One of the things I'm learning about being a caregiver is
that you have to be inventive about taking care of yourselves.
In our Pre-Pa
Days (before Bob’s 93-year-old dad moved in) we had that window of empty-nesting
to do and go quite freely. Now our comings and goings have about a two or three
hour window. So although we may not be
able to go on a vacation, we are trying to change the way we look at what’s
around us.
For example, how many of you live in a place that has some
special sites or things to do, but you've never availed yourself of
them? We realized that the town we live
in attracts a lot of tourists because it has so much to offer and yet we were
longing to go somewhere else. (Okay, a sidewalk café on a chilly fall evening in SC isn't quite the same as dinner on a Florida beach, but…)
So we decided to change our perspective and play tourists in
our own downtown. We had tapas on a rooftop, a Malaysian meal at a sidewalk
restaurant. We poked in boutiques and bumped shoulders with out-of-towners at
crosswalks.
Apparently our happy tourist façade was convincing because the
owners of an arcade wooed us in to try out their Mirror Maze. We handed over our
money (more than it was worth, I thought) donned our 3-D glasses and headed into a maze of me.
Me reflected in front, me in
back, me all around.
The object was to get away from yourself—and find the one
way out of each corner. (And in case any of you decide to try a mirror maze, that is a clue.)
Get away from you.
I thought it was a great reminder. Maybe it was worth the
bucks after all!
Friday I am going to discuss some of the books that have impressed me this past month. One of which is the BEAUTIFUL new book from Ann
Voskamp—The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the
Full Love Story of Christmas. I hope
you’ll stop back.
A very blessed and joy full week to you,
Marcia
Great reminder to have mini stay-cations! My town barely has a walmart, so the next town over may have to do! Ha! But, that maze of mirrors sounds more like a nightmare to me! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteSusie
Loved this. Written above my desk: "Bloom where you are planted." It serves as a daily reminder. Sounds like exploring one's own town fits right into that philosophy. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteMarcia:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, hello to you, Bob and Pa from Mary and I. You are both so kind to him.
Secondly, I am intrigued by this photograph.
Thirdly, thanks for the good advice to get away from ourselves.
Lastly, I am eager to hear about Ann Voskamp's new book.
Gratefully,
Richard