Living Healthy

I Have Seen My Future & I Like Who I Am

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

I was getting out of my car in the parking lot in front of a strip center yesterday, when I noticed an older woman getting out of her car.  The woman was probably 75-80 years old.  She was slender, not emaciated, and was moving with a slow ease.

I was immediately taken with her.  She was, I do hope, what I look like when I am her age.  My future doppelgänger of sorts.

Here’s what I saw:

•  white wavy hair, sans frizz, cut short & styled in a relaxed flattering way – not glued into place

•  rectangular medium-brownish-gray framed glasses – that fit her face size

•  a bright red parka that would make a stop sign blush at its own dull inadequacy

•  a jazzy-patterned multi-colored silk scarf around her neck – peeking out from within her parka

•  medium tan corduroy boot-cut pants – hemmed just right

•  dark tan flat leather shoes – rather nondescript, but in the perfect shade to blend with the pants

To say that I was smitten is an understatement.  Part of this was because it was refreshing for me to see a little old lady who embraced color and wore styles from this decade.  She wasn’t a Q-tip, which is the way so many of the older woman around here dress.  Not flattering.

But what really intrigued me about this woman was that she was driving a VW Beetle Convertible— bright red on the bottom, black on the top.  A bold car, no?

And one that, combined with her ensemble, made me love her upon first sight as I became hopeful for my future as an old lady.  I’m gonna look damned good, aren’t I?

Another Sunday, Another Walk In A Park

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

“I know nothing.”  ~ Nancy Botwin, Weeds

Years ago Zen-Den and I went to a garden show that was held in a city park.  I’ve always wanted to go back to that park and see what else was there beyond what we saw during the show.

I was convinced that the entire park was a nice, manicured city park which would be a lovely place to go for a stroll on a gorgeous fall afternoon before we headed to the grocery to do some shopping.  So on this past Sunday afternoon Z-D and I made our way back to that city park where we quickly figured out that I was wrong.  There was a lot more to this park than I realized.

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Despite appearing on the surface to be civilized, it turned out that many parts of this city park were more rugged than paved.  In fact, in some places it was almost creepy with a dirt path through overgrown vines + shrubs + HUGE trees blocking out all the daylight.

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Just about the time that Z-D and I were beginning to wonder what we’d gotten ourselves into with this walk, we came back around a trail loop and found ourselves walking through this stretch of well-maintained park.  Looking at the colorful leaves was mesmerizing, and made the effort to get there all the more worth it.

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When we got back to our car we realized that we’d wandered, trudged & walked for over one hour and had seen HALF of this city park.  Apparently this park is quite large.

Our Sunday afternoon in the park might not have been the adventure that I thought we were going to have, but it was fun nonetheless.  Turns out that sometimes [many times?] not knowing where I’m going, works in my favor.

Looking For Apples. Finding Pumpkins.

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

I wanted some local apples.  Considering that this is the part of the country where Johnny Appleseed did his thing you’d think that finding some local apples would be EZPZ.  But you’d be wrong.

There really aren’t very many local orchards any more, so it takes some driving way out into the countryside to find one.  Which is exactly what we did on Sunday.

However, once we got to the apple orchard we discovered that pumpkins were the raison d’être for this orchard’s existence.

It was the pumpkins’ orange-y cuteness that drew the customers into the barn market & adjoining fields.

First, a first sign told us what to do.

Nearby piles of [pre-picked] pumpkins showed us what we could expect to find if we chose to pick pumpkins.

Then, a second sign, explained to us what not to do.  I’m sure that Ralph Waldo Emerson upon seeing such a sign would scoff.  As you may remember, Mr. Emerson said: “I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”  But apparently the management at this particular apple orchard had other ideas.  [Please note: no velvet cushions were provided in lieu of pumpkins.]

Entertaining as it might have been, we decided not to pick pumpkins.  Instead, we went into the barn market and bought a bag of apples, a jar of zucchini relish & a jar of quince jelly.  Then we returned home to enjoy our local apples purchased from one of the last apple orchards in the area.  Yum.

Musings On Being A Good Listener

/ Ally Bean / 11 Comments

It’s not unusual for someone— who might be a close friend or a brand new acquaintance– to lean in close to me and then tell me something private about himself or herself.  I’m THAT sort of person.

Everyone tells me everything.  Always have.  Always will, I suppose.

In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that if someone feels threatened by me, then I know that person has mental health problems.  Because no well-balanced person ever thinks of me as a threat.

They think of me as a confidante, a mother confessor, a problem solver, but never as someone to be wary of.

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When I was in college I asked a prof in the Communications department why she thought people treated me like this.  I was taking her course in listening at the time and had excelled at all the classroom auditory tests.

Her observations were that I was an active listener [H/T to my parents on that one] and that I appear to pay attention to what is going on around me.  So, because I tune into people, they are comfortable around me and want me to know things about them.

At the time I thought that was as good of an explanation as any– and I still do.

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I don’t really mind my role as listener, but do find AT TIMES people say some pretty wacko things to me.  I’m not a Judgey McJudgerton, so I let most things roll off me.  I figure that I’m not here to change people, I’m here to help whoever find his or her own way by allowing him or her to talk openly about– well, whatever.

To wit, it’s rare for me to tell someone he or she is doing something stupid, childish, immoral, unethical.  In fact, if by chance I ever tell you that you need to behave differently, then you can be assured that you’ve crossed some sort of line.

And that it’s time for you to re-think how & why you do what you do.

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Anyone else find him or herself in the same sort of role as I do– that is, people telling you things for no apparent reason?  And if so, how do you handle it?  With grace or with annoyance?  With zipped lips or with your finger on speed dial to immediately pass the info along?

Just curious.  No reason, really.