Allison and the Outlaws! An ode to a true rock star!!

These are the outlaws. Not all of the outlaws are present in the picture but it is important to understand that we are represented in the Grossman Spicer family! (Smiling Broadly).

I am writing two blogs in five days. I guess I have to work through a fair amount this week. Today, I am writing because this popped up in my email yesterday.

My entire day was spent thinking about Allison and what an incredible person she is, and how she is a true inspiration to so many people. How she is an inspiration to me. I am not adequately able to express my emotions here but I will try. I frequently call Allison a rock star. Her fight has been long. Her fight has been beautiful. Her fight has been from deep within. She has had to face mortality at too young of an age (and all that entails) and she has never wavered in her strength and determination. In all the hard times and better times, Allison has never stopped reaching out. Allison has never stopped living. Allison has never stopped creating new experiences for her and her family. (By the way, Allison is the outlaw in blue in the picture above.)

I think about when my kids were very young and decided three days before the Breast Cancer walk that they wanted to participate. We gently told the girls that was not possible because one needed to train for such a walk but that we could go to the start and see Allison and her team. Allison's smile was bright. Her shoulders were broad and there was a glow emanating from her that was unmistakable. That day, Sosie and Sage's eyes were widened. Their hearts were huge and they felt grateful to just be there and see her. They understood the meaning at a very young age. It was a moment.

I think about when I personally was struggling and I was really struggling. It was a dark time for me. Allison took time to help me. She reached out to me. In all of the complexities and challenges of her own life, she took the time to reach out. What she said was so profound and so helpful on many levels. Those words and actions affect me to this day. It also helped me look beyond me. It made me look beyond what I was dealing with and in retrospect it was crucial to getting better.

I think about when I first met Allison and how we immediately clicked. We always wished we lived closer because there was a sense of a real closeness there. A potential of something and somehow knowing that potential has been incredibly comforting. Allison is the wife of Kelley's cousin, Charlie. They have two sons and have been through it yet they are together. They are real.

I think of the family events, happy and sad, where we have been together. I think of the moments where we chatted about families, kids and life in general. I think of the times we were just in the same room. I think of the laughter and tears.

I think about Allison, Shannon and I at the wedding where the outlaw picture was taken above. We had a great moment outside sitting at a table. It was a beautiful night and we had such a meaningful conversation among all of the fun and revelry.

I think about this world. This crazy, crazy world, seemingly crazier by the day, if that is even possible. I think about the nastiness of the world. But then I think about Allison. I think about how she is to others. How kind and thoughtful. How strong she is to face something no one should ever have to face especially at this stage in her life. I am angry and incredibly sad that she is in this position but then I think of her. She is an example of how one should live in the moment. How one should be kind, face challenges head on, hold on to the positives of life, connect with the people that are meaningful to you, think of others and live life fully. I love her. She is my hero. She is a rock star. She is.

In Allison's words, "Listen to Once A Day and I'm Alive and Shake it, Shake it Shake it! by Michael Franti and Spearhead. So good!" and let's get cooking. 

I am getting ready for vacation in the mountains at Lake Toxaway. I am making bbq sauce and ribs for the first night. I  have blogged about this in the past so thought I would repeat it. My friend and co-vacationer was able to recall the exact blog post and so it was easy to find!

Click Here to go to the recipe for Barefoot Contessa's BC Barbecue Sauce
The sauce goes on so many things and is so versatile. I can't wait for my second meal with it. 

Have a happy day, everyone!

Musings from an airport

Ok so this is going to be a different kind of blog post. I’m sitting in an airport in Pennsylvania, waiting seemingly endlessly for my flight to Charlotte. So far there have been 10 changes to my flight and now it is very possible that I won’t make my 10:30 pm connection in Charlotte to Augusta.

So what does one do with all of this time?? I will say it is a definite challenge to my level of patience. After vacillating between anger, frustration and insanity, I have opened my tiny browser on my phone, put on Pandora and have started to write. I have found peace.

After my last post I hit a writing snag so I didn’t write for a few weeks. I wasn’t sure what to write about in my next post.  A writing block of sorts. A friend had defriended me on Facebook I believe as a result of my post which surprised me and made me a little sad. It sounds so weird to write this at the age of 47. Someone defriended me on Facebook. I do so enjoy writing yet I do feel feel nervous putting myself out there in the blogosphere. I do feel badly if someone is upset by my writing or experiences. They are my own and I only speak for me. One of my goals in this life is to connect people, not divide, and I apologize if my last post divided in some way.

Back to the reason of why I am sitting in an airport for hours. I was in Bethlehem visiting my parents for a few days and wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to spend time here, even with this horrendous delay. I’m grateful for the ability to see them. I’m grateful for my husband and kids for giving me the time to come. I’m grateful for the ability to hear my mom share a story or talk about a book she is reading or share an hour watching one of her television programs or have lunch out at our favorite restaurant. I’m grateful for the ability to walk a block to the nearby farm market and pick fresh, local fruit, vegetables and flowers for my mom. I’m grateful for the ability to give her a little help at home. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have my dad look in my eyes in a particularly lucid moment and say he wished he could be with me when my mom dropped me off at the airport. The visit always flies and grateful for the opportunity.

I’m grateful. I’m grateful for my family and my friends and my life and my history, hard times and happy times. I’m grateful for different experiences, cultures, opinions, religions,, pretty much everything. I’m grateful for all differences because that’s what makes us unique. Looking into the differences you find the similarities that bind us.

This blog has been about finding a moment every day where you are truly present. I guess I found my moment today.

Put on two songs and let’s get cooking! Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show and First Class by Rainbow Kitten Surprise.

Seeing as I can’t quite figure out how to add photos in this format I thought I’d talk about outdoor dining. We recently went to Boston to visit friends and family. We had many experiences dining outdoors. Many meals. Many different settings. There is something incredibly wonderful about being outside and sharing a meal. Sometimes I have a hard time because of my anti relationship to biting insects but it is so worth it. There’s space. There’s a lovely backdrop. There’s fresh air.  It somehow feels more alive. Light some candles. Mix a cocktail or a mocktail and enjoy the solitude or the company. Take a deep breath and smile from within.

Thank you for indulging me with my thoughts (and typos) as I still sit waiting for my plane.  Have a wonderful evening.