







âChristmas and birthdays are for kids.â
I hear this a lot, and whenever someone says it, I feel as if I’m being childish or something. I love celebrating Christmas and my birthday!
For Christmas, I go to the nail salon and have my toes painted full on Christmas colors: red on one foot, white, silver, gold, or green on the other. Sometimes, I alternate toes.
For my birthday, I love it when restaurant workers have some spectacular situation where singing and clapping are involved. When we were in Panamå, someone sang happy birthday to me in Spanish! Do you know how dope that was to be in Panamå while a Spanish-speaking singer sang Feliz Cumpleaños?
I also wonder if Christmas and birthdays are for kids, then whatâs for adults? Paying bills, watching TV until you fall asleep, and getting colonoscopies? Yeah. No. Thatâs sounds awful.
But then I read Julia Cameronâs, The Artistâs Way. Her book helped me to see that playingâan activity also viewed as only for kidsâis something that adults can and should do more of. Cameron associates play with opening up your creativity, but since finishing The Artistâs Way, Iâve recognized playing as a natural human activity that can simply get you out of your head.
Dwight and I went to a vegan fest at a park. As soon as I saw the swings, I suggested we swing, and of course, take photos and videos.
âYou look so happy,â he said watching and re-watching me gliding higher.
âI was,â I confirmed. I felt free.
The day after Christmas, we drove to Myrtle Beach. That night we went to The Great Christmas Light Show. I saw a million little kids walking around with these lighted sword-looking things that shot out bubbles. As soon as I saw the kiosk, I bought one. If anything, being an adult is great in these situations because you donât have to ask permission or have someone tell you no because you just got Christmas gifts. I shot bubbles out all the way to the car.
The next day, we went to Ripleyâs Aquarium of Myrtle Beach. There was an exhibit called Penguinâs Playhouse. I donât know if it was for little kids or not, but Dwight and I were able to crawl through a little tunnel, which led to a bubble where you could stand in the middle of the penguin habitat. Again, I felt so exhilarated. Crawling was fun and looking at the penguins from an insiderâs perspective was, too.
So, Iâve added a new directive for myself and others. Go play! Celebrate holidays and birthdays, and all of the things. Youâre not too old. I mean, pay your bills and go get your colon checked, too, but donât let that be the only concept of adulthood that leads your life. Itâs okay to âact like a kid.â
If you have other ideas for playing, feel free to drop them below.
Iâm writing this as weâre headed to Puerto Viejo. We are stuck on the side of a mountain because, according to Waze, something is obstructing the road. We donât know what or (God-forbid) who it is, but we are forced to sit here.
And I am forced to be patient.
Even though Iâm on Claro, Costa Ricaâs network, my phone flashes a big E…no signal. I canât even spend my time mindlessly scrolling social media, something I wouldâve done if I were stuck in traffic at home.
As I sit here, Iâm wondering if I had to leave the country to learn specific lessons. This is only Day 3 of our trip, but Iâve had to be patient since we first began this journey. On April 12th, our Jet Blue flight was cancelled, and we had to quickly find a new one on United. This required a ton of patience, especially because our flight was scheduled for 6:30a, and I received the alert at 3a.
When we ordered breakfast sandwiches at the airport Starbucks, our eggs were frozen; I had to take them back…twice. Typically, I wouldâve gone off on each one of the baristas, but I didnât. Whether it was the ashwagandha in my new probiotic that kept me calm or the meditation Iâd been doing, either way, I exhibited patience.
In both situations, there was little I could do. If we couldnât find a flight, we wouldâve waited until we did. At Starbucks, I couldnât jump over the counter and make my own breakfast sandwich. Well, I guess I couldâve, but then you would be reading a different kind of post.
I suppose you donât have to leave the country, but sometimes you do have to engage in different experiences to level up certain skills. For patience, I think you must be put in situations where there are little to no alternatives.
In front of us, thereâs a man transporting three kid-sized mattresses on top of his Toyota. Heâs gotten out of his car no less than three timesâonce to remove the side ties holding the mattresses, another to ask the trucker in front of him whatâs happened, and another to walk a few cars ahead to see the âobstruction.â Eventually, he stopped getting in and out his car, and instead, illegally drove in the other lane to be ahead of everyone, where he was still stuck.
He is not patient. And I imagine, if I was in my home country, I wouldnât be either.
But today that doesn’t matter. I’m here. I’m waiting. I’m forced to be patient. I hope to maintain this lesson when I return home. We don’t need distractions. We need patience.
I could’ve named this article law of allowing, silence, or whatever else. My larger point is that sometimes, we need to leave our comfort zones to learn specific characteristics. For example, when my father died, I developed a deeper level of compassion that had been, up until that point, challenging for me to feel. I couldn’t have learned compassion by simply sitting at home, reading about it, and trying it out with family and friends. I had to be thrust into a situation that required it.
Written 4/16/21 (We’re home now).
Have you ever seen Cast Away with Tom Hanks? Remember, when he started talking to the volleyball and called it Wilson, the name of the ball manufacturer?
Well, after sitting on the patio for so many weeks (due to shelter-in-place orders), I’d named the lizard that lives there, Escobar. I was going to name him Larry, but my husband and daughter thought that was cliche, so Escobar it is. Here are some photos:
I thought we were co-habitating and he was getting used to me being out there so much, until he puffed out his little neck. I learned that this means he’s trying to intimidate me because he thinks this is his patio, it’s mating season, or a host of other reasons lol Either way, now I just take pictures of him.
I though he just liked chillin on this chair, which seems to be his favorite, but that’s just me putting my human being understanding on him. Lizards actually have to sunbathe to “raise their internal body temperature and stimulate their metabolism.”
Did you establish any out of the ordinary habits since being at home more?
5/16/20
kg
Sooo, I was scrolling along on Facebook and ran across a friend from grad school, Amanda. She and her husband, Josh have created a PODCAST to hash out how they’ve been handling the pandemic with their teenage daughter and three-year-old son.
I thought it was a creative and authentic way to show that we’re all figuring things out in our own way, and I understand the constant need to create during pandemic times, so I’m passing it along. It’s about 30 minutes. I hope you enjoy The Wilsons Do A Podcast During a Pandemic.
What have you been doing? Have you been more or less creative during these past weeks?
~kg
4/14/20
Usually when I think of privilege, I think of other people and their social freedoms. You knowâŠwhite, male, etc. But this pandemic has forced me to consider my and my familyâs own privilege.
When Desiâs school district first announced classes would be online and when Dwight found out heâd be working from home, he immediately went to Office Depot and purchased two things: a lap desk for our daughter and a range extender for the home because neither of us can afford to have slow internet.
When I received a parent survey asking about access, I had to take a good look at ourselves.
We have more than enough access.
When my job asked how quickly I could begin teaching online, the answer was simpleâŠimmediately. Eighty percent of my classes were already online and the one that wasnât was previously set up for online learning because itâs hybrid.
As I listened to friends who live in New York and bloggers from the same area, I realize space is a privilege. Our home isnât large, but we have separate rooms from which to work. Our spare bedroom is set up for me to grade or virtually meet privately with students. My teenage daughter is comfy logging on to Google Classroom from her bed. And Dwight has joked that the entire downstairs is his office. Even when I want to âget out,â I donât have to leave the house. I can sit on our screened-in patio and eat meals and write.
That leads me to another privilege: location. We live in Florida. Unlike family members, who are in Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, Iâve been able to work out in my driveway, take bike rides, and practice yoga (on the patio). The weatherâs been between the 70s and 90s. I donât have cabin fever.
Though circumstances are sad, Iâm grateful our daughter is a senior. I wonât have to worry about what the school district is doing in the fall. Stay online or donât stay online, both of our daughtersâ K-12 education is complete. I only halfway feel this way; online education for the nation is not a great idea for a host of reasons. But see how easy it is to slip into a self-centered perspective?
Iâm thankful my husband and I have occupations we can still do from home and that I have a thriving business thatâs kept me occupied with editing dissertations and independent novels throughout this pandemic. *Weâre not worried about finances.
Initially, people were asking whatâs changed or what have I learned from these times. And for a minute, my answer was nothing because Iâd already adjusted my life according to what Iâd determine is right for me.
As I think long and hard, my answer is still nothing. But a few ideas have been reinforced.
Itâs always important to acknowledge our specific privileges and then consider life from othersâ perspectives as a way to break out of our bubbles and gain diverse understandings. Some people are a little more worried than I am because theyâve had to figure out how to make life work, not make adjustments…literally learn how to do life. Theyâre waiting on their government-funded stimulus checks so they can eat and pay bills.
Others are a little more whimsical because their local news reports sound different and their government restrictions are few. For example, an IG follower in Brisbane posted a photo of herself getting a haircut…at a salon. Someone in California would probably shudder to think of committing what they would view as a socially irresponsible act right now.
Think about life from another person’s perspective. An alternate point of view may lead to a shift in empathy, thus opening a space for other things, like dialogue, grace, or service. And without sounding too preachy, I think itâs worth reminding that these traits are important not just now, but always.
*Oh, and about those finances…privilege has also allowed me to give more. Because I’m not driving anywhere, I’m saving on gas. Because we’re eating out less and spending fewer dollars on entertainment, I’ve watched my discretionary funds grow. With the money I’ve saved, I’ve been able to be of service to my alma maters and to a few family members, and for that I’m grateful.
In what ways are you privileged these days?
4/9/20
~kg
Remembering anything is possible has been one of my goals since 2017. Itâs the first sentence on my list of goals that sits on the right side of my bathroom mirror. I remind myself of this because it keeps me not grounded. It reminds me of lifeâs possibilities.
Recently this statement was reinforced. One of my colleagues contacted me and asked if I would be the keynote speaker for a session at our national literacy conference. Their original speaker was Laurie Halse Anderson. LaurieâŠflipping Halse Anderson! If you donât know who she is, then click here. She had a scheduling conflict and had to bow out. Because my colleague knew that three other women and I have an edited anthology coming out October 2020, he thought showcasing our work would be a good fit.
I had zero hesitation. I knew I could deliver the keynote because my co-editors and I have a strong message about marginalization in sports media and a desire to highlight how we talk about or donât talk about issues of diversity and representation. Think Megan Rapinoe, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and the most obvious, Colin Kaepernick. But I digress.
My point is never in a million years would I have thought Iâd be replacing Anderson or giving a speech about this topic in November 2019. But anything is possible. All you have to do is be open to the anything and maintain alignment with what you value.
If you have 14 minutes to spare, here’s what I had to say:
From June 18th to July 1st, I decided not to communicate with people I know (and love). With the exception of my husband, two daughters, and a siSTAR video Iâd committed to, I was silent. This included my not responding to text messages, DMs, phone calls, emails, and social media.
First, I alerted everyone I could through social media so that people didn’t think I was ignoring them. In this social media age, people’s feelings are hurt quite quickly if they don’t hear instantly from you. This worked for the most part. For family, like Grannie, who are not on these platforms, I simply left a message on her answering machine asking her to please wait until July 1st to speak with me, unless of course, there is an emergency. For others like my father, who sent photos of his grandsonâs kindergarten graduation, I replied with the photo you see here. And for my cousin who called with news of their newborn baby, I begged Dwight to call him back so I could listen, but not respond.
Why, you might be thinking?
I needed time, space, and silence to disengage so I could hear my inner thoughts.
Recently, my sister gifted me with a numerology reading. In our conversation, the reader said, âEveryone isnât worthy of your time.â That is one of the most poignant statements Iâve heard in 2019, and it really made me pause. Aside from thoughts about friendships, I decided to use my fourteen days of silence to assess the many collaborations and projects with which Iâm involved. Will I continue with Project A, B, and C? Are these projects aligned with my personal mission? Even if they are aligned, are they worth the time/energy investment to continue? To make these decisions, I needed time, space, and silence.
Also, I wanted to focus on how I would generate extra money for the remainder of the year. Contrary to public belief, many professors do not make a huge salary. Like other professions, it is contingent on lots of factors: discipline, rank, and institution. Being quiet allowed me to think deeply about how to attract money and from where.
Along with these fourteen silent days, I also decreased my sugar intake. This isnât new to me. About four years ago, I did a 21-day detox that excluded all sugars. This time, I followed the recommendation that women have no more than 25 grams per day. Initially it was challenging, and I hovered around 24-50. But overall, it was a success. When I remove sugar, my brain becomes clearer; subsequently, my thoughts and dreams are also lucid. And combined with silence, itâs like a veil was removed, revealing the direction in which I needed to travel.
Although I wanted badly to celebrate the birth of my cousinâs baby, and although it took everything out of me not to respond to email plans for our DC reading or to text Bree to find out how she did at the Daughtersâ Lives Matter event, or to comment on blog posts, itâs okay. Itâs okay not to be at everyoneâs beck and call in each moment. Itâs okay to tell people you need a minuteâŠaway, just for yourself. In this instant communication society weâve created, itâs okay to say, hold on wait a minute while I get myself together.
Trust meâŠtheir good and bad news will still be there for you to praise or lament. Their worlds will not crumble. And, you my friend, may feel more healthy and whole.
I’m sitting in a nail salon.
Every time I go I feel guilty. Sitting here while Vietnamese women rub my feet and pamper my body seems wrong. Couldn’t I do this myself? I used to. I used to cut my own toe nails and paint them too, with vibrant reds, oranges, and purples. But now? I act as if I don’t know how to reach my toes. They do it better. I’m convinced.
As I sit, I listen.
I want it round, not square. She has to help her because only she knows reflexology. I don’t like this color; can I choose something more nude? This last one comes from a six-foot woman, with a thick accent whose feet were already submerged to her lower calf in the tub of bubbly water. She expected the nail technician to stop working, walk to the front of the salon, and get a new polish for her.
Every so often, I ignore my book’s pages. The overweight woman in front of me eats her Taco Bell bowl and slurps her over-sized drink as someone scrapes the bottom of her heels. The middle-aged woman two seats down mmmhmmms and ahas her way through a conversation. She must be going on vacation because she speaks of taking her suitcases down from wherever they’ve been hibernating, while someone massages the tops of her feet with hot stones, turning them cherry red. Another woman lies flat on the black massage chair. An employee shuffles over to slather thick, yellow wax on her eyebrows, eventually ripping it and her tiny hairs off one strip at a time.
I just messed up a toe, another woman whines as she walks towards the front of the salon, with her black terrier leashed beside her. All of the patrons exchange glances. No one knew a dog was there until that moment. Her nail tech says something in what I assume to be Viet-Muong and briskly moves ahead without her.
I wonder why we do it.
Why do we get caught up in consumerism that somehow turns to a perceived necessary part of life…mine and yours? Today it’s pedicures and eyebrows. Tomorrow it’s something else society will have convinced us we need, something women need. It’ll always be something because we women are always in need of improvement. Right?
Yoga sparks my creativity. Iâm sure thereâs some scientific/spiritual rationale of which Iâm unaware, but for me, the proof is production. With all my Unhappy Wife marketing, it became challenging to write anything new, so I decided to engage in seven days of yoga. Consequently, I attained more than creativity.
Monday, October 31st (Yoga Den, Mandarin 7:45-9:00 P.M.) It slipped my mind that today was Halloween, so I almost didnât make it. I wanted to pass out the four bags of peanut and peanut butter M&Ms that Dwightâs eyes had signaled was too much. But Iâd promised myself attendance at Sun Flow Yin. I would have to rely on my nonsocial daughters to take the lead. One little boy showed up right before I left. Turns out he was the only trick-or-treater we got this year, so I didn’t miss anything and my daughters didn’t have to interact with people.
Todayâs Lesson: Follow your instinct.
Tuesday, November 1st (LA Fitness, Kernan, 9:45-10:45 A.M.) I slept like a six-month old baby snuggled in between co-sleeping parents. Iâm attributing a good night’s rest to the previous nightâs yoga. However, practicing back-to-back made me nervous. My anxiety floated away once I noticed a guy doing downward facing dog in his drawers. I was slightly distracted, not because anything showed, but because I kept wondering if those were indeed his skivvies. They were. The bright blue band around the top gave it away. I didnât think my yoga crew noticed because there were no side eyes or eyebrow raises. He and I walked out together and he engaged me in conversation. Underwear guyâs name is Joe. Heâd lost his wife seven years ago in a drunk driving accident. She left him with a set of twin boys and a daughter to raise. Without yoga, he believed he wouldâve died too.
Lesson: You never know what someoneâs gone through, so treat them with kindness.
Wednesday, November 2nd (Yoga Den, Mandarin 6:30-7:30 P.M.) I loathe Wednesdays. On this day, I drive two hours to teach one class that lasts an hour and fifteen minutes. The angst of the drive begins Tuesday night and settles into my consciousness, making for a stressful morning and grumpy day. But today felt a little different. Maybe back-to-back yoga helped me maintain peace. After class, I usually drive to main campus and participate in a meeting, work in my office until 5:00, and then leave. The chair cancelled todayâs meeting, so I graded papers until 3:45 and made it back home just in time for Mind-Body yoga. To be honest, I chose this yoga because the time was appropriate. But the lesson about mind-body connection was also what I needed to hear. Hopefully, I can put it into practice this coming Wednesday.
Lesson: Everything begins in the mind.
Thursday, November 3rd (LA Fitness, Kernan, Jacksonville, Florida 9:45-10:45 A.M.) Welp, my yoga crew did notice that Joe and his undies. They were in a circle discussing it as I rolled out my mat. By the time I returned from the restroom, someone had approached Joe about it. I came back just in time to hear this:
Joe: Yâall shouldnât be looking at me anyways. Yoga is supposed to be a meditation. Yâall should be meditating. Everybody in here should be able to do yoga naked âcause we should all be so focused on ourselves.
Mrs. Gail: Thatâs what I tried to tell âem Joe!
I politely stretched into childâs pose and minded my own business.
Lesson: Focus on yourself.
Friday, November 4th (Yoga Den, Mandarin, Jacksonville, Florida 9:15-10:45 A.M.) I almost didnât make it today you guys. The bed was so warm and cozy. And I thought to myself, KG, youâve already done four days. Isnât that good enough? Then, that same nagging feeling I get when I make self-promises began to surface. Itâs familiar. I cannot tell myself Iâm going to do a thing and not follow through. Off to yoga I went. This isnât any old type of yoga. The instructor begins by playing a banjo and we all chant Om Namah Shivaya. Then, we chant three OMs and begin our practice. Itâs intense. Today, I almost threw up. I know thatâs not a good yoga practice if you almost hurl. And it certainly goes against what youâre supposed to be practicing in the first place. I thought I was done overachieving, but this proved otherwise. Every now and then, I still unconsciously overextend myself; yoga is no different. Iâm working on it. After Savasana, she plays the banjo again and we do three more OMs. This particular practice is my favorite one, but it usually doesnât come behind four other yoga days.
Lesson: Be true to yourself by honoring your word. Be mindful.
Saturday, November 5th (LA Fitness, Lakewood, Jacksonville, Florida 11:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.) On Saturdays, I wake up sans alarm clock. I lie in bed, blog a little, write a little, and then decide what Iâm going to do. Not today. Friday afternoon, my goddaughter texted to inform me that the local bookstore had run out of copies of The Unhappy Wife.
âSo I can come Monday?â I asked Jen, the owner.
âWeâre open Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 A.M.â she replied.
I broke my usual routine and was at the bookstore by 9:00 A.M.
âThank you so much,â she started, âReally appreciate you.â
âNo. Thank you,â I smiled.
We were helping one another. Because of her, I didnât have to sell books out of my trunk, and because of me, she was gaining more customers and revenue. This was the win-win Iâd heard so much about.
Afterwards, I went to yoga.
Lesson: If you want something, you have to be willing to break self-made traditions.
Sunday, November 6th (Walk with Dwight) By this day, I was tired of yoga. My shoulders felt as if Iâd been lifting weights all day. My core was a bit tighter, but hurt when I bent to the side. My legs felt as if Iâd done 100 squats each day. So Dwight and I took our usual Sunday walk.
Lesson: Know when to listen to your body, as opposed to your mind.
My creativity is back, but quite honestly, three days worth of yoga is quite enough for me.
*©2016 K E Garland. All Rights Reserved.