My Favorite Season

Are you ready for some SUMMER???? (Said in the same vein as: Are you ready for some FOOTBALL).

Although the summer season does not officially begin until June 21 at 1:19PM (ET); for the majority of us it unofficially began this weekend, Memorial Day weekend. Out came the shorts, sleeveless t-shirts and if you are brave enough the bathing suit. Like me I am sure most of you have your patio furniture out, your flowers all planted and your grill ready for the first barbeque. And if you have children they have begun the countdown until the last day of school.

My favorite season is summer – I love the warm weather – the colors of the flowers, the green of the grass, the vibrant blue sky with the contrasting white clouds. The days start earlier and end much later – the clothes we wear are light, breezy and in soft pastels, our toes are in the open and have been colored in shades of Sangria or Sea Breeze (yes, I know those are also the names of drinks).

And, what about the traditional foods that we eat? There are the requisite grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, cole slaw and corn on the cob. And I have to admit I enjoy a good grilled steak, lobster tail, shrimp and vegetables. There is something to setting up the patio table with flowered napkins, lime green placemats and seeing a tall glass of lemonade. What about summer fruit, these are my favorites: strawberries, cherries, cantaloupe and watermelon. All of them refreshing on their own; but, each of them able to be much more like strawberry shortcake or cherry pie.

Hot summer days are made for lounging – so do you have that hammock hung or the lounge chair all set with cushions and pillows? Do you have a table nearby where you can put a tall glass of iced tea or lemonade or for some more indulgent a beer? How about your summer reading list? Is it mindless? Meant for you to not learn anything at all; but, to just escape.

While you are out there though do be safe with the sun, although I can get a very nice tan I do wear sun block, sunglasses and watch how long I am out in the sun. There is nothing worse than getting sunburned and watching your skin peel. And who doesn’t like the smell of suntan lotion? It reminds me of the beach, of being young and carefree.

Today my family will have the first of many barbeques for this summer. We will have hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, cole slaw and corn on the cob. I went to the bakery and bought an apple pie, they didn’t have any cherry pie so I bought a carrot cake which we all enjoy. We will eat on paper plates and talk about what is going on in each of our lives and if we have any plans for the rest of the summer.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 91 degrees in New York, I will do laundry first thing in the morning; but, then on will go a pair of shorts, a sleeveless shirt, suntan lotion and I will lay on my lounge chair and read my mindless summer book, "The Godmother" by Carrie Adams and right next to my chair is a small table which will hold my glass of lemonade. If I am lucky I will take a nap while the sun changes the dull taupe color of my skin to a golden tan.

I hope this brought summer memories to mind and ways that you will look to enjoy the next three months of this glorious season.

Think of Sly and the Family Stone’s song, “Hot Fun in the Summertime” and have some HOT FUN.

See the Funny

Last week I wrote about the cities that I most have enjoyed traveling to and visiting over the last several years; but, I don’t want you to think that everything has been “hunky-dory”. Over the past years of travel there certainly have been times when I wondered “WHY”???

As I reflect on this trip I can now see the hilariousness of the whole situation – you may think and say to yourself or be screaming at me: “Why didn’t you just get a hotel room and wait until the next day?” On hindsight you are probably right. To the story – my boss, Pat and I were scheduled to visit a vendor of ours in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – it is February and there are no direct flights from New York to Cedar Rapids – all flights go through Chicago’s O’Hare. Pat and I make it to Chicago with no problems; however, upon getting there most flights were delayed due to a terrible snowstorm. Do Pat and I give up – NO WAY!!! Instead we spend the next 8 hours running from one terminal to the next to see on what airline we can get on to make it to Cedar Rapids.

Now I am not sure how many of you have been to O’Hare; but, this is not a small airport. If you cannot walk to a terminal you have to take a shuttle train to it. O’Hare has four terminals, about 180 gates and approximately 77 million people travel through it yearly. Get the picture – here we were doing the same thing everyone else was; running around trying to get on one of those flights out of Chicago to our destination.

Well, believe it or not we manage to get on a flight to Cedar Rapids – we finally land at 3AM in the morning and now we need to take a taxi to our hotel. There is just one taxi at the airport – it is beat up, the seats are old, lumpy sofa cushions with an odor and it reeks of marijuana. Pat and I tell the driver where we need to go – the streets are a three inch sheet of ice and we are simply swerving from side to side as he drives us. Throughout this ride Pat and I are holding each other’s hands and basically saying our prayers thinking we are never getting to the hotel in one piece.

You know how the story ends – we made it, we were able to get a couple of hours sleep before our meeting; and, more importantly we have a travel story to tell everyone.

While that story ended well I am not sure that I would say the same thing about the next one. I had been on one of my whirlwind Asia Pacific trips which usually included Singapore, Japan and Australia; however, this one also included South Africa and Morocco. I was scheduled to leave South Africa late afternoon to fly to Morocco for an afternoon meeting the next day. Upon arriving at the Johannesburg airport I could immediately tell that something was wrong because of all the people - sure enough my flight to Morocco was cancelled. What was my alternative in order for me to still make my meeting? I could fly to Frankfurt, Germany and then on to Morocco – I took it. We arrived in Morocco at 9AM plenty of time to get to my hotel, take a shower and make my 2PM meeting IF only it did not take 3 hours to get your luggage and clear customs.

I made it to the hotel a little after noon, the Hilton Casablanca – I get to my room so I could shower and change into business clothes – upon opening the door there is a fruit basket on the desk and a sea of fruit flies around it. YUCK – not eating anything from there. I manage to make my meeting and it was quite productive – now let’s have a nice dinner before I can get some sleep and leave for home the next day. The consultant I was traveling with and I decide to eat in the hotel – so we go to the first restaurant and I decide that I just can’t eat there. Each of the seat cushions looked as they were the original from 50 years ago as they were terribly stained. And although my dress should protect me from anything I was not taking any chances. We then decide to eat at the Mediterranean seafood restaurant also in the hotel – this looks much better. We have a wonderful dinner and I am looking forward to sleeping well that evening and heading home the next day.

Little did I know that Morocco would stay with me for the next six months. While there I contacted a parasite which would every now and then rear its ugly head and would have me running to the bathroom and making it my second home. I felt awful because that September I took my niece, Siobhan to Disneyworld and made her stand outside the Ladies Room for 30 minutes as I once more re-acquainted myself with the Hilton Casablanca.

I have never said that I would not go back to a city or country; however, I have to admit I hope to NEVER have to go back to Morocco.

So although I try to see the good in everything – the Pollyanna in me; there are times when that is not possible. What you have to be able to do is laugh at what has happened and that you have survived. So I am able to reflect, laugh and ruminate on these experiences.

See the funny – although it could take years.

Count Your Blessings

There are times when my great nephew, Ryan will ask me a question and it will have me reflecting on different aspects of my life. Do you have someone who triggers memories, thought or reflections of what you thought your life might be or how far you have come?

This past week, the Today Show was responsible for triggering some great memories when they had Meredith Vieira at the Cannes Film Festival in France viewing the movies and speaking to the celebrities. As I watched her look at the yachts and report from the French Riviera it brought back memories of when I was in Nice and visited Cannes and the wonderful week I had on the Riviera.

Who would have thought that when I was born on 102nd Street in Manhattan or as I struggled to find the tuition money for that next semester at college that I would one day sit on a hotel balcony on the French Riviera and watch a bicycle race which was also being televised on ESPN.

I have been blessed by being able to travel the world and to see some places more than once. Today I want to share with you the places I enjoyed the most:

• French Riviera – Nice was such a lovely town, right on the French Riviera where you could walk the length of the city on the Boardwalk. The market was open daily and you could go to it and buy your meal for the day – imagine just buying a handful of green beans or a ¼ pound of fresh Brie. Nothing tasted better than the baguette, Brie and bottle of wine for lunch that we had one day. And the piece de resistance was the truffle tortellini that I bought home. Okay, this was one of those times that my head did not do the exchange rate very well and I paid $54 for 18 ounces of truffle tortellini.

• Barcelona – I had been to Spain before but never made it to Barcelona and thought that I had not missed anything. How wrong was I – it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world with excellent food, outstanding museums and great tapas bars. I am a lover of history and art so was in heaven to go to the Picasso, Joan Miro and the Catalan Museum which had an exhibit of Toulouse Lautrec’s posters. Although all of the information was written in Catalan (a dialect of Castilian Spanish) I was able to understand all of it. While in Barcelona my friend Catherine and I were introduced to the architect, Antonio Gaudi – what a genius this man was. We toured one of the homes he built which was to reflect all that was part of the ocean and then we saw his masterpiece “La Sagrada Familia” which is a cathedral which is still not finished despite being worked on for over 100 years.

• Sydney – both times I was fortunate to have a hotel room which was right on the harbor and across from the Sydney Opera house. What a wonderful country with people whose priority is to get to know you first, then do business. They have a love of the outdoors, of the water and of their family and friends. I loved being able to walk around the harbor, shop in the area they call “the rocks”, (I actually bought an opal ring while I was there), walk up the steps of the Sydney Opera House, take a harbor cruise and ate the most wonderful fish and chips I have ever had (and I have been to London).

• Lastly, London – what an easy city to walk around in. I love introducing people to this city and doing some of the same things over again. In London, I play the tourist and go to London Tower, Madame Tussaud’s, Covent Garden where they always have local artisans and I have been able to buy unusual gifts for friends and family. I love Harrod’s and the first thing I ever bought there was a pair of hose. While in London I always go to the theatre – can you believe that it is less expensive than New York? It was in London that I was introduced to a store named, Lush www.lushusa.com that is fresh bath and body products and their best product are their ballistic balls which leave your skin feeling like silk.

Each of these cities is different and each offers very unique characteristics that reflect the people, the culture and the history. What made them even more wonderful was to have shared the time with family and friends who were like me “open” to what each of these cities had to offer.

So I often sit back and reflect at where I have been, what I have done and who I have shared this with and think “I am Blessed”.

I hope that each of you has had an opportunity to review your life, what you have done which you might never have considered and how much further you can go.

Each of us in different ways has been blessed; don’t forget to count your blessings.

All The Women In Our Lives

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I am sure that many of you have already purchased a gift for your Mother or made reservations to take her out to brunch or dinner; and, I hope that you each enjoy it and have a great time.

For me, Mother’s Day is bittersweet. My Mom has been dead now for 39 years and I will certainly be thinking of her and will light a candle in church for her. Many wonderful things have happened in my life and my Mother was not there to share them with me; but, other women were. Beginning with my graduation from high school and college – my Mother was not there for either of those milestones; but, my Aunt Irma who was also my Godmother was there for both of them. Ironically, my college graduation took place on Mother’s Day and she was there for me instead of being with her son and grandchild. When I graduated from Villanova University with my MBA it was my cousin, his wife and his daughter who sat in the stands and cheered as I was handed my diploma. It was my friends, Pat and Catherine who expressed how proud they were of me and understood the sacrifices that I had made for 21 months to get that degree.

These days the women in my life are friends and my niece, Siobhan. Each of these women plays a puzzle piece in my life whether as an ear to hear me or a shoulder to lean on. To encourage me as I continue to do my workouts and tell me how good I am looking – better than when I was in my 30s. As someone to discuss all the things happening in our world and reactions to it – gas at $4.29/gallon – how much higher will it go? What about what show to see on Broadway or restaurant to try in New York City? Or discussing the latest book on the bestseller’s list or preferring a Kindle to holding a book in your hands and turning the pages. Our discussions are around our weekend activities and obligations. Our inability to stay up very late and have full days – yes, age is catching up with us.

So what do all these women have to do with Mother’s Day? Yes, some of them are Mothers and some are not; but, instead of just honoring the woman who gave birth to you and raised you; how about honoring all the women in your life? Tomorrow that is what I would like to do and I hope you do the same thing. Honor all the women who were part of your life beginning with your Mother who has helped form you into the person that you are, don’t forget your Grandmother who probably spoiled you, your Aunts who were role models and showed you the family dynamics, your sister(s) and cousin(s) where you can reminisce about all your antics when you were children, teenagers; and, now as adult women.

But, don’t stop there as I am sure there were many more women who have had an influence on the person you have become. How about the teacher who may have influenced your love of learning, reading, drawing or writing? The coach, who was there as you sprinted across the 100 yard line, hit a homerun or made the winning basket? The college friend who stayed up all night with you cramming for a test, or brought you something to eat after the awful hangover or listened as you cried your eyes out from a breakup? And let’s not forget your nieces – they probably bring joy to you, laughter and make you feel like a child again. If they are older as mine is she gives me the privilege to be a friend, advisor and at times to be her second Mom.

Tomorrow we will not do brunch – things have changed with jobs, children and illness; but, we will still get together and this is one holiday when everyone comes to my house. As I mentioned last week I will make a “Cinco de Mayo” dinner – it is easy and one that everyone enjoys. Tonight I start by making a Tres Leches cake and I will dice everything I need for making chicken fajitas and a Mexican lasagna – all the preparation will enable me to enjoy time with my family.

To all you women – you are fabulous – and you have become who you are by all the women whose lives have touched you and you have touched. We HONOR each other.

A Perfect Day

This was not supposed to be this week’s blog; but, as my day started this blog began developing in my head and I knew that I had to write it and pay homage to it.

“A Perfect Day” – how many of you have experienced a Perfect Day? How would you describe your Perfect Day? Do Perfect Days just happen or do you have to create them?

My Perfect Day began with my waking up just naturally to the sun beginning to stream through the curtains and not the jarring sound of the alarm clock. Nothing is worse than not being ready to wake up and have that alarm go off; and, fight with your sleepy eyes and groggy head.

After a shower and making the bed – downstairs I headed to make some breakfast, catch the news and read the newspapers before heading off to Zumba. I was able to do all of it including washing the breakfast dishes and putting them away all at a leisurely pace. I wrote out a birthday card and got another piece of correspondence that I wanted to mail on my way to the gym this morning.

Off I was at 8:45, taking out the garbage and recyclables as I headed to the gym. The sun was shining and I could see the promise of my tulips opening up someday soon. As I stop by the strip mall with the Post Office there is a perfect spot – out I jump from the car and mail my two pieces of correspondence. Off to Zumba class. It is Sunday and generally the parking lot is full on a Sunday morning; but, I manage to find a parking space in the general area that I like to park in.

Class was great, it was not overcrowded, although I worked up a sweat it was not overly strenuous as I was scared I would be wiped out because I had not worked out since Thursday. But, no I did well and was able to catch up with a few women at the Club.

Now off to run some errands. First was Home Depot, on Friday I had removed the covers on my patio furniture and today I wanted to wash it down and put the cushions on it. Home Depot was a zoo – it always is in late April and May as people are there buying plants, flowers and everything else it takes to prepare your home for the warmer weather. I found exactly what I wanted – I have decided to put off buying my potted flowers until next weekend – this coming week we are supposed to have rain and the daytime temperature will not get higher than about 64 while in the evening we are expected to go down to the mid 40’s.

I do self checkout at Home Depot and don’t have to wait in line. Wow, this is turning out to be great. As I walk out of Home Depot I realize how warm it is and sunny and I am smiling as I think what a beautiful day. Now to the grocery store to pick up a few things – got them and I am out the door fast (Saturdays and Sundays are the worst days in the grocery store if you hate crowds).

Home – as I drive into the community I begin to see all the blossoming trees and flowers. I can now see buds on my bushes and I admire the trim I have put around my plants. Off to the backyard to wash down that patio furniture. The table, chairs, lounger and side table are all clean – I took out the cushions and put them on and it looks wonderful and inviting. All I need are my plants – next Saturday off I am to buy the potted plants to finish off my patio area and for my front steps so that they invite you into my home.

Now I can relax, have my late lunch, watch a couple of shows that I had taped, take a little nap; and, read my book, Madame Tussaud.

I have finally gotten my family to agree as to what day we will celebrate “Cinco de Mayo” – no, we are not Mexican; but, we find any excuse to get together and enjoy a nice family meal. I have already decided on my menu and this week I will put together what ingredients I need to buy.

Tonight I will enjoy a few shows and give thanks for this Perfect Day. I know that I spent this day alone, that I went out and exercised and that I did simple errands like take out the garbage, clean furniture, etc.; but, the sun was shining, I saw red breasted robins in my backyard and my community has become a picture postcard with all the blooming trees. That is my Perfect Day.

What does your Perfect Day look like? Do we share anything in common? I always think that it is the simple things that can bring us the greatest pleasure. As I went to close my front door this afternoon I noticed that my tulips have opened and I am overjoyed that spring has sprung; that weekends will find me lounging outside reading the next book and admiring the flowers.

So, to go back to my original question – are Perfect Days created by us or are they a gift?

Either way, be able to identify a Perfect Day and enjoy it.