I was born in Southern California. We moved away when I was 7, so I can’t really say I grew up there, but I kind of did a little bit. Regardless, we went back a lot to visit, and I will always have a little bit of SoCal in me. It’s what gave me a love for the ocean, I’m convinced of it. I’ve always said my favorite smell is the smell of the sea, the sun and the “tourists covered in oil” (a little Jimmy Buffet influence there). Every time we went to the beach after a long time away, I eagerly anticipated that first glimpse of water. You could usually smell it first, the salt, the smell of rotting seaweed. Then you would suddenly notice an absence of anything on the horizon, just the vast nothingness of the sky. Then, there, was that it? Just the briefest glimpse of the horizon, the subtle difference of blue on blue. Yes, there. The ocean. Just thinking about it make a slow smile spread across my face. I’ve always been enamored with the waves. I could sit on a beach and watch the waves roll in for hours and be perfectly content. I remember an ex of mine saying the same thing about the mountains -“couldn’t you just watch this all day?” I looked at him like he was crazy, because that’s what I thought he was. Watch mountains all day? They don’t do anything! The ocean moves, it dances, it sings. It destroys and cleanses and gives and takes away. Mountains erode. Slooooowwwllllyyyyy.
Its amazing how good you feel after feeling bad. Sunday morning, just before my yoga class started, I started getting a headache. I fought building nausea throughout the class, and by the time I got home had a full blown migraine. I nursed Baby J for ten minutes, then thrust him to Stephen, said “Take the baby, I’m going to lay down,” heated a small bottle to get the baby through to the next feeding, and collapsed into bed. About an hour later I got up and felt much better. And kept realizing how much better I felt, so that I just felt so good all afternoon. It’s much the same with the nipple issues I was having. There are times when I suddenly realize, “Hey, my boobs don’t hurt.” When you’ve become accustomed to persistent pain, realizing there is an absence of pain is a wonderful thing.
It annoys me to no end when I’m looking for a product or service online and I can’t find a price. Example 1 – I’m looking for a photographer to do a family photo shoot while were back in the US. So many photographers don’t have any sort of pricing on their websites. Guess what? I’m not going to call to find out your pricing. I’m going to find a photographer that has their pricing on their website. You lose a potential client. Example 2 – I’m looking for a birthday present, and found an interesting “experience” gift. No pricing. Guess what, that right there tells me it’s likely more than I want to pay. And even if it’s not, I’m not going to call to find out. You lose a potential sale. <end rant>
My friend Jen just listed her carriage house on airbnb, and it’s gorgeous! If you’re looking to vacation in Asheville, I highly recommend contacting her. The listing is here, and she gives you a tour on her blog here. She also has a bunch of Asheville links on her blog, so be sure yo check those out! And if you go, give Jen and Jon and Miriam a hug for me. 🙂
I highly recommend reading this piece on kindness. It’s a long read – settle yourself in someplace comfy for half an hour. It’s worth it. You might want to bring a tissue along.