A New Rising of The Grand Poobah

Yes, we did a Grand Poobah! After retiring and supporting Dave to host for a few years...it was clear that it was more work that anyone was willing to do. Well, until Dave bought a boat, well, two boats but that's a story for another time - I digress. Dave bought a boat and I had a truck to pull it. I did gift him a Yeti, well, not 110 but limited edition cooler iced down with silver bullets (Coors Light). With that kind of MoJo going, he felt like a Grand Poobah Rising was in order. I didn't protest as I miss camping and I miss our friends, some who we only got to see at Poobah. The date was set and the plans in motion. Lots of new people, some of the old people and a new idea, "The Floatie Parade!" Yep, we got lots of big, colorful floaties and planned to pull them behind the boat in a big circle basically making a parade on the lake in the no-wake zone.

It was a really fun weekend but there are some things you just can't recreate. The Grand Poobah was an event for another time. Maybe we outgrew it, maybe it was just a collective energy that no longer sizzles with some of the people no longer in the mix. Who knows, but it was a fun weekend and like getting back together with an ex, it doesn't take long to remember why you broke up in the first place. There won't be another Poobah but there will be lots more fun times with friends on the lake. I think we will camp more as well, the boat makes it a little easier and certainly more fun.

And about that floatie parade, it was epic! Greg had Main Street Electrical Parade music and everyone was so excited. It was all well and good until the rope running through and to all the floaties caused them to stack and capsize! I have video and once I get it edited, I will post it here. For now, let the photos suffice.

Sometimes it Sucks!

It's a sad & unfortunate situation. After 25+ years of dreaming about owning a boat, we bought one from a private party. It's been difficult to get boats in for diagnostics outside of 6-8 weeks and because of that, we were not able to purchase several that we thought were a good deal. Dave bought the Sanger that you all have been seeing here on Facebook. We got it into the shop and it turns out, it has an issue bigger than the boat is worth. Yeah, it sucks, and it's a pretty significant financial loss, but it's not the end of the world. It's been comforting to know that even if we had had it in the shop prior to purchase, this issue would not have been discovered. It was discovered because of something we asked be checked after having it on the water numerous times.

We have given the boat to someone who also longs to have a boat, and has the ability and resources to do the repairs. He is paying the bill for the bad news and we have purchased a newer boat on consignment, from a dealer. You will see that this is clearly a newer and bigger boat. We are so fortunate to be able to let go of the old and purchase the new-to-us new boat. I hope you never have to hear the words, "Did you already buy this boat, or can you still get out of it?" LOL! I still have my people, and even if our first boat has cancer, we can still see the bright side and appreciate how abundant our lives really are. With that said, Dave bought another boat! David It's a 2008 Calabria ProV. It's in darn near new condition, all the bells and whistles, and it has so much room. I think this boat will seat 12-14 adults! Seriously, it's pretty cool. Sometimes you need to just go with the flow and move on - we did just that!

Rough Start, Happy Ending!

This week started with me feeling so, so tired and beat up - dare I say defeated? I’m not always sure how people you thought were your real friends can be mean, without even an inkling that an apology would mean so much. Maybe it's because they aren't sorry and don’t value the relationship as much as I do. I’m writing this and realize it’s not my best form, but man, I'm really hurt. Suffice it to say that the friendship clearly meant much more to me than it did to them. It's likely that this is far more about them and what they are going through in life, but it baffles me when people just drop friends and loved ones for words and acts that a simple, sincere apology could mend. Sometimes you just want "the way it is" to not be the way it is. But sadly, it is.

At the same time, a small group of us in this community organized a project for backpacks for kids going back to school who may not have what they need. To give so much money and time to a project that is intended to help so many and those who say they are in need can't even keep the appointment to meet you and collect what was put aside for them. That’s unbelievable to me. Would that person/those people who didn't get picked have shown up? Really? I think I need to start new tomorrow and hopefully my rose colored glass will be clean and clear for a new week.

Things perked up when Mason and I got invited to go stay overnight in Monterey and see the Bobby Bones stand up comedy show. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he’s a syndicated radio host on country radio stations. He has a great story and is really funny. Mason and I enjoy listening to him in the morning on the way to school. Tanya invited us to join her and her son Jakary and the four of us had the time of our lives! Bobby was funny, really funny, and so authentic. There were so many “best parts” of the night, we had great seats, 3 of us in the 2nd row and Jakary in the front row, we got to meet Bobby and take pictures, but the best part of the night was at the end of the show, Bobby asked Jakary to come on stage with him. He spent a good 3 minutes interviewing him - it was off the hook amazing! The night wrapped up with Mason taking some serious initiate making me so proud of him. Walking up to exit the theatre after the show, Mason picked up as much trash as he could carry and asked the other 3 of us to do the same. We did. Just being helpful without being asked, that’s one of those moments when you get a glimpse into who your kid is becoming and who they likely are when you are not with them. It was the perfect way to end the week. Look for the good, expect the best and I bet more often than not, you will get it. 

Do You Believe in Luck?

Interesting lessons with luck this week. Those of you who know me well, know I am lucky. But so many people would question is there such a thing as lucky, or is life made up of a series of coincidences. I do not believe in coincidence, I absolutely believe in luck, but with that said, I believe luck is made up of attitude and intention, combined with action. I also believe whatever you think, you're right, and we get back what we put out.

Over this last week a number of things transpired. The week started with a dear friend of mine initiating a backpack drive to supply backpacks filled with all the school supplies a child would need for their school. I immediately jumped on board, shared on my Facebook page and participated in this drive. While this was underway, I fulfilled a promise to Mason to take him to ride a FlowRider in our area. A FlowRider is a surfing simulator, you may recall images and video of Mason riding one while we were in Wisconsin last December. In any case, walking back to my car I noticed what looked like money on the ground. In fact it was money, a $100 bill! On our way home the boys were so fascinated with me finding the money that we started talking about how Mason and I find money all the time. Usually it's in the form of pennies, dimes, and quarters on the ground. We stopped to grab a burger and as we got out of the car, Mason's friend Devon found a quarter. Coincidence? I don't think so. Me finding that large amount of money heightened their awareness, in addition to making it real that they can find money. After we got our burgers and we're walking back out to the car Devon found another quarter, and then a penny. I laughed noting that one more penny would give us $.52, my favorite number is 52. As I approached my side of the car, there was that second penny. 

Fast forward a few days and I was spending time with Jennifer. I was sharing with her the stories of finding the money with the boys as she has uncanny experiences finding pennies, all the time, every day, pennies. I noted that though I never pass by a penny when I see one on the ground, I typically find nickels, dimes, and quarters. Not 60 seconds later, walking through the parking lot we both lit up and hurried to what I saw was a shiny dime on the ground. I thought we were both hurrying to the dime but in fact, Jennifer saw a shiny penny. How funny is that? A penny and a dime, next to each other on the ground in the parking lot - she didn't see the dime, I didn't see the penny. Of course we are both over the moon elated, laughing out loud as we continue to walk into the grocery store. But before we got in the door, I found another dime. I looked at Jennifer and said, "When we find that next penny, that will be $.22, your number, 22." We went about our grocery shopping and as we were walking back to the car we were chatting about other things. We got in the car and as we were driving away Jennifer slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the car and wouldn't you know, she found that second penny! She saw it from the drivers seat of the car, outside the window! It's sometimes hard to believe these stories, but they're absolutely 100% true. Is it pure coincidence that I've named an amount and it has materialized? Or that the previous week I contributed $100 to an event that had some difficulty leaving the organizer holding a big bill? Or that I helped facilitate the backpack drive donating 8 fully stocked packs plus some supplies? I don't think it's coincidence at all, and I also don't think it's luck. It's me believing in my ability to manifest what I want, and that the universe is simply here to help me when I take action.