Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving and Living: Getting There


Balance: an even distribution of………the dictionary says weight, but for me it means work and leisure, rest and exercise, intellectual / emotional/ spiritual / physical pursuits of time. Lately it means virtual world versus real world.

On balance: taking everything into consideration

Off balance: in danger of falling

I took some time off from the virtual world. I was beginning to free fall into that space where the new thing you are enjoying is taking more than its fair share of life. How convenient that it was time for the ritualistic Thanksgiving camping on the North Shore at Malaekahana with 30-45 people. Family friends. We go camping every June and Thanksgiving. Our family friends have been going for 11 or 12 years. Our family joined about 6 or 7 years ago. During the dark years we did not make the time. Now, I can’t imagine what I was thinking or how tired I must have been to miss out on this event. Where time stands still and people connect, children run free, board games are played, and marshmallows are roasted and served up on graham crackers with chocolate.

I pace myself to get there. Tuesday afternoon, after a full day of work, it was hard to imagine being ready to go. Gear out from the rafters and packed. Groceries bought. Food prepared. Most of the families were heading out Wednesday afternoon, but when I got home from work at 4 PM on Wednesday, still needing to prepare my share of the meals, that seemed impossible. Sixteen year old son was like a two year old colt wanting to run his first race. He’d actually gotten all the gear down and ready. So I sent him up on his own with the prerequisite that he set up both tents, blow up the air mattresses, and unpack everything. He took the bit in his mouth and charged ahead. Good for him, good for us. Setting up the tents and blowing up the air mattresses isn’t my fave part.

So I got to prepare food in a quiet home, with my music playing, candle light, and no sense of urgency.

The following morning, we sent daughter up as she could only spend the day because she had rehearsals all weekend and therefore volunteered to stay home with the two dogs. She flew the coop about 8:30 AM.

Husband and I couldn’t leave until after 12 because of Border Collie. At 1 ½ he’s not the age or type of dog that can be kenneled for 10 hours. So we had the morning to ourselves.

Husband burned a CD for the drive up. He used to be completely techno illiterate, but when the kids refused to burn him any more mixed CD’s, he suddenly became the house pro at I-tunes.

Here’s a glimse of getting there.

23 comments:

Kristina P. said...

This sounds like a delightful weekend. And I completely understand about taking virtual time off.

I feel like I haven't posted in forever!

♥ Braja said...

Good for you Pseudo. I, on the other hand, am a slave to this medium and am enjoying every minute of it right now. Ha! Sad....

And word verification: poolog. Cool!

Anonymous said...

Hey...it's a the Psuedo Cam shot!...very cool...and was that...CCR?!...lord that takes me back a little ways. I think we need more Psuedo Cam shots thru-out this winter.

It sounds like it was a great trip, definitely better than the virtual world...as much fun as that is :)

cheatymoon said...

Oh I love the feeling of this post... good for you for taking a break, and the getting-ready-for-the-trip sounds almost as fun as the trip itself.
Love the video. What a cool concept - slice of life. :-)
Welcome back and don't worry at all for not being around in the interweb.

Just B said...

Glad to have you back! What a terrific Thanksgiving tradition. I camped on the North Shore a couple of times and I remember we slept outside the tent and the sound of the surf was so loud, so powerful, so strangely comforting.

By the way, you can't fall--there are too many people around here ready to catch you.

Vodka Mom said...

that was wonderful. Good for you.

Lori said...

Breaks like this are the BEST! Glad you got this time away to relax and have some fun with loved ones. Hope you are feeling refreshed and not too tired from all the fun!

Pseudo said...

kristina - i wouldn't have been able to take a break if I had been home.

Braja - you have a lot of creative energy, i can imagine it never dips. and poolog sounds like a toast made for shots of vodka.

thistle - CCR baby! i took a couple other videos, but felt the hubby's music on the player was not quite representative of me too (he also liked 70's disco).

moive - the break was also good on my eyes. between grading and internet, they were sore.

b- i could hear the ocean every night while I fell asleep. I aslo ealked on the beach each night, turned off the flashlight, and just looked up at the stars.

vodka mom - thanks-you and thank-you again.

smiles - i also got a lot of sleep, so no, not tired!

Kristan said...

I love the description of your son like a colt. And hehe the bit about your husband stepping up to the plate after your kids refused to help burn his mix CDs!!

Sounds like a lovely Thanksgiving, and I'm glad you got a chance to unplug and achieve some balance. I probably should have done more of that this weekend... I'm such a computer/internet addict. :(

Pseudo said...

kristan- now is not the time for you to cut back - not with your new mac Gatsby

Mama Dawg said...

Good for you for taking the time. I was so worried I couldn't life w/out the 'net from Wed nite til this morning, but you know what? I didn't die. It was nice.

Anonymous said...

oh yikes...you hate disco?...maybe it's better that you didn't get my little video to play, cos it's set to disco...oops...in my defense, i chose the diso theme cos i thought it was the funniest, not because i have fond mempories of that particular short-lived genre :(

Pseudo said...

Mama - it's easier when you are someplace with no electricity.

thistle - i don't hate disco, just not my fave, or close. And I loved your video. Saturday Night fever dance floor, humans with terrier heads, what's not to like?

InventingLiz said...

Welcome back! Glad you were able to get away for a break, although I'm not sure I could make it for four days unplugged!

Ash said...

Sounds like absolute Heaven.

I use that description a lot for your blog. I think I'm living in the wrong state.

In more ways than one.

Congrats on time away!!

Pseudo said...

Liz - I bet you could if you were hanging out with us. Nothing like a game of spoons with a round of Bloody Mary's to make you forget the internet.

Eudea - You should visit your friend in Pearl City.

Meaghan said...

You are so generous! I really appreciate the support and hope you had a great holiday!

Anonymous said...

What a great little clip. Makes me want to go on a road trip. Must admit, looks kinda weird driving on that side of the road though. Other side here in Aus. Glad you had a good break.

Smart Mouth Broad said...

First things first: Great roadtrip song! When you have good music, getting there is half the fun. Sounds like you had a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

Balance is something I have always struggled with. It's a constant battle. If you figure out the secret, please share it with me.

Pseudo said...

Meaghan - Happy Holidays to you too!

Brigit - You should do the same thing so we could see the oppostie road effect.

SMB - You're back too. Hope you had a great long weekend. And yep, my husband's CD plus a beautiful day made the trip up good fun. I'm working on the balance thing - it's a constant see-saw for me. The blog was a thing for my own creativity, not just taking care of everyone else around here, but even blogging can get off balance - at least for me.

Anonymous said...

Nice! Welcome back - I'm glad you had a good break ;).

Anna Lefler said...

Oh, man - that's awesome.

I've been hankering for a road trip lately, too... Dang.

As for the elusive Mr. Linky, we have a highly dysfunctional relationship. He plays very hard to get and I spend a lot of time sulking by the phone.

Bitter.

XO

Anna

Anonymous said...

Sounded like pre-empty nest time. I guess we really do need to strip ourselves down to the core in order to appreciate the embellishments. Interesting how the getting there, before you even left, was the soothing part.