not fully comfortable in social situations that encompass only women.

Bridal & baby showers ,, to me at least, re-enforce the old idea of what is " feminine" . I am not married & am not a mother & these events { and the anxiety that leads up to me attending these events}is cause for a lot of sadness.

Next year will be my 20th high school reunion & some of the women in my class have children who are teenagers already. Almost all of them are parents whose Facebook feeds are filled with cute photos of happy children. I'm happy for them, truly I am. But at the same time I cannot help but wonder what my classmates think of me. Am I **the crazy dog-lady**. ?

When I was little I wanted children. I've been told that I am quite talented in the area of working with young people & Until a few years ago felt that motherhood might be a reality for me.

It " ain't" happening. Motherhood is not part of the plan.

Most of the time I am okay with my non-motherhood. Best Dude & I adopted a dog who is pretty much like " our child".  Being childless allows for much " Sarah time" that I otherwise would not have had I been able to be a mother. In short, my life is great as it is & I'm blessed in so many ways. We have a full & rich life together.

But on occasion I feel a wave of incomprehensible grief wash over me regarding my childlessness . Usually this grief occurs around the time that I anticipate attending a baby shower.

Perhaps it is natural to mourn what " never will be" , but I feel like a { for lack of a better word in my vernacular} a " wuss". Like it or not, women who are not mothers are looked at differently than women without offspring. Sometimes I feel that there is a figurative & literal " Moms' Club" which I will never be asked to join. Childless men in our society are not looked upon as " less-than" but those of us who are women without children{ be our childlessness be a result of a lifestyle choice or a medical issue}

Another contributing factor is my ethnicity. My Mother is Jewish & even though I am Christian: part of my " cultural DNA" is that of the Eastern European Jews.  Progeny are a VERY BIG DEAL to Jewish people due in part to their religion & I grew up with an idealized & rather narrow view of what constitutes as a " family".

But I know that familes are different and that my God-given gift of working with young people has not been wasted. I've taught Sunday school, worked as a babysitter for two of the BEST kids{ who are now young adults} & currently serve as an advisor to my parish's youth group. In addition to my work with young people, I am a very good dog-mom.

We childless & child-free people are not freaks of nature. Our families are just as valid as are more traditional family units.

Amen.

Goal number one: MET!!

I had a doctor's appointment{ just a check-up} today. Anyhow, as part of the routine, Dr Personality took my height { I have not grown since 7th grade...} and my weight.

The good news is: I gained enough weight to meet my first goal!

*HappyHappyHappy*

I, a woman who is terrified of needles, now weighs enough to give blood.

I've wanted to give blood for a long time, but my slight weight precluded me from doing so. My Dad is a regular donor of his blood products.

We shall see if I gather enough courage to overcome my fear of needles.

Photo Shoot: First Presbyterian Church, Milton, FL

Yesterday I attended a seminar at First Presbyterian Church in Milton , Florida. The " church ladies " were gracious enough to open the doors of their lovely historic nave & sanctuary so that I{ a fan of old buildings in general & old church buildings in particular} could look inside.


Here are some photos of the exterior of the church. I particularly love the rustic, untreated wooden doors.

Here are some of the better photos of the interior of the historic church. I highlighted the stained-glass windowpanes & minimized the " background" of the windows in order to make the colors of the

glass " pop".

I played around with my editing software for these next photos. Some photographers I know are not fans of using black & white for portraiture, but I am of the opinion that " less{ color} is more" for some photos. The photo of the baptismal font is probably my favorite from this photo shoot: as I LOVE the contradiction between the dark wooden bowl base & the clear glass flask of water.