Vacation Excitement

Nothing is more eagerly anticipated than a vacation.

It stirs up thoughts of freedom and rest.  Or of  fun and excitement.

Some folks I know think waay ahead and shop for a new wardrobe.  They begin packing early.

Then there's me.

I kinda sorta know what I think I maybe will need.  Then I make lists that I promptly lose.

I know where I'm going most of the time but the other details remain fuzzy.

To me, if too much is planned it can't be much of a vacation.

Which always leads me to the mecca of all vacation spots:

Wal-Mart.

For some reason, Wal-Mart looms large in terms of vacation planning.  Although I can go to my local store 24/7 any day any time of the year it seems to hold more promise when vacation comes around.

I look around with the expectation that whatever is around the next aisle is the ONE THING I need to make this trip perfect.  New flerp flerps?  Of course! Little canvas bags and sun umbrellas and weird plastic plates and cups?  How could I have ever lived without them before this?

The place even smells exciting.  Now that one I can't explain.

Buying the disposable paper plates and wet wipes, the sunblock, floppy hat and magazine (that I'll save for the trip, of course) makes me unreasonably happy.

Perhaps it's simply the idea of fun and relaxation on a long awaited journey that makes Wal-Mart such an oasis. Even stepping into an out-of-town Wal-Mart implies that something cool is just around the corner.

Of course, when vacation is over for another year, Wal-Mart turns back into a pumpkin.  The lipgloss is just gooey stuff and beach towels are just towels.

But for that brief moment in time it signifies escape and freedom and fun.

And they even greet you at the door.

Afterthoughts

It's taken me a few days to catch my breath and process my impressions of "An Evening with Karen Wasoba."

First, I was overwhelmed by the dear people who endured a night of rainy weather on a Friday night to attend. I thought that was amazing, especially since there wasn't a whole lot of advertisement. We had exactly the amount of folks who could fit into such a compact place.

Second, the sense of community blessed me immensely. At one point I almost felt like we were a huge family coming to support little Joey's first piano recital.

So many friends stepped in to make sure the details were taken care of. That was a major relief to me.

Next, thanks to the dear ones who pulled me aside to pray with me. It really did calm my nerves and allowed me to surrender everything into God's care.

I felt a subtle letdown the next day when I woke up with a major sore throat and fever. Not feeling well, I found myself thinking of all the things I should have done better. All the comments I wanted to add but didn't and vice versa. I'm still dealing with the afterthoughts and working to be objective about everything.

I've gotten positive responses from attenders and I can't tell you how much I appreciated it.

I also watched the video...Don now tells me we don't have the equipment to transfer it from our camcorder to the computer. We're working on it.

I have lots more to say about this but for now let me say I'm glad I went through with it.
Was I comfortable?

Sort of.

Did I have fun?

Yep!

Will I do it again?

Um... I don't know about whether the world can handle Part Deux. Let's just say I'm glad I have a 'day job' I love.

In the end, I think we did what we set out to do:

Just sit back and have fun.

Here We Go!

It is almost Zero Hour.

I have my notecards, my crew is spiffing up the place.

I'm spiffing myself up.

In just a few hours a group of friends and I will indulge ourselves in an hour (or so) of nothing but fun.

This fun does not involve mud baths, football games (sorry guys) or shopping.

It involves laughter.

and desserts.

Tonight is the event I've been blogging about for the last little bit. I'm planning to share many true stories from my goofy life. I've asked my son Ryan to play and sing a song for the group.

I'm nervously excited. Or excitedly nervous.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Countdown Has Begun

So here's the challenging part of being challenged:

It's one thing to hatch a plan, have a great idea.

It's another thing to share your ideas and get feedback for them.

It's a whole different matter to work the details out so it goes off without a hitch.

Cuz there are hitches built into everything we try to accomplish; if it were easy we'd have done it a long time ago.

When I think of trying to do things all by myself in my own strength I get tired.
I can't think of every possible factor to host a successful event. And by the time I did take care of details I'd be so 'over it' I wouldn't care anymore.

But I have friends who know a lot about a lot of things. I'm relying on them to step in and use their talents in allowing me to concentrate on the show I'm planning to host tomorrow night.

This ought to be fun. And weird. And different. And memorable.

I just sat at McDonald's for 4 hours while I wrote my comments on 3x5 cards. It took 44 cards and I had to stop cuz I ran out of ink.

So I'm all set (unless I drop the cards during the event).

Or I get writer's cramp.

See you tomorrow!

In Honor of April Fools Day

I love pranks.

Not the pranks viewed on tv reality shows that delight in frightening or embarassing folks. I can't even watch those because it makes me uncomfortable. No one wants to be made to look foolish.

No, I love the pranks that push the envelope a little but show forethought and a little preparation. Like the old pink flamingos in the yard trick. And the forking the lawn trick. I think tp-ing the office is cute. I once saw an entire house wrapped in cellophane but there might have been a deeper reason for that...

A friend of mine once got into my office and replaced all my pictures with photos of her and her husband on a cruise. Her in a bathing suit. My shelf suddenly had sex manuals and viagra samples displayed on it. One time same friend took an unflattering photo I had given her (of me after having fallen asleep among some chocolate chips-indescribable) and had them made into Christmas cards.

THAT took planning!

When my best friend turned 40 I had an old grade school photo of her published in the local newspaper. We dressed up as grannies one year for our bosses' birthday; each patient brought him a sympathy card.

My most favorite prank occurred when my kids were in high school: One evening my son Ryan went to his car to fetch something. In a flash he was back inside laughing hysterically. "I've been PRANKED!" We all rushed outside to see the carnage; it was memorable.

While we were all inside the house that evening, someone had come up to our driveway, taped off a pattern on Ryan's hand-me-down car (blue 1992 Acclaim) and spray painted a fluorescent orange racing stripe along the hood, top, and trunk and added #7 to the side. We never realized it was happening.

Years later we learned that the culprit was a band-mate of Ryan's. It was awesome.

Ryan drove that car proudly for years afterwards.

The spirit of fun made the prank a good one. The display of good humor while shaking up normalcy a bit is almost flattering; I mean, only someone who really knew us would take the time to plan and follow through on something like that.

So on this April Fool's Day, think about someone you like, know, and want to kid a little. Grab the flamingos, cellophane, balloons, photos, spray paint (sparingly) toilet paper, plastic forks.

Then get out there and 'bless' somebody.

Funny Thing About Getting Old

I've made some interesting observations about what it's like to get old(er).

It ain't all that bad, really.

Who would have ever imagined living to be eligible for senior citizen discounts without showing your ID? I'm at the age where the only time I get carded is when some muscle-bound security guy at a music venue wants to make me feel good about myself; either that or he doesn't want me to feel left out being the only person there NOT being carded!

At any rate, getting on in years isn't as negative as one might think. I don't rush out to buy the newest fashion trends since odds are I already have something like it in my closet from decades ago. Admittedly, shopping isn't as fun as it once was because I often feel like I've seen all this stuff before (when I could fit into it). Daughter Kari once asked me why I didn't keep some of the clothes I wore in the '70's. I told her, "Honey, it was ugly then and it's ugly NOW."

Even my career as a counselor benefits because with age comes wisdom. Since I'm over 40 (just barely), married and have adult children I'm seen as more credible. Maybe I should build a cabin on a mountaintop for people to seek me for all my sage advice (I'd better practice sitting cross-legged).

What makes growing older the most fun is this:

My friends are growing old along with me.

We can laugh together and understand what we're talking about. We can hassle the cute waiters at restaurants without fear of seeming creepy. We can make numerous trips to the bathroom and no one bats an eye.

Yes, aging has its downside but we won't worry about that today. When the gloomies get us we know we can blame it on hormones and hot flashes. We can call a do-over when we've said or done the wrong thing.

So getting older isn't all that bad. It's made me appreciate my parents and those in my life who've been here before. What they've said and done makes a bit more sense now.

I'm going to sign off now. I'm heading to the mall to snag some senior citizen discounts. I hear they've got a great deal going on support hose and Depends.