Let's be real, Love.

Strong: mentally powerful or vigorous
Confident: sure of oneself; having no uncertainty about one's own abilities, correctness, successfulness, etc.;self-confident; bold
Independent: not influenced by the thought or action of others
Successful: achieving or having achieved success

These are a few of the adjectives people have described me with lately. I've even heard from some that others think I have it all together. That my life is easy, and I have no struggles or worries just because I don't advertise them and I can leave them in the sanctity of my own room. Nope. None. I surely don't have a $15,000 medical bill from a recent visit to the emergency room (Unemployed, full time student here). Or enough student loan debt to buy myself a pretty damn fancy car. Or a grandmother who's Alzheimer's is causing such rapid decline that I'm afraid to be alone with her. Or a cracked (not broken) heart because of multiple people in my life who can't see past their own feelings, issues and insecurities.

 I decided a while ago to be unapologetically me. Real. Raw. 100% genuine human being. What you see is what you get. So here goes. 
A person who sometimes accidentally drinks too much, and isn't afraid to admit it. Or takes a drag of a cigarette after I've been drinking and doesn't immediately shove a piece of gum in my mouth (sorry, mom). Someone who has visible tattoos (gasp). Someone who actually says Fuck the F bomb, instead of just thinking it and saying frig instead. Someone who tells people exactly what I'm thinking or feeling, without concern of what they'll think or do in return (See definition: Independent). 
I really thought I had accomplished this, until a friend described me recently as being like a duck on water. On the surface, they look like they're cool, calm and collected...just enjoying the ease of life. But when you look beneath the surface, their feet are going as fast as they possibly can just to keep them afloat. I've heard that I'm confident, strong willed and resilient. That no matter what comes into my path, I will find a way to conquer it, and come out on the other side a stronger person because of it. If I'm being completely honest, even I had bought into this idea. Or at least I thought I did. 

Lately, I've felt like a human punching bag. Apart from some of my immediate family, almost everyone has let me down, offended,  disappointed me, or even worse...hurt my feelings. It's true. I do have those. At times I wish I didn't, but then life wouldn't be as beautiful as it is. Even perfect strangers have accomplished making me feel as small as possible...probably without even trying. And each time something new happens or someone new offends me, I take a deep breath and try to resume life as if nothing has occurred, but somehow I walk myself right back into the same situation again. Another friend gave me this acronym: FAIL = First Attempt In Learning. But what about the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th...you get the idea. Endless attempts in learning. It's like repeating a grade over and over again. Or one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day. You get to the end, only to realize you're right back where you started again. 

My struggle is this. I try to be the best person that I'm capable of being. I try to be there for anyone who needs me, dropping everything I'm doing to support them. I make the effort to spend quality time (My #1 love language, closely followed by Acts of Service) with people, and make sure they know just how much I really do care about them and that I would literally give them my last penny or loaf of bread if it is what they needed. I try to be present when I'm with people, so they know that I do actually want to be with them at that moment in time. I try my damndest to show everyone unconditional, compassionate, gracious Love. The kind of Love that I had tattooed on the front of my arm as a reminder of what Love really is. Patient, kind, not self seeking, doesn't insist on it's own way...
I try to treat people with such care and concern because I realize that they are only human. That they don't deserve to be judged any more than I want to be judged. No one is perfect, and everyone deserves to feel unconditional love. I wear my heart on my sleeve, I love hard and I don't play games. With anyone. Guys. Friends. And family too. If I care about you, you know it. And if you know it, then you know that you can rely on me to be all of the above. 
Finding truly reliable people are harder and harder to come by. Except that I feel like I can rely on people for one thing. To consistently fall short of my expectations. And that's what this all comes down to. Therein lies my problem. 

I think the real core of my issue here is actually not living in the disappointments from people around me. What I really am beginning to realize is that the problem is in my expectations of people. Because I try so hard to make people feel loved, and special and important, I assume they will make me feel loved, and special, and important. When all the while I'm getting sucker punched in the face and wishing I could just scream out "I'm human too! Why is it so hard for you to treat me like one? Like you want to be treated!". That's right. Strong, Independent, Confident, Successful Rachel isn't feeling so strong and confident. And sometimes all I need is a hug or an ear or a heartbeat that lines up with mine. 
Remember the Golden Rule? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sadly, I think this rule has been lost in translation. Because how I want to be treated is with unconditional love, compassion, honesty, loyalty, trust...and the list goes on. Most of the time unfortunately...I can't expect to consistently receive this from people. People who supposedly care about me. 
For someone who always has so much hope (and a pretty quick rebound), I'm starting to lose hope in humankind. Ironic isn't it. Why can't humankind be kind to other humans? You wouldn't think it would be such a difficult concept to wrap your brain around, but for a fairly complex species, we even manage to fuck up something as simple as that. Take a look around you. Are you treating others like you wish to be treated? With decency and respect? I didn't say deserve to be treated, but wish to be treated. Really dig deep and be honest with yourself. That's the least you could do. Humankind depends on it...

Blizzard Baby 1985

Exactly twenty-eight years ago, (sheesh I'm getting old) my then 25 year old mom and 23 year old dad settled into bed on a blustery and treacherous November night in the small town of Limerick, Maine. {Population around 2,000...small}. Mom looked something like this, but probably a little more pregnant, because judging by her shoes this is only October...Early November at the latest. Or maybe her feet were just too swollen to fit inside closed shoes at that point. Maybe both. 

Regardless of the incredible blizzard brewing outside, I was snug as a bug inside that nice round belly, plotting my grand entrance for the most least opportune time I could. 

When mom woke up and gave dad the cue, he whisked my 17 month old brother off to the neighbor and attempted at driving their little old Subaru (pictured above) to the hospital, a mere 40 minutes away in the middle of summer with no traffic. After several failed attempts at this, they called the local rescue squad to come take over. The winds are howling and the snow continued to fall as mom crossed her legs tight (I was kind of in a hurry)  and waited for the ambulance to arrive. 

I can imagine her concern as they watched the ambulance approaching, and proceeded to watch it slide right on past the apartment, even as the brakes were engaged. Once this part of the event concluded and the ambulance backed safely into the driveway, mom began to climb up into the rescue when {this is where the small town part comes in} the driver turned around and revealed himself. THE MAILMAN! 

I'm not joking. It was a very small town with a volunteer rescue squad and the lucky guy that night was our very own mailman. The guy mum saw everyday as he brought her the electric bill and LL Bean catalogs that they would dream from but never buy from. My mom {whom we refer to lovingly as 'Goldie Locks'...she likes things just so} was NOT happy about having the mailman see her in all her laboring glory. But, unless she wanted to deliver me in the dooryard on a blanket of snow, she had no choice in the matter. 

I'm imagining the mailman chuckling to himself as he delivered all of the congratulations cards and gifts postpartum, and thinking to himself...'I was there!'. 

The ambulance miraculously made its way back up the hill with my mom and dad in the back, holding on for dear life as they made their way through the ice and snow. I wanted to do things my way however, (my family will tell you nothing has changed about that) and I was not going to wait a moment longer to make my grand entrance. My brave and strong mumma delivered me somewhere along Old Alfred Road in Waterboro, Maine at approximately 6:30 in the morning. 

The headlines the next morning read 'Blizzard Baby' and retold the story of my not so uneventful birth. It was exactly this day, the day before Thanksgiving, 1985. There is still a pink stork on the side of that rescue to this day signifying my birth. {That's right. Since the day I was born I like to make grand entrances, do things my way, and leave a lasting impression for all to remember me by} 

Although flowers are usually given to the birthday girl, I wanted to celebrate my mom this year. For keeping me cozy and warm for almost 10 months, braving the severe elements on the morning of my birth, and delivering me in the back of a cold, sterile ambulance that was driven by our mailman in the middle of a good ole New England Nor' Easter.

I put it together myself :)

She's still just as brave and strong as that day, and loves me regardless of the number of hair changes I've had, tattoos I've gotten, or times I've moved back home. 

(Thank you again mummsy)

Here's to you mom! At least now you don't have to make a Thanksgiving centerpiece ;)

I love you to the moon and back. 

my latest adventure

It's February 26, 2012..no 2013 (that's the first time I've made that mistake this year), and although it was one of my New Year's resolutions to write at least 2 blog posts per month, this is my first blog post of 2013. can't win 'em all. 
That's ok, I'm looking forward this year, not backward. 
Another thing I'm looking forward to is running a 10k. Last year I thought I was gonna jump the gun and go right to being a half-marathon runner. think again. It was less than a year after I tore my hip flexor, and in less than 2 weeks I was running 5 miles straight. But I could hardly walk the next morning. not smart. 
This year I'm doing it a bit more wisely, and following a couch to 10k program, which I started yesterday. First I had to purchase a new pair of sneakers {mine were fossils in the world of runners}. My sister had a wonderful time buying her sneakers from the local shoe guy, so I followed her suggestion and went to the same gentleman. boy, am I glad I did. 
Not only did I find out I have been purchasing the wrong kind of sneakers all together, I also learned that I have "wicked flat" feet, according to Jack {the shoe guy}. Yup. We just tell it like it is up here in the north east. He had me doing a 'fast walk' down the center aisle of the store in my socks while he was down on one knee and staring intently at my feet. 
Conclusion: I need sneakers for "wicked flat" feet. 
Jack knew almost everything about sneakers and running and side walks and treadmills and 5k's and 10k's and...well, you get the picture.
He sure did like to talk, and I appreciated everything he told me. I even appreciated the fact that he told me if the $120 sneakers didn't feel $20 better than the $100 sneakers, to just by the $100 sneakers. I did just that. I walked out of the store doting a brand spanky new pair of Asics Duomax GT-1000. These are my favorite pair of sneakers yet. 
I gave them their debut run on the treadmill yesterday doing Week 1 Day 1 of my Couch to 10k program and I loved them. Doing Week 1 Day 1 of my Couch to 10k program on a treadmill, however? Not so much. It consists of jog slogging for 1 minute, walking for 1 1/2 minutes, and rotating this for 20 minutes or so. That my friends, is obnoxious to do on a treadmill. I felt like all I was doing was increasing the speed, then decreasing the speed, then increasing the speed... my neighboring treadmill runners must have thought I was crazy. To be honest, I could probably run 2 miles right now if I wanted to, but I want to do the program the right way. No more injuries for this girl. That results in no activity {i.e. putting on 20lbs...yuck}
Today was Week 1 Day 2, and the sun is beginning to stay out long enough for me to enjoy it after work. I hit the sidewalks full stride, with the sun on my face, and my Drop a Beat play list on Songza. If you haven't discovered songza yet, that should be the next thing you do. It's like Pandora on steroids, with no adds, and free. It WILL change your life. {Much like my Vitamix did. See Previous post} 
There I am, enjoying my combination of walking/jogging, and breathing in fresh air, until I come to an enormous puddle stretching the entire width of the sidewalk, and then some. It's wintertime in New Hampshire, and the weather here is like a woman on menopause. Hot, cold, snow, rain, warm, cold, colder...It can't make up it's damn mind, and makes for sloppy sidewalks. 
I'm committed though, and apparently committed to the sneakers I've run in only once before, because I ran through the thinnest part of the puddle I could see. It wasn't so bad, but the 20+ enormous puddles that followed didn't make it any better. At one point I was running up on the foot and a half high snow banks, because it was less wet than running through the 4 inches of water. I am definitely not returning these sneakers now. {good thing I love them}
I also came across Jacob Marley and his pooch. You know. Jacob Marley from A Muppet Christmas Carol. He looked just like that door knocker. creepy. 
And apparently we were on the same track in opposite directions, because I saw him again on the other side of town on a side street. 
Today I felt accomplished and ready to take on Day 3. 
Running outside is considerably harder than running on a treadmill, but it is much more fun, and I live a mile and a half from the beach. Summertime morning runs along the beach? I think so. 
By then I'll be finished with my Couch to 10k program, and ready to enjoy the coastline for as long as my little legs can handle. 
Thanks for coming along with me on my latest adventure. I'm excited to see how this one will turn out. 

A most befuddling thing

At the end of everyday, I like to spend some time sitting on the back deck, sipping on a hot beverage and enjoying the beautiful nature scene that surrounds me. My mom and step-dad have done a beautiful job adding all sorts of naturey things out there. It's almost like you step out into an oasis, rather than a back deck with practical use. Not only are there dozens of varieties of flowers and plants, but there are herbs, bird baths, bird feeders, seasonally appropriate decorations, tiki torches etc. it's quite cute.

Because of all of these aesthetically pleasing, naturey things, a wide variety of naturey friends have learned to gather here over the years. We have all kinds. Chickadee's, purple finches, cardinals, blue jays, gold finches, humming birds, bees, crows (least favorite...well besides mosquitoes. I hate mosquitoes), woodpeckers, tufted titmouse's, a few other birds I don't recognize, gray squirrels, red squirrels, chipmunks and we've even had fuzzy little bunny rabbit's in the past {which are so cute I wanna eat them up...not in the literal sense. No, I don't eat cute little bunnies. In the "omg that baby is so stinkin' cute I just wanna eat it up!", kinda way}

It's free entertainment out there really. When you spend enough time out there, you begin to learn about their different personalities. Cardinals are almost robotic when they move. They tilt their head certain ways, and the way they hop and peck at seeds...they just look like robots. Blue jays are one of the loudest, alerting everything in the surrounding neighborhood that there is a human nearby and to run and hide. Chickadee's are funny. I haven't quite figured out if it is their preference, or everyone bird elses, but they can't seem to share the bird feeder...even with each other. There will be 3 birds having dinner quietly, one on 3 sides of the bird feeder, and a chickadee will come sit on the 4th side and all the other birds will fly off yelling in their little birdy voices. And when one chickadee is eating by itself, and another comes and joins, the first one darts off squawking as well. i dont' quite know what to make of it. 

My favorite of all though, is hands down, the red squirrels. Besides being so absolutely adorable when they are babies, they have the most personality of all of the little critters out there. We've had one that's hung around all summer. We call him Squeakers. (S)he got their name of course because of the distinct squeaking sound he makes whenever he is upset or perturbed about something. We line up shelled peanuts all around the deck, trying to lure him in to feed him by hand. He doesn't like coming around when the dog is on the deck with us of course. I remember one day when he jumped onto the deck from the apple tree to gather some peanuts, and as he did he spotted Duchess (our dog). Just as fast as he jumped down, he was back up in that apple tree, and soo upset. He turned around on the edge of the branch, squeaking and shaking his butt at us. He went on for minutes. It was quite comical. 

Yesterday I was reading my book at my favorite spot under the big tree in the side yard. As I laid there, I heard squeakers in the tree above me. I looked and looked for minutes, and finally spotted him up there, laying over a branch, looking straight down at me and squeaking up a storm. The neighbors probably think I'm crazy, because I was talking back at him, and inviting him down to join me in my nap. He finally found a nice little spot to sit and munch on the tree, dropping little pieces on my blanket the entire time. {silly squeakers}

When I woke up, he was still there resting. 

It was only today that I realized we have two red squirrels (or at least a visitor), and they are most definitely a boy and a girl. I was sitting on the deck admiring everything like I do every evening and all of a sudden I hear this commotion and see branches moving frantically. Suddenly, leaping from branch to branch, Squeakers appears! But he's not alone, he is being chased by another red squirrel. It was hysterical. He was leaping from unsteady branch to unsteady branch, running up the trees, and down the trees, circling the trunk of the trees, all around the perimeter of the property. At one point she caught up to him and they stumbled a little and then he darted off again. They made it back to the back of the property, and when he had some distance, he turned around and was squeaking up a storm. I was dying laughing. He was surely giving her a piece of his mind. 

I immediately warped back in time to my childhood as I thought of my favorite scene in The Sword in the Stone. You know the one where Wart turns into a red squirrel, and is learning how to do squirrely things, when he meets a pretty little female red squirrel who is just absolutely smitten with him, and will go to any length to win his affection. She is...ahem...a little forward with him {understatement of the week}. She mistakes his blatant acts of un-interest for playful acts of interest, as he's begging for advice on what to do from the wizard, Merlin (in the form of a gray squirrel of course), who offers no help. Merlin sits back singing 'A most befuddling thing', about the young, twitterpated couple. It is adorable, but a little bit heartbreaking how it ends. {I won't give it away}. 

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed today's free entertainment in the back yard while I was sipping my first ever cup of Teecino (a caffeine free herbal coffee that my naturopath recommended...it certainly isn't coffee, but I'm giving it a shot).

Here is Squeakers, upside down in the center of the frame, looking at me from the tree during my nap yesterday

Here he is getting ready to leap to the bird feeder for a snack

Our cute little autumn window boxes on the deck

Our front steps

p.s. Autumn is my favorite season :)

Showing my patriotism, and fear of the midnight hour

I think it is safe to say that autumn has arrived in New England. It arrived with almost perfect timing, exactly 3 days following the annual Seafood Festival on Hampton Beach, which is the big to-do that closes out the summer. {one of my favorite weekends of the summer btw}

Autumn is my favorite season of the year, and I don't think I'm alone in that. When you live in a place like New England in the fall, it almost has to be your favorite season. Sure, we all love summertime, and sun tanned skin, beach days, and hiking and fishing and swimming, boating...and the list could go on. But I know that deep down, in the heart of every New Englander, they are a little bit giddy at the thought of the quickly approaching season. You hear mutterings everywhere. "I can't wait to wear my cute fall clothes", "I can't wait to go apple and pumpkin picking"...or my personal favorite, "When is football season gonna be here already!". {I am kind of a fanatic, and most decidedly a life long Patriot's fan, regardless if they blow the first home opener game since 2001, when they had it clinched......{sigh} 

I'll get over it soon...I hope.

No, today wasn't a good day for New England football. But, it was a perfect autumn Sunday afternoon. The air was crisp, the leaves are starting to change, my aunt Kate made homemade apple pie with fresh picked apples and pumpkinhead was on tap. That's another unmistakable sign of fall. 

{All things pumpkin}

I was just sitting here thinking about it, and in the last 2 weeks I've drank Pumpkinhead beer multiple times (at home and at the bar with a cinnamon and sugar rim....delicious), I've had dunk's pumpkin coffee, made DD's pumpkin coffee at home in my french press, had pumpkin cinnamon frappucino at Breaking New Grounds, made homemade organic pumpkin ice cream, homemade pumpkin cream cheese muffins and pumpkinhead beer cake. Phew!

Thank goodness for my bedtime of 10:30pm, instituted by my new naturopathic doctor, or I might turn into a pumpkin at midnight!

Here's a glimpse...they didn't last long.

Not a great thing to have around the house when your doctor has asked you to remove all flour and sugar from your diet....{sigh}...again.

Next up is homemade applesauce, hot apple cider and apple crisp at the Fryburg fair. Wait...no flour or sugar? Ugh...and yes, again....{sigh}.

My life will never be the same....

A few weeks ago I was in Seattle on one of my many business trips this summer. I was working a conference for naturopathic doctors, so there was a lot of...let's just say, interesting things being exhibited there. The entire show, I could hear this voice over a microphone at the end of the row I was in. After a couple of days I decided to venture over there and take a look at what the crowd of people were watching. There was this mid 50's, very handsome couple, demoing a blender. Once again I notice the crowd and I'm all, "What's the big deal? It's just a blender". But as always, curiosity got the best of me and I listened in. 
I hear him talking about wet blender and dry blender, and creating a vortex and friction and blah, blah, blah.... 
Then he said the magic words..."It's the #1 blender used by bartenders world wide". 
Cha-ching!
He had my attention now. 
Then he said even better magic words. "You can make ice cream and soup right in the container...."
Ice cream and soup? In the same container?
OK, I was hooked. Good thing there was someone else watching the booth, because I was there for at least 30 minutes watching him concoct an array of delicious treats. The first was a Mexican style soup, with tons of veggies, non-GMO spices and black beans, corn and tortilla chips added at the end. It was so good. I had two 3 cups of it...come on, they were only dixie cups. 
Then he started {stah-ted} to make ice cream. Well healthy sorbet actually. I was very skeptical when I saw the ingredients. 100% apple juice, banana, carrots and...cabbage? What kind of ice cream was this going to be? I don't know about you, but I'm used to Beach Plum, real, coffee Kahlua brownie ice cream with chocolate jimmies on top. sinful...i know.
Let's be real folks. You can't eat Beach Plum full fat ice cream your entire life, as often as you would like, and look like this husband and wife do in their 50's. They didn't look a day over 40..if that. 
So he proceeds on with the blending of his ingredients, in the same container that he had just made hot soup in. After what seemed like a minute and a half, he stops the blender, picks it up, takes the lid off and turns it upside down. no movement. We have ice cream sorbet folks. Remember those ingredients I just told you about? The cabbage and carrots and banana and apple juice? They were absolutely delicious! I had 2 cups...again.
I asked a few questions and discovered just how many incredible, healthy and delicious dishes can be made by this beautiful little machine called the Vitamix. I had to buy one. I almost felt as if I didn't have a choice. They were offering such a great show discount, I couldn't refuse. 
I've been waiting and waiting and...waiting, for my Vitamix to arrive. I've been planning out what I was going to make first. I've been visiting all the local farmers markets and health food stores, picking up all things organic. Fruits, nuts, corn, flowers...well the flowers weren't organic, those were just something pretty for mom. 
I have been like a kid awaiting Christmas day when you know that your parents got you the exact gift you have been wanting, but they haven't put it under the tree yet, and then magically on Christmas morning you wake up..and there it is! 
Yes. That level of excitement. I would call home asking mom if it had arrived. I even called Vitamix directly to find out if it had shipped yet, and when exactly the date and time of arrival would be. I couldn't wait for my Vitamix to come. 
Well today was the day. It arrived! And I was like a kid on Christmas morning, trotting through the house yelling "My Vitamix came!". Mom laughed. I think secretly moms love seeing their kids get excited about something, no matter how old they are. 
The anticipation was killing me as I was unpacking, removing Styrofoam and washing my Vitamix for it's first use. My first dish? Organic almond butter. So yummy, and so much better for you than peanut butter. 
And then I made the smoothie I've been waiting to make that I found in their online recipe book.  

It's an all organic, kale, pear, green grapes and banana delicious green smoothie. This was my dinner. And it was oh so good. And so healthy. It's so powerful it even disintegrates the seeds of berries. I hate it when I make a breakfast smoothie with blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, and the seeds get stuck in my teeth. Problem no more!
I LOVE my Vitamix! 

And the cherry on top of the sundae today was, the library called and told me the book I requested was in. I have been waiting to read Double Cross by Sam and Chuck Giancana. It's the unveiling of the Kennedy's relationship with the mob boss Sam Giancana, and his involvement with the untimely death of my favorite, Norma Jean..better known as Marilyn Monroe. I'll have to hurry and finish up the Nicholas Sparks book I'm on right now so I can get to the exciting one. 
I'll let you know how it is. 

Nature: A foreign world

I can't get enough of the outdoors. I love trees, and birds, and lakes, and hiking, and swimming (clothed or otherwise), and furry friends like squirrels and chipmunks. My all time favorite place is of course, the beach. The sound of the waves does something for my soul and state of mind that no other activity has done yet. It's peaceful but powerful at the same time.   I can walk, run, lay or play on the beach and have completely different experiences, but always leave feeling refreshed and energized. I love camping. So much so that I recently took a road trip across the country with my sister, and camped the entire way. The type of camping where there isn't cell phone service or other digital distractions. The only everyday comfort that we had was a double high queen size air mattress. {a necessity after riding in a car for 14 hours a day}. The type of camping where the stars are brighter than anywhere else, the trickling stream is the sound you fall asleep and wake up to, and you have to be certain to lock up your smores food at night time to avoid any cute, neighborly local critters. 

I've always loved being outdoors. I can't imagine a life always in front of a screen, or inside with AC, or in an office. ewww, no way. 

When I was a kid, basically all we had was outdoors. Before the time of video games being a household staple, one computer (let alone 3 or 4) per house, iPad's, iPod's, smart phones.....well, you get the point. Before the time of man-made everything entertainment, we really didn't have a choice but to go outdoors. As a child I would mow the lawn for fun (it took 2 1/2 hours, but it was a ride along mower, and I loved it). My brother and I would be gone for hours a day swimming in the waterhole, climbing trees, skipping stones, checking out the beaver dam in the pond at the base of the mountain we lived in front of, or dancing in the rain. We'd ride the tire swing, play fetch, go hunting, walk up to Lougee hill or ride bikes. We grew up in a time of knee scrapes, elbow bruises and sun-kissed skin...i don't even need to wear sun screen anymore, and need the vitamin D anyways.  

Even as I write this post I'm sitting outside on the deck, listening to the pine bugs, crickets and birdies singing and talking to each other. And it just started to sprinkle, but the sun is still shining, so there'll probably be a rainbow, which is a communication from God. And a gray squirrel just came up for a visit to the bird feeder, and looked straight at me and was startled. The acrobatics these little guys perform for me is incredible.

My sister is even a master birder. She can recognize birds from far distances just by the way they fly or the structure of their wings or the sound they make. Of this, I'm incredibly jealous. 

See, these are things you can't experience indoors. 

These days it seems like kids only get thumb cramps from so many hours of gaming, or snazzy new eye glasses because their eyes are already worn out at 12 years old. 

I was recently talking to a very well rounded, smart and environmentally sensitive dear friend of mine, and he brought up the term 'nature deficit disorder'. I had never heard of it before. My initial thought....

What? You can be so deprived of the things of nature that there's actually a disorder for it? That can't be true. 

I did some digging. Here's one of the sites I visited. And 'nature deficit disorder' actually does exist. Not only that, but they're making a correlation between it and ADHD, Depression and Childhood Obesity. And yet schools are still removing recess completely and replacing PE with computer studies. Isn't it bad enough that when kids are let out of schools they run home to their computers and gaming systems? Do we really need to remove the only half hour (maybe) of connection with nature that they get? And the scary part is, parents are keeping their children indoors because they are 'protecting them from danger'. 

I don't know what your opinion is, but I think it's pretty clear we're doing an incredible disservice to the future of our nation. I'm concerned that one day (not far off) humans won't even be able to connect with each other, let alone be grounded by nature. 

Sure, I love my iPhone, and access to the world wide web at any given moment...but something I love more, and always will, is being in the great outdoors, connecting with the beautiful Creation that God gave us. I make time for it every single day. I know I'm not the only one like me, but I wonder if it's largely because of my upbringing. My dad always took us camping, fishing, hunting or biking...and I remember my mom hand feeding chipmunks and raccoon's (not recommended), and nursing wounded hummingbirds back to health. I can't imagine feeling any other way about nature, and always wanting more time with it. But if it's because of my attachment to the ways of my childhood, what is going to happen to all of the children these days, who can't even ride their bikes to the end of the street and back, let alone go camping in the woods for days...yikes.

What is society going to look like in a few decades?

Oh no....it's happened.

I sound like one of those old, out of touch with modern society, people. {oops}