Tragedy at NRG Park

Hello bloggies.  By now, most of you, if not all, have heard about the tragedy that occurred in my fair city on Friday night at a Travis Scott concert.  My heart aches for all of the victims and their families.  My head is still spinning, wondering how going to such a normal activity such as attending a concert, can turn so deadly.  I know, I know, bad things happen anywhere and at any given time.  However, I can bet that no one, could ever have imagined the chaos and the devastating events that transpired.  I personally know a hand-full of kids that were in attendance that night.  By God's grace, all of them are accounted for and made it home to their families in one piece. Shaken of course, but alive.  Such a senseless, senseless tragedy.  I know right now that the blame game is strong, there is alot of finger-pointing, passing the buck, sketchy details emerging and the legal community ready to seek justice for such egregious negligence.  I pray with every fiber of my being that something good comes out of this, something positive so this will never happen again.  I pray that the lives lost will not have died in vain.  And I ask you bloggies, if you are of the praying kind, to please join me and ask for strength, guidance and grace.

Happy Birthday to Me

 Another year

A new beginning

A clean slate

365 days of opportunities

to love

to be loved

to laugh

to dream

to fulfill my dreams

to live passionately

with purpose

to be kind

to listen

to inspire

to make amends

to celebrate 

to start over

to try

to fail

to try again

I was gifted  

another year of life.  

This is fifty-five.

Whirlwind -Inside my mind and other quandaries

 Texas froze.  People froze to death, literally.  A new variant emerged.  Governor Abbott and a bunch of other imbeciles decided they know what's best for women in the state of Texas and took away our right to choose. (for the record, not that it is anyone's business, I'm pro-life.  However, I take issue with those that want to decide what is best for any woman's body.  Makes my blood boil.  Oh but that is another post for another time.  Nonetheless, I'm sure Ruth Bader Ginsburg is turning in her grave. 

Where was I? Oh yes, mask vs. no mask fights.  "...but my rights" assaults against airlines, grocery store employees, bank employees, hell, innocent bystanders.  Let's see anything else? Oh yes, Hurricane Nicholas is wreaking havoc along our Texas coast as I type.  -We are the popular state lately, eh?  So I'm sitting here, having post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the freeze back in February, because our power may or may not go out tonight.  Currently, 52,000 are without power. Again.  Still.  Power grid be damned right Gregie?  Anyway, my nerves are everywhere.  I can't keep still.  My thoughts are erratic and sleep is out of the questions at this point.  I live in Houston.  It seems that we will not receive the brunt of  the rain as originally thought, but we will experience the winds.  Hmm, flooding or wind damage? Which to choose?  

I've lived here all of my life.  Yet, every June 1st I cringe because it's the start of hurricane season.  This was a tropical storm when I woke up this morning -err, yesterday morning now.  By early evening it became a Cat-1 hurricane.  No stranger to major storms at all, we ALL know what to do to prepare.  Sometimes the meteorologists are spot on and other times they are not.  Through no fault of their own of course.  I mean, storms have their own agenda and change course constantly.  

My heart goes out to all who are being directly affected.  I pray that damage is minimal and no loss of life occurs.  Send us your prayers, good vibes, good karma -we need anything we can get.

Oh yeah.  Almost forgot.  I was watching the news earlier and as the reporter was doing a live shot in Galveston, guess who walked by?  Check it out.

Man dressed as Michael Myers from 'Halloween' arrested in Galveston ahead of Hurricane Nicholas - ABC13 Houston

Who says Texas has no sense of humor? 

Rainy Sunday

Rainy Sunday

Rest. Don't think. Don't do.  Just live in the moment.

Most times the it is a blessing.

Today it was a curse.

Too much time to let my mind wander aimlessly

worse case scenarios

never-ending problems

tragic endings

worry

pity this is not about ideas for my next story or poem

Lots of talking myself off the ledge of anxiety

The thunder breaks my fall

Once again I escape the abyss

Achy Breaky Body

Getting older is a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because we are alive and kicking.  A blessing because we have opportunities to make a difference, to let our light shine, to be our best self and create our life in the manner we see fit.  A blessing because we can right a wrong.  Ah but the flipside of that coin is the curse.  All of a sudden, a new day brings about a new body part that aches or cracks or just flat out gives out on you without any warning.  It's so frustrating.  But what are we going to do?  The alternative is not an option -not for me and it better not be for you either.  

I  went to the doctor today to get knee injections.  Yes, one for each knee.  This is not new.  I started getting them last year -pre-pandemic and then when doctors offices started seeing patients in person again.  I normally get them every four months but this year has been a little crazy (as if you didn't know) so I am a little behind and a lot in pain.  I was almost in tears when I begged the doctor to squeeze me in for an appointment.  Mercifully, she did.  My knees are full of arthritis and not in the best shape.  The doctor has recommended weight loss to give me some relief and depending on how that goes, then she can rule out knee replacements.  

Yuck.  

Oh but that's not all.  Come on now, you should know me and my dramatic self by now.  In addition to the knees, I have also been having major hip pain.  So major that some days it's debilitating.  It limits how far I can walk or if I can even stand up.  Those are my worse days.  The doctor thinks hip replacement is a last resort and I wholeheartedly agree with her.  I refuse to have that happen to me.  But for this to happen, I have to change my entire way of life and make major changes.  Nothing mind-boggling.  It's the usual, what we ALL should be doing.   Taking care of ourselves, watching what we eat, listening to our bodies -they talk to us all the time, we just tune them out sometimes.  Or in my case, all the time.  

It's hard y'all.  But it's something that I have to do because I have so much living left to do.  I don't have a choice and this is not up for discussion.  I know the consequences if I don't act now.  

Getting older.  Gotta love it.  And I do.  Arthritis, cracked knees, wonky hips and all. 

The bewitching hour is upon us.  Sweet dreams bloggies.

Dating Vibes -Got Any?

To date or not to date?  That is the question.  What is the answer?  Well for me, it's the latter.  I have not been on a real date in a very long time.  I'm talking since before the pandemic days.  Why you ask?  Hmm, the short answer is that I am not sure why.  I've always been a social butterfly and meeting people has never been a problem for me, so again, I'm not really sure.

 A friend of mine of the male persuasion suggested to me that while I am social, I may be giving off the "I don't want to date" vibe, thus turning men away without even knowing that I'm turning men away.  That last sentence I think is true.  If I really think about it and play out the last few times I have been out, the way I carried myself with people -men specifically,  I can honestly say that I  could indeed have been sabotaging myself.  I suppose I'm scared.  Scared of dipping my toes into that pool of uncertainty and heart-break.  I've been in it many times before and the outcome hasn't always been a happy one.

Huh.  Who knew one of my guy friends would result in a pseudo therapist?  He told me this first consult was free but that the next time he would charge me.  "Calm down Dr. Ruth"  I retorted.  He backed down.

Dating is hard.  Dating during a pandemic is almost impossible.  Almost.  I know quite a few people that went on virtual dates for awhile and it worked -for them.  Me?  I need the live and in person connection.  Maybe now that things are seemingly getting better for us (fingers crossed) maybe I will put my big girl panties on and try again.  But how does one go from emitting "stay away from me" vibes to "I'm ready to date" vibes without seeming desperate?  Hmm, how indeed.   

 Stay tuned for another episode of "As Yvonne Dates -or not" in future posts.

It's the weekend friends, go out and enjoy the hell out of it.

-peace.

Wheels Up!

I did a thing last week.  I hopped on a plane and it took me away. Far away.  My first vacation in over a year.  A year.  Wow, how surreal.  My friends and I traveled to the Caribbean waters of Cancun, Mexico.  For four days and three nights, paradise was ours.  No worries, no anxieties, no cares in the world.  Nothing but sun, clear blue waters and sand in our toes.  It was amazing.  Truly amazing.  I've traveled to Cancun many times and it never disappoints.  It felt so good not to have an agenda and to forget about responsibilities and obligations and problems and just, just breathe in the moment.  To pause and relish the beauty of the ocean, the sun kissing your face...  It felt so good to just sit on the sand and watch as the waves crashed onto shore.  The beach and the ocean are my happy place.  Truly, my happy place.  I spent part of my days pondering my life and sorting out my thoughts. It was therapeutic and enlightening.  But my days and nights were not just spent in Zen.  No, we also danced -alot, laughed, made new friends from all over the world and ate and drank to our hearts content.  

In case you're wondering, as I am sure some of you are, yes COVID-19 is very much alive and kicking, even in Mexico.  I was pleased to see that the airline crew went above and beyond to ensure that the passengers were safe, comfortable and followed all the protocols.  The hotel where we stayed was very, very stern about mask wearing and social distancing.  Not to mention the transport services.  It was comforting to me to see so much care being put into keeping us secure.  The people there just seemed so grateful that we were there.  

I hope you are able to get away, even for a short time, to anywhere that you can escape your worries and just enjoy life and forget about the past year.  Trust me, the memories of the last year and the worries, will still be there when you return.

-peace.