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I have on months and off months for playing, but the on months often are inspired by reading this form. You might get some good ideas from other adult beginners regarding whether to start lessons, and what to expect if you do.
I have on months and off months for playing, but the on months often are inspired by reading this form. You might get some good ideas from other adult beginners regarding whether to start lessons, and what to expect if you do.
Thank you, BeaverIslandRetired. That looks like a very helpful resource. I will check it out.
While working on a couple fingers of Mount Gay last evening, old #70 came around to visit. We mulled over all my unfulfilled hopes, dreams and aspirations for awhile, and then he lifted his size 12's and squashed 'em like a juicy old palmetto bug. A number of years ago, a very good author by the name of Robert James Waller enjoyed his few moments in the sun. One of the most popular quotes from his writings was "The old dreams were good dreams. They didn't work out, but I'm glad I had them." It took awhile, but those words eventually struck home. Still, I'm struggling with the "glad I had them" part.
A question for others who have also reached the "it's all downhill from here" point in life, whatever age that might have occurred. Setting aside for a moment those dreams of an ephereal nature, how are you coming to grips with the realization that if it hasn't happened by now, it probably ain't going to? Was there ever something you wanted so badly for years you could taste it, so badly you truly dreamed about it at night, then finally realized it would never be? After the hopes are gone, what's left?
Old #70 is right around the corner from here, I know him well - but take another look under that boot. The palmetto may be dead but there's a bunch of ants under there that still have their fire; you just need to follow the right ones. It may be downhill from here but that's no reason not to enjoy the ride.
As far as what is or isn't going to happen? Who knows? Circumstances put me in a position to celebrate my birthday on the Great Barrier Reef last fall; a year ago I never could have predicted that. The only thing that tried to drag my ass down is when someone told me I could cross it off my bucket list. "Sh*t," I said, "what do I need a bucket list for? I'm not going anywhere!"
I think unrealized dreams can morph into a realization that they weren't what you thought they were or would be. I told an old friend recently that I should have stayed in journalism (where I got an amazing start in the mid-1970s, the only job I ever liked) and he, an unemployed lifelong terrific reporter, said something so wise- "It's easy to think it would have worked out, because you didn't find out what it is and what it isn't."
I did most of my dreams at the time they occurred- moved West at 25 (and fled back East in six months), tried to learn carpentry, moved to Maine to learn house building, joined the Peace Corps to get a job in international health, got a flexible degree so I could live all over the place... and when each dream banged into the wall of what it really is and not what I dreamed, I fell back into the Boston area and used my RN degree. Which has now turned into a nice Fat (to me) pension for next year and the years after. I found the most satisfaction in having a quiet beautiful home and rescue dogs amidst nature. I will have the same in Colorado next year assuming all goes well (fewer dogs, more nature).
I feel fortunate that I never wanted a husband or children, but then, if I did, likely I would have lived and/or dated differently. I still feel I've missed the experience that many have had of a dear companion (husband or not) and have only a tiny hope that it's still a possibility.
And to those friends who say, "You should write a book," I shrug and say, "Don't feel like it, you only want to read it because you know and like me."
I never dreamed of counting the days down to retirement and Medicare but that's what makes it possible to make one more push for a fuller life, moving to Colorado and the mountains.
The check for our sailboat arrived in the mail yesterday. Opening up the envelope and seeing it was a mix of relief and sadness. No more hauling it in and out, scraping and painting the bottom or all the other work a sailboat involves. Also though, no more peaceful sails, gorgeous sunsets, the sun making diamonds on the water and the lovely sound of a good boat slicing through the water. The dream of an epic sailing trip has gone with her..
There are regrets of the trips that were planned but not taken, but those are overshadowed by all the spontaneous sails that did happen. Setting off for a sail after a bad day at work made up for the big trips we didn't take. Sails that were wild with the rail in the water or calm ones where the tide was faster than the wind put all thoughts of work and home away for a few hours. Sweet memories of sailing back with a fresh made cup of coffee in hand and the wind at our backs will always stay with me.
We weren't the most adventuresome sailors but any time spent on the water was always good. Dreams of sailing long distances didn't happen but like other things in life, I've found small unexpected events can have more meaning than long planned and executed ones sometimes. I wouldn't trade my reality for any dreams.
I have current dreams of moving to a little casita in Santa Fe. Husband doesn't particularly care for the town and that dream is quickly becoming an old dream.
But then, it is too cold for me, so maybe it's a good thing.
Although I had a successful career, wonderful friends, and a very happy single life my biggest dream was to be a wife and mother. Not sure why but I always imagined that I would have two daughters just like my parents did and dress them up in fancy dresses when they were little, go to their dance recitals, listen to boyfriend problems when they were teenagers, and all the other things good and not so good that comes with being a mother. The wife dream was fulfilled but being a mother would be an unfulfilled dream which became a sad reality when I hit my 38th birthday. After many years of struggle trying to have children, and with me being 38 and my husband 43 we chose not to add more struggle to our lives trying to adopt. My husband and I made peace with this shared unfulfilled dream which was not easy, but we did our best to find joy in our lives as a childless couple. When we reached the ages of 44 and 49 respectively despite not realizing our dream of being parents life was very good for us. But that would all change in the blink of an eye when my husband died suddenly from a heart attack at age 49.
This is not the end of my unfulfilled dreams story. A few years after my husband passed I met an equally wonderful man, and he shared with me his adult daughter that I grew to love as if she were my own daughter. And through her I got those two little girls I always dreamed of having my grand daughters, and they are both now at the ages where I get to dress them in fancy dresses and go to their dance recitals, and best of all they think they have the best "Nonni" on the planet.
Dreams are wonderful to have, but sometimes it's the people and experiences that come into our lives that were never part of a dream which can produce just as much meaning and joy in our lives as what we thought our dreams would deliver.
Thanks for the kind words. While banality, like beauty, probably lies in the eyes of the beholder, it certainly seems to have replaced meaningful discussion. One only needs to look at the overwhelming success of Facebook, Twitter, etc to realize how woefully low our ability to communicate has fallen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMKSarah
A couple of fingers means a few strong shots of your pleasure. Depends on the length of your fingers...
The two fingers are laid horizontally along the glass, my dear, thus the width of two fingers. If poured the length of two fingers that would be one hail of a shot.
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