Stop

Happy spine - happy human.

The diagnosis? Herniated disk in the fifth lumbar vertebra.

Doctor's advice? Stop.

So for now, Linda and I are living in beautiful Nelson, BC Canada with my mother (who is one year shy of her 80th birthday). As far as being stranded somewhere along our route, this is the ideal scenario.

After the 'Angels in a Blue Bus' incident, in which the universe delivered an accessible van to our front door while simultaneously taking our truck away, it is hard to believe what has been delivered to us this time.

Best of all is I get to have an extended visit with my mom. While she was the first official stop that we planned, we weren't sure how long we would stay. Now it looks like mom will get to take care of her boy longer than expected. I am fine with that. These are precious moments.

My dear mom Margaret is being very generous, and when I apologize for invading her life with our chaos she says that our need gives her life meaning and purpose. She is caring for the caregiver, enabling me to take it easy so I can continue to take care of Linda.

So I get to spend day after glorious day sitting with Margaret and Linda, my two favourite women on the planet, conversing, laughing, crying, eating, and enjoying each other's company.

Another of my favourite women, my sister Kathy, also lives near Nelson. Her and her partner live the kind of life I aspire to live one day. Perhaps not as soon as I expected, but some day I would also like to live in a beautiful home surrounded by nature and powered by solar panels.

It is wonderful to see them, their chickens, huge garden, and their 4 gentle, intelligent and unique children who were raised on 'the mountain'.

Grandma lives in a suite in a small house in downtown Nelson. And who of all people should occupy the space on the main floor of the house?

A doctor. A doctor who is a back specialist. Just what I need - someone to help me make my back happy again. And all I have to do is go upstairs and rest a while on the decompression table.

In the meantime the blue bus is resting happily in mom's back yard. We are resting happily inside the house in mom's warm, loving embrace.

We are stopping. For now.

"Where's the fire? What's the hurry about?

You better cool it off before you burn it out.

You got so much to do and so many hours in a day."

- Vienna, Billy Joel

Resolution Round Up

Mother Time, by Rima Staines

John Selden said, "Never tell your resolution beforehand, or it’s twice as onerous a duty." I thought about that for a while in 2010 since I publicly declared my resolutions here. However, like most people I forgot about my resolutions after a while, and that I posted them. This lowered the onerosity factor considerably. What could be onerous, is looking back at my resolutions.

A year older and a year wiser, I look back on my 2010 list with new eyes. The first thing I notice is that there are 10 resolutions. What was I thinking? Of the Americans that still bother to make resolutions, only about 8% set four or more. Optimistic? Very. Realistic? Perhaps not.

My giant list of resolutions did provide a framework for change though, and some of them were actually met. But in the name of simplicity, this year I am cutting back to one.

In addition to adopting only one resolution for 2011, I am also going to practice being less uptight and goal oriented. I will achieve this by not targeting a specific and possibly unrealistic goal, such as "I will exercise 90 minutes a day, 7 days a week", and by replacing it with a more achievable and enjoyable broad theme.

Setting resolutions should inspire us and bring joy and success. They should lead us to happiness rather than seeing us reluctantly conforming to the misguided and unrealistic expectations others may have for us. Resolutions should give us wings and inspire us to be more.

So here I go, ditching the expectations, bitterness, and potential defeat of traditional New Years resolutions, and replacing my 10 specific goals for 2010 with one broad theme for 2011.

My one, simple resolution for the new year is: To live more freely with exuberant enthusiasm.

Happily meeting this resolution will lead me to live more simply, to enjoy every moment, and to take care of myself and others. This is what I want for the coming year. I feel lighter already.