Spring Break Memories

Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite…

Today’s guest bartender for Happy Hour is Elle, a Twitter friend/part-time blogger from Northern California. [Raiders, baby!] Drinks are free for happy Hour so be sure to tip your bartender with a comment or two. There are appetizers in the corner and the bathroom is the second door on the left.


When Benjamin asked if I would do a guest post, I was super flattered. I am not a “blogger” by any stretch of the imagination ( I have a blog that rarely gets updated these days) however I was more than glad to join in. When he asked me to write about Spring Break, my first thought was “What’s that?!?!”
Of course, I know what Spring Break is—see that picture? That’s me on Spring Break in Hawaii many, many years ago. This was me before I had my daughter, before I truly understood what “responsibilities” were.
(Note to self: blowing your entire savings on a last minute trip did NOT fall under the responsible category)


                                                             
I just have not had a Spring Break, or any type of break in a very long time. Spring Break used to be a bunch of sunny days at the beach and long nights filled with friends, laughter and the kind of freedom only experienced by people with absolutely no responsibilities or worries. There was no homework, no chores, nothing to stop me from living it up.
Living in Northern California afforded me the opportunity to have many wonderful spring breaks. Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite—all those places hold many great memories for me. Those were the days before I became a Mom.–the days when I only had myself to worry about and even then I wasn’t all that great at that!
There are honestly not too many things I miss about my pre-mommy days. Spring Break however is definitely one of them. I miss the freedom to come and go, to stay out late and sleep in, to do anything I wanted to do without any worries. It’s wishful thinking, I know.
Once I became a mom, my life became everything but worry free or relaxing! My daughter turned my life upside down and inside out. Throw in a divorce a few years later and you have a recipe for insanity that I am sure many of you are familiar with.
My Spring Breaks now consist of coordinating an insane schedule of daycare, play dates and enough fun activities to make up for the fact that NO, we are not going to Cabo San Lucas like her other friends and their families.
Lucky for me, I have a great little sports fan as a daughter so the last Spring Breaks have consisted of opening season baseball games and play off hockey games as well as random trips to the beach. They are a far cry from my carefree days but they are my reality now and as much as I miss those days (and I really do!), my new Spring Breaks give me even better memories like the one below. Hugs like that make life worth living.

The Muse on Valentine’s Day

  Go ahead, make everyday Valentine’s Day.


A couple weeks ago I was chatting with The Muse and she (out of the blue) mentioned her feelings on Valentines Day. I paused for a moment to make sure I heard what I thought I heard and asked her to repeat herself. I heard her right the first time. I was intrigued by her viewpoint and asked her to write a guest post for me. Here it is. The Muse’s views on Valentine’s Day. Enjoy.

Valentine’s Day- Is it a real holiday? I think not. Over the years, the notion of spending a ton of money one day every year in the order to shower your significant other with love has been blown completely out of proportion. Personally, I put a boycott on the so-called holiday years ago. I mean, why should some card company and ridiculously overpriced flower shop tell me when I should tell my significant other I love them?
If they aren’t bad enough, the commercials for jewelry stores are so sickeningly sweet they should come with a warning beforehand stating “Caution: May induce vomiting”. One in particular strikes me as completely moronic.
Two lovers in a cabin, watching a storm out the window at night. Lightning strikes and she leaps into his arms like she just spotted Michael Myers standing on the other side of the glass. But! Don’t fear frightened Princess! This diamond ring will make the lightning go away! Seriously??
We are losing sight here, people! If you love someone and it’s Tuesday, July 7th, don’t be afraid to buy them a card, write them a love letter, or give them flowers for no reason other than you love them. You shouldn’t feel obligated to purchase overpriced roses for the woman/man you love simply because it is mid-February.
If you are truly in love with someone, don’t you think about little ways you can express that love every day? A good morning kiss, a call during the day just to say hello. I would much prefer a small daily reminder of the fact that someone loves me. What I don’t want is someone to feel obligated to buy me flowers or a heart-shaped pendent because some marketing machine told them that was what is expected of them.
They say diamonds are forever and, well, they sure as Hell better be for as much as they cost! But, and here’s where you’ll probably thinking “This woman is out of her freaking mind!” I tend to boycott diamonds as well as odd holidays. But, it’s for good reason. Most diamonds are from South Africa and it is extremely hard to prove how the diamond was obtained from the mines and from whom.
There are so many corrupt “businessmen” who hire young men and children to go out into the mines, enslave them, even kill them over the tiniest gem. It isn’t worth it. I don’t want to look down at my hand and think “I wonder if some child lost his life so I could wear this?”
Needless to say, I don’t ever expect anyone to go all out for me on Valentine’s Day. What I DO want is, if you love me, show me. Everyday. The little notions of love are so wonderful, especially when they are completely from the heart and not from the wallet. A quick call to ask how my day is or a text that says “I Miss You”, would be enough. Wouldn’t you feel amazing every single day if someone just gave a couple of minutes to make sure you know they care?
So, this Valentine’s Day, I urge you to give this gift to the one you love…it doesn’t cost a thing: Tell them how much you love them, how your life has improved with them in it, how you would not want to go another day without making sure they know how you really feel. Then, vow to yourself that you will take a couple of moments everyday to show them you love them. Make them feel good, loved, and appreciated, and I’m quite sure they will return the gesture. Go ahead, make everyday Valentine’s Day.
Now, if you don’t mind, will you please pass me a few of those Conversation Hearts? Those things are addictive!
Muse