Saying Yes to Living Life Large

And he says yes…. to adventures, to projects, to my whims, to the requests made by the inherited grandkids to do things and mostly to living life large. That’s my sweet man, Rod who I usually refer to as “Mr. Right”.  Who knew five years ago when I accepted a date with this guy that we would end up enjoying life together, embracing each other’s kids, family members and friends?    This is the guy who doesn’t complain when the garbage disposal switch went out on Christmas Eve morning. He just went to town to get the part and fix it.  This is the same guy who has never told me no to any project that I think up… nope, he just figures out how to do it. With that thought in mind, what does he ask for Christmas? More power tools for projects, so that is what I gave him. 

Yesterday on Christmas morning as Rod’s kids weren’t here with us, we invaded Jen & her girls to watch them open gifts and have breakfast.  And the girls made seating placements for everyone, and where do they put Rod (a/k/a “Pops”)?..... well he was the only one invited to sit at the kid’s table.  And when they asked Pops to take them skiing today, he said yes, so off to the slopes is where he, Jen and the girls will enjoy the snow. That makes my heart so happy.

I have to admit, I’m not really a very smart person and often get tunnel vision on life.  The good thing is that I am a committed life learner and I absorb so much from others on how they enjoy life. Plus, for an added benefit, I truly feel God knew he had to give me some earthly human help and placed Mr. Right in my life.  For that I know I am blessed beyond measure.  Funny thing is - that Rod says he is the one who is lucky.  Either way, life is good, we are grateful for all that we have.  And yes, we both know we are far from perfect and when we drive each other crazy… well we take a step back and yep…. You guessed it – we look at what is “right in our lives” and that rebalances us.

And what did I get for Christmas from Mr. Right?  It’s a “mystery history tour adventure” scheduled for next month.  All I have to do is pack for cold weather, bring books and be prepared to enjoy the fun he has planned. Seriously, is that not the best thing ever?  The recipe for living life large brought to me by this very special man of mine.    

And as 2022 will be ushered in within the next few days, once again I’ll try my best to saying yes more often to the unexpected opportunities for fun and playing.  We’ve both worked so much of our lives, that now is the time to seize the moments of joy and see life just like a 5 year old does.  It's about seeing more good and what is "right" in life, in people and in our everyday surroundings. How about you? What are your goals and hopes?  Hugs, blessings and love to all, Gayle

 

Life as a new Retiree

 Life in the slow lane....

It’s a gloriously beautiful Spring evening and I can’t remember what day this is, which isn’t Alzheimer… no it’s called retirement.    I’ve had roughly about a little over a month of it to know that I love it.  I’ve poured a second glass of wine, lit the mosquito candle (as I discovered 5 areas of attack on my body from yesterday… ugh), grabbed a shawl and  parked myself on my patio with the laptop.  I call it pure bliss.  

Glam, Glitter and Guts

Because it is still quiet on the farm scene and it’s too early to get the tractor out and go play in the dirt or spend quality time with my backpack sprayer… well I’m sort of like a bad dog who when not busy can get into trouble.  And if I’m gonna get into trouble, usually I like to gather co-conspirators with me cuz they bring a variety of inspiration to the experience. And with that, if you recall me talking about uttering the words, “I have a plan”….

Heather (L), Me and Lezah (R) showing off in our Whoop 'em up dresses
and yup, these gals add inspiration to any experience!

This is the text that I sent to Heather, my good friend and part of the royalty we belong to called the ‘Farm Co-op Queens’  …….“Lezah and I have hatched a plan for Valentine’s Day!!!  We’re doing a mystery date for our men, we will be all dressed up in formals, the men will have instructions where to meet up, what to wear, what to bring their women and only Barney knows the location,  so are you up for an adventure?”
Of course, knowing Heather, she was all in and the only concern she had was  that her ‘tiara’ had been packed away due to a home remodel and did we have an extra tiara she could borrow?  And so the adventure began…..   We each went shopping by ourselves, I had in mind a 1950s era dress, which at the very last moment I found one, it fit perfectly and was exactly what I had in mind.  A few days before I had found a pinkish/red petticoat that I vowed to wear if I couldn’t find anything else. I think the Universe didn’t want me running amuck on the streets with just a petticoat on, so hence the perfectly fitted vintage dress came into my cross-hairs & I whipped out my debit card.  Then I get this text from Heather, “I found a perfectly awful 1980s polka dot dress and wait till you see my hair doo!”  Lezah was a bit more mysterious, telling us she found a black sequin gown, then surprised us in a lovely fluffy concoction of a dress that looked a bit like a fruity cocktail drink and one that I dubbed was probably an ugly bridesmaid dress at one time.   And as we dressed at Lezah’s house, sipping champagne adorned with a pink flamingo stirring stick, laughing at each other’s outfit, and wondering how our men would be reacting to our outfits, (Barney was worried….., Dan said, are you going to embarrass me? {Answer was Hell yes!!!!}  and my guy, Randy just said, “well it will be all okay, because you’re going to be there!” how perfectly sweet).   Little did Randy know, this was a test to see if he could hold up AND fit in with this Farm-chick’s crazy life.  And I’m very happy to report, he passed with flying colors, as did  the rest of the guys.  We were a sight to behold (at least in our own mind’s eye – yup “legend in our own minds!”)

All dolled up and ready to roll

But the waitress did request a picture with us. (Maybe it was a plea to her parent’s, “See what I have to put up with!  Send money so I can go back to college!”)  Who knows?  But I think the other guests liked our enthusiasm because when passing a table of 3 other couples also dining in close proximity, they called me over to buy me a shot of tequila & chat with them.    =)

And what I find interesting looking back is that prior to our mystery date, we all were telling our other girlfriends and co-workers what we were doing.  We had a variety of reactions, some told us - they loved the idea, but that they didn’t have the guts to do that, some said I wouldn’t be caught dead doing that sort of thing, only one or two looked askance at us, like there is something seriously wrong with you and I think the men in the white coats are coming for you, better run! 

And I was thinking this morning driving in to work, still smiling from the week-end, how redefining yourself and letting that natural crazy come out to play is a good game plan.  For way too long, I curbed that inner weirdness trying to portray a normal perfect looking life and that wasn’t a healthy thing for me to do to myself.  Thus when the opportunity of rebuilding my life presented itself, I realized I got to choose, and I choose Glam, Glitter and Guts is how I am going to live my life from here on out.

A big old thank you for stopping by, I’m only a click away so feel free to leave me a comment at swheatfarmlife@gmail.com  .  And with that I’ll leave you with a favorite saying below.  

From your glitter pal, Gayle

 “I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.”  - Maya Angelou

An impromptu moment of living life in the weird lane and loving every moment