Nine Holes

I am always amazed how my mind can wander during a Reiki session. This past Friday, within minutes of starting my session I found myself standing with a Golf Club in my hand hitting a pure shot. The picture eventually faded away but since I was heading up to Mom and Dad's for lawn cutting duty I threw the clubs in the car, perhaps I had been sent a message.

A pure shot, for those of you who don't play golf, often is unassuming, it is also rare. The pure shot is the culmination of mind and body working in perfect harmony and often effortless.

It was five forty five when I locked up the house, I was tired, sneezing from grass / pollen and counting reasons to drive directly home. As I neared the entrance to Cacapon State Park my hands pulled and my foot tapped the brakes for the turn. “Well, I'll just take a look,” I told myself.

No one, no one on the first tee or hardly anyone on the whole darn course for that matter. It was only a few minutes after six and I was going down, hook, line and sinker.

I'd like to say that the first swing was the realization of my Reiki vision but a quick snap hook into an awaiting bunker was not the vision in mind. Besides that, it hurt, really hurt and I wondered if I should walk away. Somewhere, two inches below my belly button and one inch to the right something declared that it did not like golf.

Just Great, my side hurts and I've got a bad lie in the bunker. “No problem, easy swing, just get it out”, was my thought process. Again, form does not match vision as I top the ball, dribbling it through the bunker out to the rough. A quick pitch, two putts later for a bogy five, all right, that will work.

I won't give a blow by description of every shot, god knows my wife will be distressed, often she “revels” as I recount an entire round.

My pure shot happened on the third hole, a par five of around five hundred yards. A surprise drive of two hundred fifty yards left my ball in a light rough, a great lie teasing me to go for the green with a fairway wood. Instead I thought, “If I hit a seven iron, with a slight hook and hit right into an exiting downhill slope that ball will take off like crazy.” Need I tell you? It was effortless, it was pure and hit exactly as planned. As it bounded down the fairway with hook over-spin I knew my Reike vision had been realized. I have no reason to doubt the course markings, I had hit the ball just around two hundred ten yards.

Walking off the ninth green, darkness on my heels, a mulligan aided forty two made my golf bag a little lighter while thinking “How could I have made a seven on seven”, ...... for a while I was back!

Mom is doing great, she was released Friday and is with Trish, Dad is restless.

Maggie's play is a hoot. I've made two performances and hope to make one or two more next week.

Tonight Sue, Beverly and I head to Shepherd University for a performance that Patrick will be in.

On an interesting note; my neurophy got much worse as the week went on. I have to admit that this was bothering me to a great degree. I have been trying to increase my running mileage, could that be it? Or, was my cesation of beer all week long the culprit? I don't know, but yesterday, three beers, two in the afternoon, one late in the evening and the numbness is about fifty percent of what it had been most of Saturday.

Hummm............... Mike

A Long Week

It's difficult for me to believe it's Wednesday, just five days after Mom's surgery, feels more like weeks. The variability of time, I'm sure that is what to blame, for time is variable, isn't it? Ask a fifteen year old aching for a learners permit how time passes, then turn to ask a Mom how fast her children grew and you may hear “slowly” and “in the blink of an eye”. As further evidence I'll submit that a hangover lasts “Forever” yet the events leading to said condition never seem to last long enough.

Mom is doing well, better than most would have guessed and may be released from the hospital as early as this weekend. According to my sister Trish, she is a favorite on her ward without even supplying any of her chocolate chip cookies. (Yet). While we do not know at this point how long she will be with Trish before returning home, I would imagine a few weeks at the very least. I'm not sure exactly when, but my Aunt Kate will be heading to Raleigh to help with Mom. This is great news. Dad is doing well but I'm sure he is restless without his wood-shop to keep him occupied.

This past Saturday I took my first Reiki course with Dee; I have a long way to go. Much like Meditation I do not seem to be able to get myself into a proper state of mind to feel that I have an ability to help myself or others. What I do know is that Reiki has helped me and with work there will come a time when I can help others.

Somehow I managed to get myself registered for the North Face Endurance Challenge Half Trail Marathon. (The Web Site Showed It Was Full) I will be running with my Nephew Matt with the intent of finishing in under two hours. The pace we will need to keep works out to about nine minutes twenty seconds per mile which will be about forty seconds per mile faster then last years time. If you read this Matt I am one hundred percent sure we can do this, train hard!

I have also registered for the Steamtown Marathon, October 7th, entered into the Nike Woman’s Half Marathon Draw for October 14^th, I'll sign up for the Catoctin 50K, July 28^th, and hopefully get into the JFK 50 miler held in November. This may be an aggressive schedule but as long as I can stay healthy and injury free I completely believe I'll be up for it.

My progress this past week has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Sleep has been an issue with only one night of decent “non-aided” sleep. My energy levels are bouncing all over the place with one day being good and the next feeling like an ole sleepy eye hound dog. Running typically makes me feel better, however the bump is temporary. I have had several experiences of bathroom surprise, thankfully all in the evenings. My feet are still half numb, my hands are sensitive yet this is a step up from hurting.

Time should be my friend; I'm just wondering, how I will perceive it ?

Keep Hope In You Hearts and Minds ..... Mike

EASTER

It's April eleventh and I'm sitting here listing to a classical piece “Night on Bald Mountain” while looking outdoors to see large snow flakes dance their way to the ground. Just an hour or so ago I headed out for a non-energy filled two mile run which ended up being more of a slog then a run. How different from this past Saturday when I ran a twenty one minutes forty second five kilometer race, finishing up twelfth overall and shocking the living daylights out of myself; I expected to run somewhere shy of twenty four.

The selection has changed, currently Vivaldi's “Spring”(I'm listening via Pandora). Not looking like spring out there Antonio. Snow is falling hard and the roads are “Steaming” the same as if a cool rain had fallen on a hot summer road, bizarre.

Easter has come and gone and for the first time since we've been married Susan and I did not share Easter together. Instead I drove with my brother, Tim and his family to Raleigh NC to surprise Mom. 

I would have said to surprise Mom and Dad but apparently Dad is clairvoyant; he announced, “I'm not surprised, I knew it all along.”

The surprise for Mom however was complete, compelling and joyful. Perhaps in a strange way the most meaningful Easter I may experience.

If there was a down side it only rose after I returned home, thankfully after I returned and not while on the road. I tend to forget sometimes that it has just been three months since reversal and probably unfair for my mind to expect my body to cooperate upon demand. Still.........

Yesterday I went off the “Gabbys”; the name Sue and I had given for Gabapentin. It is a drug to control the pain from the side effects of chemotherapy. I ran out as soon as I came back from North Carolina and apparently did not have an available refill. I never imagined I'd still be taking this stuff at this point but my hands ache and my feet are thirty percent asleep. You are not supposed to just stop but since I have, I'll just gut it out and deal with it.

The informative paragraph below explains probably why I feel like crap.

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If you suddenly stop taking Gabapentin tablets, capsules, or oral solution, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, nausea, pain, and sweating. If you are taking Gabapentin to treat seizures and you suddenly stop taking the medication, you may experience seizures more often. Your doctor may decrease your dose gradually over at least a week.

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Mom's surgery is scheduled for Friday, I am at a lack of words to express how I feel.

Mike

Antrim Inn

Susan and I left Thursday afternoon (the fifth) to spend a quiet evening at the Antrim 1844 Inn. Susan's last Spring Break was spent jockeying me around from specialist to specialist ; this year I hoped I would be recovered enough for a quiet evening out.

The Inn is well known for it's dining, extensive wine list and cozy accommodations. Susan and I in our B.C. Years (before children) enjoyed fine dining with an occasional overnight stay but it had been many years since we have done so, it was about time.

Our adventure was sprung on Sue as a complete surprise, I had thought I would tell her to pack a bag the morning of our reservation but Beverly suggested it would be better to give more notice, which I did. Mum was the word and poor Sue spent a day trying to figure out where we might be going. She had no clue, until, upon questioning about our departure time I blurted out that we would not need to stop by the Grotto to light candles for Mom and Dad, I had already done that. That comment gave her “direction” and from her ability to associate disparate pieces of information she had a pretty good idea of where we were heading.

Driving to the Inn we bantered back and forth, “Just give me the first letter of the Town we're going too”, she asked. “No, just tell me if you think you know where we're going”, I replied. Back and forth we went until finally she guessed and I confirmed we were heading to the Antrim Inn.

In our room, next to the four post feather bed sat the five red roses I had ordered, each rose representing a member of  our family. It was a nice touch to an already beautiful room as was the chilled bottle of sparkling wine awaiting us. The uncorking of sparkling wine, along with conversation overshadowed afternoon tea, yet a late afternoon stroll, including a tour of the wine cellar filled out the remainder of the afternoon.

The wine list at the Inn is a wine lovers delight and an intimidating adventure for a beer drinker as myself. Planning therefore was an essential component in the selection of a proper wine. Perhaps I could have taken some courses, performed in-depth research or just dump the wine list into the lap of someone who knows about wines, like my friend Joe.

Armed with a “Cheat Sheet” of suggested wines Joe recommended, Sue and I confidently headed to dinner, knowing I could order the perfect wine for dinner. Walking to the Inn, I pulled the list out of my pocket multiple times looking, refolding and pondering which wine would be the best for the dinner we would select from a six course adventure.

It worked out perfectly, with “Cheat Sheet” memorized I calmly ordered a Joseph Phelps, Cabernet Sauvignon, bottle number 9222, vintage year 2000. Susan chided me as the wine steward left the table, “Well I certainly hope you didn't transpose any numbers”. With bottles priced up to sixty five hundred dollars a simple error could be a costly mistake. I can assure you, the reading glasses were on for a close inspection of the label as the bottle was presented.

As the wine steward decanted the wine, a couple at the next table took note, assuming their “neighbors” extensive knowledge of wines.

The wine knowledge myth was dispelled the following morning at breakfast, as the same couple, once again seated near us commented about our abilities with wine. “Well, you must not have seen my cheat sheet”, I replied as I explained my process. I imagine it's good that I did and still ascribe to the Boy Scott motto of “Be Prepared”.

It was a wonderful evening, we had made it through the entire dinner with no issues. Nothing would remain on my plate, rich sauces would be soaked up with bread, every ounce of wine consumed and deserts handled with abandon. Boldness prevailed and perhaps with judgment clouded by wine and sauce a highly spiked coffee drink rounded out our dining experience.

A perfect script would have ended our outing with romance, however my script was a sort of Greek Satyr, a tragic comedy, as upon returning to our room I spent the better part of the next four hours in the loo. Still, it was every bit worth the cost.

Enjoy the moment ..... Mike

Easter Prayer

Two flickering candles burn brightly today at the Grotto of Lourdes. They are symbolic of my Mother and Father who have weathered the test of time for more than sixty years. As they both deal with the struggles that illness brings, may God guide them bringing peace and happiness to their lives.

This is my prayer, my hope as Easter approaches.

Mike