Just Do It

I am suspended 160 feet above the ground, anchored in on either side by 300-year-old hemlocks in a natural canyon in the White Mountains.

There is a ride before me, a way to get from point A to point B.

I can hear the wind weave it’s way through the landscape I can hear the sound of trickling water from the brook running beneath, carving its way down through patches of snow.

I can see Mt Washington in the distance, and touch the limbs of branches that are only meant for birds to land on.

Adrenline rushes as I step off the platform and embrace an 800 foot ride.

Casting my inhabitions to the wind and trusting in the course that is set before me, I leap.

My only job is to enjoy the ride.  Feel the rush, see the beauty, take it in.

The only thing that will hinder the fullness of this experience is fear and self-consciousness. 

In the words of Nike, “just do it”.

Gratitude and a Recipe

Walking on the sidewalk
Downtown Ipswich MA
41 degrees
Late afternoon
The sun is low and bright in the winter sky
My son on my shoulders
My daughter by my side
We watch our shadows dance along a white picket fence
The simple moments are my favorite.
When I open my eyes and see.

Tonight I will make roasted Pork Loin from the recipe of genius chef Mark Bittman.

Here's how that goes.

Heat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:
3 and a half lb pork loin
2 Tablespoons of rosemary
1 Tablespoon of salt
1 Tablespoon of pepper
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Mix spices and garlic together and then rub all over the pork loin.
Place in an oven safe baking dish with sides (I use a La Crueset dutch oven with the lid off)
Mark Bittman calls for 1 cup of white wine to be poured into the dish, but I will use vermouth, because that's what I have in my cabinet.  Add a couple sliced onions and potatoes.  Cook until pork is 160 degrees in the center.

Simple, good and full of flavor.  Bon appetite.

Co-writing

Over the past several months I have been co-writing weekly with a friend.  Co-writing is vulnerable, naked, raw.  It is idea bouncing off of idea, dream meeting dream,  lyric meeting melody to birth a fairy tale. When I enter the room for an evening of co-writing, I know that I will have moments of brilliance and moments of lameness.  The freedom to be both, to put both good or bad idea out into the open, is important in the journey towards a great song.  It is equally important to know that there is a safe place for any idea to be shared.  I won't be made to feel the fool, but can perhaps even laugh at some of the nonsense.  One thought can spark another thought, leading to the missing piece of the puzzle of a song.  If I don't release the good with the bad, and allow myself to be vulnerable before another, we might miss out on a beautiful story.  We need to leave offenses at the door with the understanding that this is a partnership, and both parties need to be satisfied with the result.

Relationships take work, and none are perfect.  My husband and I are no strangers to arguments.  It is a common occurrence for us to have completely different plans, thoughts, ideas or ways of going about a thing.  Married or not, being able to relate to another person is a skill that we need to learn in order to live life in harmony.

Driving in the car the other day, I could feel the tension of ideas brewing between us.  I looked at him and said, "Hey, let's co-write our life together."