Sending Out My Love...

     I was reading today about an old school friend, who is losing his brother to cancer. It reminded me that we never really know how long we will have on this earth. No matter what it is never as long as we think it is.

    In away a terrible disease maybe a blessing in disguise. It gives us the kick in the pants we need to talk and make our peace with each other. To tell the person how much we love them and reminisce about all the good times.

   When we lose them suddenly, everything we wanted to say remains unsaid. We wind up carrying around the guilt that we never really found the time for that phone call, to drop that card in the mail or even to email them.

   You know it is so easy to forget to let those you love the most know about it. We find it really easy to say I love that song...I love that book... OMG I loved him/her in that. We find it so easy to express our love for inanimate items, shows, stars, food, animals, you name it we LOVE it.

   But when it comes to those really close to us....we don't say the words. I guess we automatically assume since we know it … they know it.

   But do they?

   Think about it. Do you know for sure what is in the minds of your brother, sister, mother, father, or child? Do you know for sure without a single doubt your husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend loves you? How about the cousin, Aunt, Uncle or Grandparent you haven't seen or spoken with in over a year?

   How about your best friend of all times, the one you argued with the last time you spoke to them? You don't even remember what the argument was about now. Oh, but surely they know you didn't mean it when you said .... But do they really.

   I don't know about you but my ESP is on the fritz. I don't even know what I'm thinking half the time. I also know how easy it is to say the wrong thing and not even realize it. I may not be limber enough to kick like the Radio City Rockettes, but I can get my foot in my mouth without even trying.  

Image via Wikipedia

    So I would like to take this time to say to all my family far and wide, and all my friends.

I LOVE YOU, MORE THAN I CAN EVER SAY!!!!

   I think about you often. A lot more often than I let you know, and I am sorry for that. I will try to do better, but life has away of getting in the way. And days have a way of running together. Just remember that if I hurt your feelings or said something you didn't like, I really didn't mean it. It was just foot in mouth disease, and I am sorry. I would never intentionally say anything to hurt you.

   Now if you will excuss me I need to facebook, twitter, email and call some very important people in my life. Dang...it's too late to call now but I can at least do the rest.

   How about you?

   And before I forget to all those who are following and reading this blog....

THANK YOU. I REALLY APRECIATE ALL OF YOU.

   I just wanted you know that now.


   Oh and for those who may not know who the Radio City Rockettes are, check this out....

Theres a party on Wednesday....

   Okay everyone get your virtual party gear out.  Author Laura Eno is throwing a virtual party at her blog "A Shift in Dimension" to celebrate her newest book ( does the woman ever sleep???).
   The new book is part of a new series as well.  The book is entitled "Don't Fall Asleep"... something I am sure Laura has first hand knowledge with.
    The Party starts at 8am on Wednesday October 13th at a computer near you.
   The dress is casual and there is bound to be plenty of drinks and food.  I am bring chocolate cookies, as long as my baking chocolate doesn't disappear in "The Great Chocolate Conspiracy".
 
   Oh the party address is here.  See you all tomorrow.

Under the Sea (Part 2)...

   After the little episode the first time in the pool, I did great.  No more problems in the water ....  Until we went to a 16 foot deep diving pool to practice swimming to our scuba gear and putting it on underwater.
   On this occasion my partner was a friend of mine, who had been a diver for quite a while.  He was helping the staff out in this training session and partnered with me.  The purpose of the exercise was to  swim down and put on your scuba gear underwater.  Also to exchange your scuba tank for a new tank underwater.  This could come in handy if you have to stay underwater to decompress from a deep dive.

    So into the pool the equipment goes.  Then in I go with my buddy.  I swim down grab the scuba regulator turn on the tank and breath.  Okay that part done, I now have air.  I place my arms into the BCD jacket with the scuba tank attached, swing it up and over and Wa La,  I'm done.  This is going to be a breeze.  Next up buddy breathing to the surface.  He takes a breath hands me the scuba regulator and I take a breath and so on.  Piece of cake.  Only thing now is taking off one pack and exchanging it for another one.  I'm batting a thousand here.  What could go wrong.
   My partner is what could go wrong.  I take off my tank and switch out regulators.  He helps me put my arms into the other tank and swings it up over my head.  Ah, I can't get it on.  My arms are twisted and the regulator is being pulled out of my mouth while the tank is pushing me down.  Okay, okay don't panic.  Your not alone here. Your buddy will see the problem and fix it ... But he doesn't.  He thinks its on right and I am the problem.
   I try to tell him its twisted. Which is really hard to signal when your arms are twisted above your head.  He insists its okay and keeps try to push it on.

  Meanwhile, I can't breath.  He on the other hand has his tank on and is having no such problem.  I finally kick the crap out of him, ditch the tank and head for the surface.  He comes up fighting mad, insisting that I was in the wrong.  That the pack was on right and I just panicked.  Duh, not breathing can cause that you know.
   Then the head teacher came running up pulled me out of the pool.  Asking if I was okay.  He saw the whole thing and said I would have never been able to get that pack on as twisted as the straps where, and what took me so long getting to the surface.  I shot my partner a look that said, "HA ... I told you it wasn't me."  The teacher jumped in the pool and completed the exercise with me.  Piece of cake.  I passed.
   I completed the course and took my open water check out in Cozumel during Texas Dive Week.   And that my friends is another story.

            

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Under the Sea (Part 1).

    I have always wanted to scuba dive.  Once I saw “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” I was lost.  Ariel dreamed of being where the people are, I dreamed of being where the fish are.

from Wikimedia Commons

    I took swimming classes as a child, I didn't do very well in class.  But that didn't stop me I taught myself to swim ... underwater of course.
   It was so quite and peaceful under the water, unless my brothers were around and decided to ride my back to side of the pool.  Then it was still quite but the peace thing was gone.  I was too concerned with getting back to where the people are so I could breath.  Did I mention I am terrified of drowning.
   I tried snorkeling at the beach, but the waves kept sending water down the snorkel.  That would trigger that whole terrified of drowning thing again.
   So I knew I would have to wait until I could learn how to scuba dive.  That way you take the air with you so you can breath.  That would solve that terrified of drowning problem.  Yeah right...
   So after I was out on my own with my own money I signed up for scuba diving classes.  I listened to all the things that could go wrong and how to correct them.  I learned all about the scuba equipment.  I bought a real scuba mask, a real snorkel, and real fins.  Not those cheap things from the pool department at Walmart. I got a dive knife, dive log, compass and a dive bag to put it all in.
   I was so proud of these purchases that walked around the living room trying them out.  And I only tripped on the fins a couple of times.  I never really liked that vase anyway.  I was so excited about our classes first day in the pool in full gear, that I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve.
   The big day dawned bright and sunny.  We got to the store and went straight into the pool room.  Suited up in all the equipment and hopped into the pool.  Now I have to say at this point we were in the shallow end of the pool in about 4 feet of water.  We were to go underwater sit on the bottom and practice purging water from our masks.  Okay great, here we go.
   Down I went, and promptly forgot to breath through my mouth.  I am trying desperately to breath through my nose that is blocked by the mask.  Uh oh, my brain goes into panic mode ... can't breath, no air, going to die on the bottom of the pool.  Then my legs remember I am only in 4 feet of water and I am 5' 8”, and stand up.  I immediately jerk the mask off and come face to face with a classmate who is more terrified than I am.
   This is a good thing.  My teacher mood kicks in.
   I start talking to her and calming her down.  I remind her that we can breath underwater.  We have these freaking heavy tanks full of air on our backs.  I told her to practice breathing with me through the scuba regulator and then we would go down together.  It worked.
She kept her eyes glued to me and we completed that exercise and all the others for the day.  I was so concerned with her I forgot about myself. Jacques Cousteau  would have been proud.

Image via Wikipedia

   After that I had no problem.  Until my friend (???) tried to drown me toward the end of the course.
   But that my friends is another blog.

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