Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site

LUCKY THIRTEEN – FIFTY-TWO NEW THINGS TO DO IN 2013, NO. 5.

      I called it the Mother Earth Tree.  Its gnarled branches reached to the heavens while its roots grounded in the earth.  Its ancient wisdom remained hidden beneath its bark.  What had it seen in the more than one hundred years since it was a seedling?  How many creatures had it housed near the banks of the Cimarron River?

My husband left me in the pickup with the dog.  He was meeting a friend at the Cimarron River near Langston this week to discuss and upcoming trip.  While admiring the Oklahoma landscape, I put my little “city dog” on her leash and we walked the cow pasture.  There in the cow path was an especially old and beautiful tree. Walking around it, I began to image all that it had seen in its long life.

I wondered how old the tree was – its branches almost touched the ground and its roots ran deep to the water table below.  The ground was sugar sand in many places in the Cimarron valley.  A place known for droughts and floods – but still the tree had survived for probably close to a century.

I began to think that tree was no different than most women I know – strong, protecting and long lasting.  Our bodies become gnarled with age but we remain steadfast and enduring as we protect those we love, leaving ourselves last.  We reach to the heavens for help as we resolutely cling to the earth, our roots running deep for nourishment, all the while offering shelter to those who need it.

The beautiful tree was not new.  But, it accentuated the idea of finding something new for me.  Each spring that tree is renewed with leaves and branches.  If it withers others will wither with it.  It must remain strong and continue its renewal for itself and those it shelters.

We could take a lesson from the tree.  What can you do this week to renew your body, mind or spirit? How can you thrive and protect those you love as you continue in your quest for a full life for yourself? Let me know your thoughts.

TAG YOU’RE IT.

LUCKY THIRTEEN: FIFTY-TWO NEW THINGS TO DO IN 2013 – NO. 3.

LUCKY THIRTEEN: NEW THINGS TO DO IN 2013 – NO. 2.

  New Year’s resolutions are over-rated.  I decided years ago not to make promises I couldn’t keep.  However, this year in 2013, in celebration of a mile-stone birthday, I plan to find something new every week for fifty-two weeks – something I’ve never done before, or old things done in a new way. And I’ll be telling you all about it in my weekly blogs. I challenge you to do the same.

I’ve worked-out at the YMCA twice a week for years in what was once called Pilates and now called Core Strength classes.  The classes are good for an old back with a couple of surgeries.  They strengthen my back and core so the muscles can hold up the fused vertebrae.  However, after this length of time, they are no longer aerobic and don’t get my heart rate up very high.  But, they are great strengthening exercises.

However, on Saturday morning at the local Y, they have Zumba classes that are free to members.  What? You can’t teach old dogs new tricks you say?  Hah! I retort.  We’ll see.  My plan for this week is Zumba class.  I never could dance but I do like Salsa music.  I know I will be the old lady at the back of the class trying not to pass out (that is so embarrassing in public) along with all the other New Year’s resolution types.  But, I’m going to try the class on Saturday – one new thing down and fifty-one to go.  I’ll let you know how it went after I have time to catch my breath.

Have you participated in Zumba classes?  How did it work for you?  Did you pass out?

AN ESP CHRISTMAS.

  The twinkling lights of Christmas still take my breath away, just like they did when I was a child. Even the smallest of decorations fill my senses with joy. I love to take a tour of Christmas lights in my hometown – the tinsel and tiny bulbs on a house make me feel warm all over. Even a single candle in the middle of a table can be festive. Christmas is a feast for the eyes.

But, in addition to the sights of Christmas are the scents of Christmas. Which is more pleasing to you, the scent of evergreen or the scent of cinnamon; fresh Christmas tree in the living room, or fresh baked cookies cooling in the kitchen? Which makes you feel more at home? I have a special potpourri that I purchase at Christmas that is a mixture of orange, cinnamon and pine. It reminds me of Christmas as a child when the tree was real, my stockings always held fruit, and my mother made Snickerdoodle cookies.

Christmas is a time of Extrasensory Perception. No, not mind reading or even intuition but more intense feelings than the rest of the year. Feelings of contentment, warmth and love are exaggerated. I hope your Christmas includes loved ones you can hug, scents you can smell, and decorations you can see. May the season fill all your senses with joy. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your senses.

Guest Blog Aaron Smith.