Old Friendships and New Ones Too

We live in a really small world. Friends make it even smaller, no matter where they are, how often you see them, how much time has passed, etc. This week is Spring Break for my District 54 friends. I have had the pleasure of having lunch with two of them on two separate days. It was great to reconnect with them both. Recently I have reconnected with two old college buddies - one at lunch and the other via a phone call and letter from Thailand. My friend Phada Sittivanit was an exchange student at NIU back when I was a sophomore, and through the alum association on Facebook I was able to track her down. NIU sent Phada a letter on my behalf and she called me! All the way from Thailand! She was excited to use her English again, she told me proudly. It didn't seem at all that nearly 35 years had passed since we last spoke to one another. She sent me some photos and only then was I able to come to the realization that, yes, it's been a long time. Phada is in her 60s now, and didn't look quite the same as she did back in 1972...I guess she will think the same when I send HER a photo of me! Her sweet little voice belies the mature woman she is today.

Through another of my cherished friendships with my dearest friend Judy Winer, with whom I began my teaching career at Nathan Hale School back in 1974, I "met" a published author who used to do author visits in Judy's school district in Lincolnwood. Judy was a long time principal and retired a couple years ago. Judy remembered this author and thought she might be of some assistance to me. She gave me her contact information and Charlotte Herman and I have been emailing one another almost daily. She has been an incredible resource for me as I attempt to have my first children's book published. Today she sent me the name of an editor at one of the publishing houses I sent my manuscript to. Charlotte wants to actually meet me when she returns from New York. I don't know her, but I already consider her a friend. She has been so generous and kind to me, and she doesn't even know me from Adam.

I am so lucky in my life. My friend Matt would say I live a "charmed life" and you know what, he is right!

Massage Reflections

I am a very wound up individual (no, really?) and all my stress ends up in my neck, shoulders, and back. It's a Rossi trait (my mom's side). To this end I became a member of Massage Envy. In my opinion, there is nothing like massage. My massage therapist, Jaimie Lynn, has the hands of both an angel and the spawn of Satan. There are times where I am in heavenly bliss and times I want to turn over and let her have it with a barrage of naughty words. Jaimie Lynn always knows where my hurting places are and she attacks them with reckless abandon. There are sometimes more knots on my body than on the mast ropes of Pirate ships.

While under the pleasure (and often pain) of massage I have reflected many times on our Lamaze childbirth classes when I was pregnant with Lindsay. Relaxation is a huge part of Lamaze, as is complete focus. I found that I lack severely in each of those areas. My instructor used to come and sit by Artie and me and lament on how I was unable to relax. She was supposed to be able to lift my arm up and watch it fall limply, because I was supposed to be relaxed. Instead it would stiffen and so would her expression. Artie, who could relax on a bed of nails, was so frustrated with me - he just didn't get my inability to relax, become void of thoughts, listening to soft music, and the soft tones of the instructor' voice. YEAH RIGHT! My mind is never relaxed. I am always solving the problems of the world, thinking of what I needed to do last week, wondering about what I need to do in the weeks ahead, etc. Get it? I cannot relax!

So...when Jaimie Lynn turns down the lights and begins to do her best to work out all of my kinks and knots, I try boldly to concentrate and RELAX. When she's making nice nice I do OK, but when she goes into Hilda the Swedish Sumo Wrestler mode I am thinking about how I want to give her a piece of me! Mind you, her hands are amazing, and I might be exaggerating a bit, but my point is that no matter what, I just can't empty my mind and think of Hawaiian waterfalls, lazing languidly on a beach somewhere, running in slow motion through a field of lavender. Instead I am either thinking of how to get even with her or what I am making for dinner next weekend.

Then there's the music playing in the background. Most of the time it is some Asian sounding music with water running gently in the background. While others find this soothing it makes me feel like getting off the table and running to the bathroom. I don't need any suggestion of urination - I do fine on my own. Sometimes there is pan flute music, which, for me, conjures up images of some toothless Peruvian draped in some serape playing on the streets for money. Most people would be thinking of the lush South American landscape...but not me! On Friday Massage Envy threw in a new one - it sounded like torture music with high pitched sounds that I am sure would set all the dogs of South Elgin to howling. It was annoying to me and of course made me tense - the extreme contradiction to why I am there in the first place.

My final reflection of my massage experience came once again on Friday. Jaimie Lynn was kneading my back and I couldn't help but picture her working in a bakery doing wonders on a blob of bread dough. I nearly laughed out loud because I could even see her face dusted with flour, wearing an apron and a chef hat. Oh, what is wrong with me?

Do you think I should give up my membership??

The Cutest Multi-ethnic Leprechauns

My three beautiful grandchildren are wearin' the green today in celebration of their Irish heritage. Well, you might be thinking, "Zimny isn't an Irish name!" and you would be partly correct. Zimny is a Polish last name. My beautiful grandchildren have three different ethnicities coursing their veins and DNA - they are 1/2 Polish, 1/4 Irish, and of course their best 1/4 is Italian (I am a bit biased, being a "pedigree" Italian). I thought it would be nice to share some pictures of the wee little Polrishtalians wearing their Irish finery. Enjoy!

Spring Tease

The last few days have been incredible! Temps in the 60s and sustained sunshine for the most part. The "spring ahead" turning of the clock forward has now afforded us longer amounts of daylight. I have seen the return of robins and red-winged blackbirds and love hearing their little birdie tweets and twitters outside. I have tulips pushing their way up from the newly thawed ground. Great? Well, yes, except for one thing - having lived in this area my whole life I know this is the annual SPRING TEASE. It just won't last. My mother always told me that March was a crazy month (and she would always add - "Just like the people who are born in it!" - which coincidentally or not, my sister is!) I heard on a weather report the other day that three of our heaviest recorded snowstorms have been in March. So, although I put my heavy sweaters into my "seasonal" closet, I have a little fear that I might need them again. I know I shouldn't have done that, but I was sweating just looking at them hanging in my closet - I just HAD to get them out of there so Spring could begin in earnest.

Oh, what was I thinking?

Friendship At Any Age

In the most unlikely of places, a friend's memorial service, I had an epiphany of sorts. As I looked around at the gathering of friends and former colleagues it occurred to me how blessed I am, once again. I realized that in part due to my chosen profession (teaching) I have friendships with people of all ages. Friendship is a beautiful and cherished part of my life and I think it's just plain cool to have friends in their 20s as well as in their 70s. In education we preach "lifelong learning" all the time. I think having friends, and nurturing those friendships is part of that lifelong learning experience. I learn from my friends all the time. I take from them so much - their thoughts, their opinions, their valuable life experiences.

As a recent retiree, I am the "baby" of our retirees group. I love being part of a group of women who dedicated their lives to helping kids learn. Now I continue to learn during the time I spend with them. We have all grieved recent losses together lately, as well as worrying about and praying for another friend who has been seriously injured in a horrific car accident. Together we learn from one another's life experiences and it bonds us even more. Sure, we might not be "best buddies" but we are friends, and I know that they will be there for me when I need them most.

My young friends keep me in touch with the younger person I used to be. I love living vicariously through them as they experience life's treasured moments - new boyfriend/girlfriend, getting engaged, a wedding, pregnancy, and even loss. I only hope that they can turn to me when they need the "voice of experience" on their side. And I hope that one day they will have the same epihipany that I did because it is a beautiful thing to realize - friendship transcends age.

Precarious Life

I have been in a bit of a funk lately. Four recent events have sent my mind (and heart) into this mindset. First, the death of a dear friend's husband after a long battle with cancer. Second, the loss of another dear friend's husband after several setbacks following heart surgery. Finally, the horrific car accident that has another friend fighting for her life. We all know how life can turn on a dime leaving us breathless at times. The events of the last few weeks have truly taken my breath from me. I have spent so much time worrying for, and feeling sad for these wonderful people who have been dealt so much sorrow and pain.

In the last week I have also learned about another friend's father's struggle with multiple myeloma, cancer of the blood. My friend's brother has taken to writing his thoughts and feelings on a blog. His writing is so powerful and insightful. I know how much writing helps me organize and express my thoughts, but reading this blog literally has me pausing to breathe. It has brought back so many memories of my own father's valiant struggle with cancer, and how helpless my family and I were as he battled to no avail. Mike has put into words everything that cancer is - evil, non-discriminatory, debilitating to all involved (the patient and his/her loved ones), and how the very word "cancer" is the most dreaded word in our language. His writing is his coping mechanism, but it can be everyone's who reads it as well. There is probably not one person alive who has not had to suffer along with someone, or know someone whose life has been touched by this awful disease. Cancer brings out so much anger in me and I wish I could funnel that anger magically into a cure. I wish the world's scientists and doctors would get real angry real soon.