Only One Go Around

Since school let out the first week of May, we have worked tirelessly on the boat and house, seven days a week.  Those project updates will be forthcoming another day. Our friends Kenny and Margi purchased a travel trailer, and wanted to take it to Franklin Lock and Campground for a 'shakedown cruise' before they hit the road for the summer.  Our neighbors, Rick and Audrey decided to take their sailboat, so we jumped on the bandwagon.  We needed motivation to clean the boat of her perpetual messes, and we desperately needed a day or two off from all the work!  I have never been to Franklin Lock, so I was looking forward to a trip down river.  After giving the boat a good scrub down, we went to town for provisions (i.e., margarita fixins 🍋)  Len came out of the store and handed me this.  Funny story is we intended to leave Willis T at home since we only planned to be gone overnight. When he handed me a Willis Coke, he said it was destiny that...

We have some high flyers in the neighborhood! I can't tell you the enjoyment I get drinking coffee and watching the fish jump, or the turtles sunbathing, or the alligators  swimming by, or the sun setting on the canal. It's one of the times I indulge myself in memories of my grandmother who taught me, "You only get one go around in life." As a child, I loved spending my summers at the lake  with my Grandma and Grandpa in Baldwin, Michigan. Trying to catch this fish on camera mid-air was like taking photos of Amish fish...it took me 27 tries! As I waited patiently on the bow of Kantiya, I was reminded of Ernie and Bert, wondering if I should try Ernie's infamous fish call, "Here fishy, fishy, fishy!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUusX1Js6R0 What kind of fish are they, and why do they jump? They are mullet, kind of like 'business in the front, party in the back' but only different.  I call them Bob after one of my...

There is no doubt that teaching psychology to my Chinese babies was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life.  Their dedication and diligence to their academic pursuits is a bar set so high, that my American friends and family find my stories hard to believe.  All of that pressure to succeed comes with a price, however, and I felt part of my calling to China was to temper those unrealistically high expectations set by their teachers, families, and their very culture.  There is so much more to defining a person than one's GPA, transcripts, or from where they receive their diploma.  When learning is no longer FUN, there is a problem.  If I did anything right, it was to teach dem Chinese babies that it's okay to be silly and to have fun.  Life is too precious to be so serious and stressed out all the time!  Never let anyone or anything steal your joy and zest for life 😁...remember, you only get one go around. In moving back t...