Benjen Stark from Game of Thrones
Can you believe I have something in common with Benjen Stark? Don’t scoff don’t laugh, and pleases don’t pour your Arbor Gold over my head! It’s true, I do share some commonality with this noble First Ranger of the Night’s Watch. Let’s see. We can both ride horses. We are loyal to our Houses, yet we also know how to sacrifice for something greater.
We are both fighters. And we both can disappear for long periods of time, leaving our loved ones and/or fans wondering whatever the bloody f@*k became of us, yet we return when the need is great. And we both have “Cold Hands.” Ha!!
Alright, I haven’t *literally* left my family for long periods of time, although the temptation has been there – LOL. However, I have in a sense, disappeared from my family here at the Sanity Search for too long.
And, like “Uncle Ben”, and in a sense, like the Hound, or Bran, Rickon, or maybe Lady Stoneheart (kinda?) I eventually show up in several episodes or seasons later, a little older and maybe with a great story or two.
So, here I am! I was not far, not far away at all. I was busy, sure, but that’s not the best excuse. Regardless, I came back.
It’s not necessarily difficult to keep up with blogging, it’s really not. I know some very clever bloggers who keep up with their posting, even when times are challenging. They might not post quite as often, maybe once a week instead of every day or two. And they cut their posts shorter, which is a wonderfully viable way to go. Great idea! Why don’t I do that?
Well, it doesn’t matter that much, the point is, I do my best to keep coming back. I don’t know if I’d refer to it as being “re-animated”, and not exactly reborn, but still I do find ways to bring new breath back to my life, and inject more life into my work.
Well, I’ve been loving the whole HBO lineup that starts with GOT and continues with Silicon Valley and Veep. And there are a few other fun shows that I watch, but ASIDE from all that, I’ve been working on several projects, including self-improvement.
I’m still at the gym, it’s a love/hate thing. I love the days when I’m not scheduled to be there, that means I don’t have to worry about eating my corn muffin early enough, or sipping my coffee too close to workout time. Who needs the agita! But after I’m done, I feel great, knowing I did something good for myself. Naturally, I feel sweaty, sore, and sometimes a bit disgusting, but overall, I’m happy I went.
And of course, there was the whole Boston Marathon thing. My guys did great, Tom finished about a half hour earlier than last year, which is awesome. Dave was doing OK except for some leg cramps, and as is custom for runners on the ALF Run for Research team, he stopped at Mile 16.8 to say hi, and have his picture taken. This is what we call the Liver Cheering Section. He has asked me to have some pickle juice ready (good for the cramps), but almost the very moment he stopped, he was overcome with nausea, along with feeling lightheaded. Definite signs of dehydration. He had to sit down in the shade for a few minutes and sip Gatorade and the pickle juice.
He began to feel better, and then not good, and back and forth. He finally made the tough decision to stop running, and head back to Boston with us (Mike, Uncle Dale, Tom’s friend Nick, and Diana, one of the great ALF staffers) on the Green Line.
Such a tough decision, and definitely disheartening. People were congratulating him on the subway, and he just quietly said thanks, although he might have explained a couple times that he didn’t actually finish, but that got exhausting to keep explaining.
** side note – keeping within the theme here of showing up eventually, and persevering, a week later, Dave and I went back to Newton so I could drop him off where he stopped, and he ran the last 9 miles, including all the hills (Heartbreak Hill is made of up several hills in Newton), and finished strong at the official finish line on Boylston Street. So, that was pretty cool.**
Assuming you’re all still dying to know what kept me busy, there’s more!
A few weeks after the marathon, Tom needed a bit of an assist finishing up some final projects for his semester. So, typing up some papers and advising him on some paintings for Illustration kept me busy, and then moving him home again, and etc. etc. etc.
I also joined a writing group, got more interested in the business side of essential oils, and all sorts of other life distractions.
I will strive to post more often
Shanti and Shalom.