7 Lessons from an Unexpected Date

I reckon being ill as one of the great pleasures of life, provided one is not too ill and is not obliged to work till one is better.  ~Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh, 1903

Often surprises create positive emotions within us. Maybe like surprise birthday parties, surprise proposals, or surprise gifts.

Other times surprises wreak a bit of havoc on our emotions. Perhaps like a large cell phone bill or an unexpected break-up of a relationship. Or even like my recent unexpected date with the operating room and the subsequent longer-than-expected and longer-than-desired recovery period.

But, hey, I just happen to have this ongoing project of 52 Dates with Myself.  And, as the project leader and manager, I have full authority to determine what constitutes a date. So, yes, a surprise date in the OR most definitely gets counted!

Besides, look at just a few of the things I’ve learned so far: 

• Wheel chair drivers really should have to take a driving test.
• IV – doesn’t mean I have to give the same nurse “4″ times to get the intravenous drip set.
• Pain pills often have acetaminophen, so be sure you do the math before the brain fog from the narcotics kicks in.
• When you’re near the top of the emergency triage list, you get to witness and experience the full professionalism of the medical staff.
• My capacity for exhaustion is much larger than I ever imagined.
• My tolerance for pain not so much.
• Recognition and gratitude for caregivers can never be overdone.

In spite of all this, I still prefer the dates I get to choose and plan.

Ponder & Chat: What lessons have you learned from one of your life’s surprises?

Solo Traveling: Surprising Moments with Nature

The wharf at Mount Vernon with nesting osprey on the front piling.

Sometimes nature offers up the best surprises!

Like it did on my visit to Mount Vernon, the home of our first president, George Washington. Among the pristine gardens, the stately riverfront home, the history, and the visitors, was a rough-hewn home and feathered family who captured my heart.

Osprey nest on piling at Mount Vernon wharf – home of President George Washington

Though they’re common place among east coast dwellers, to those of us living in “fly-over” states, the magnificent osprey are a rare treat, indeed.

So often in life, as the saying goes, things come in threes. That’s what happened with my osprey adventure.

1. Early one morning I awoke and found myself enthralled with a PBS television nature show. More specifically, their piece about osprey, which described their nesting habits, their family patterns, and showed some wonderful demonstrations of their amazing deep-dive fishing abilities.
2. Little did I realize that just a few short hours later, I would come face-to-face with a real-life osprey family living atop a piling along the banks of the Potomac River at the Mount Vernon wharf. According to an article on the osprey family, the pair have nested on the estate in prior years in the top of a sycamore tree. In the summer of 2010, their nest was destroyed when the top of the tree was lost during a storm. Undaunted, the pair returned this spring and built a new home on the top of the wharf piling – just inches from where the tour boat, Spirit of Mount Vernon, boards passengers six days a week.  That’s how I met them.
   

   My up-close and personal meeting with the osprey of Mount Vernon wharf – a bit blurry from my excitement:(

3. A couple of days after my visit to Mount Vernon, some friends took me on a boat ride out into the Chesapeake Bay. To my delight every channel marker seemed to be the home of an osprey family. As little chicks poked their heads out of the nests, parents sat guard or flew off in search of the family’s next meal. My only disappointment was not seeing any of them deep-dive fishing. But nature watching does take patience, I suppose. Thanks to these great videos, however, we can all enjoy the amazing abilities of the osprey to “fish.”

You can watch a brief video I took of the osprey here, and see the parent take flight as the Spirit of Mount Vernon pulls closer. Mount Vernon Osprey nest

A live webcam of an osprey nest can be found here if you’re interested in watching them in action.

Ponder & Chat: Have a favorite nature story you can share with us? Where are you favorite spots for dates with nature?

Surprise Date Coming Up

I’m going “throwing.” That’s right, “throwing.”

Don’t want to tell my neighbor boy, however. Just the other day his baseball rolled across the street toward my driveway. I thought I’d be nice and help him out, so I ran over, picked it up, and proceeded to throw it to him.

Okay! Yes, I’m being generous with the word “throw.”

He’s still quite young, though. I tell myself it’s possible he just saw my “throw” a bit like his own.

Don’t think his handsome Daddy thought that. He looked like he couldn’t believe I was going to try to throw him a ball overhand. I could tell, too, that he didn’t expect me to make it across the street.

Nevertheless, He smiled broadly – probably his way of stifling a belly laugh. He may have just been protecting his son, but he lunged sideways as if he meant it when I hurled the ball low and to his right. He even pretended not to mind when he had to go into the woods to retrieve it. Taking advantage of a teachable moment, he told his son to say, “Thank you.”

“Seriously,” I thought. No wonder kids learn so quickly not to trust adults. Embarrassed, I tried soothing my bruised ego by reminding myself that he’s a fireman, a natural rescuer.

So, I suppose a “throwing” date could prove quite interesting. As the anticipation builds, I’m kinda wishing I could take a handsome fireman with me just in case there arises a need for a rescuer in this upcoming date with myself . Maybe that can be next year’s project.

Ponder & Chat: What’s your best “throwing” story?

The Challenge of Surprise in Dating Myself

I suppose it just makes sense that one of the challenges of 52 Dates with Myself is figuring out how to incorporate the element of surprise.

Those of you who despise being caught unawares are no doubt cheering this dilemma. While my surprise-embracing allies empathize with the difficulty of delivering the unexpected.

So how does a gal plan a surprise date for herself?

Ponder & Chat: What ideas and thoughts come to mind about this challenge?  Come on, surprise me!