Wee Hawk

I left off my last post talking about how I wore my Seahawks shirt to the grocery store, and got a laugh out of it. Now it seems to be going in a different direction. I'm feeling scared and intimidated to wear it. Why? Because this is niner territory, baby, and don't you forget it! Wear a Seattle jersey and look out for your life. Seriously. I bought the shirt because of it's excellent reflective qualities on a bicycle, but when I wear it, I feel like people are trying to deliberately hit me.

Forget the fact that Seattle is a super fun place to visit. It's located in the Pacific Northwest, a place that is home to Friday Harbor and the San Juan Islands  - about as pretty of a place you can get. Forget that they are home to the most beautiful and efficient ferry system that boasts wildlife viewing second to none (yup we are talking Orca whales sometimes). Seattle has a BUNCH of open minded thinkers that any Californian can appreciate: They support green living, gay marriage, and they even legalized recreational marijuana use. But leave all that out. There is a rivalry here in the SF Bay Area with the Seattle Seahawks that runs thick, and it came from where?

All I have to say is Football fans are, to put it nicely, devoted. So, to all those niner fans, I'm sorry for your loss last Sunday. I truly mean that. But hey, there were four teams playing last week and half of them lost. Right? Time to root for a different team, folks, if you can muster it. So this entry is to help sway you to the green, white, and blue side. 

A lot of Seattle's really great players come from the Bay Area. Number 24, RB, Marshawn Lynch played for the Bears, as did Number 92, DT, Brandon Mebane. The Hawks have two Stanford Cardinals on their team as well, Number 89, WR, Doug Baldwin, and infamous Number 25, CB, Richard Sherman. Seattle's running back, the one the Saints put on the injured list and effectively took out of play two weeks ago, number 22, Robert Turbin... his hometown is Fremont, CA. Even our coach came from San Francisco, he attended Redwood High School, and eventually went on to coach USC. 

Although the QB, Russell Wilson is an Ohio native, he merits mention here. He is an excellent athlete, and has only been on the Hawks' roster for 2 years. This 25 year old, who in 2 short years has led Seattle to the Super Bowl - something they have NEVER won, also happens to play some very mean baseball. He was picked up by the Baltimore Orioles after High School, but decided to go to college (NC State) instead. In 2010, he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies, and this past December, he was recently drafted by the Texas Rangers because of some MLB draft rule.

All that being stated, Seattle may have the the cutest 3  year old fan in the world, who is gaining popularity by the moment. Check out this video of her...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULFU4QJZi-w 

Open your mind, San Francisco. Our neighbors are going to the Super Bowl, and even though most of the odds are stacked up against them, they may just take the win in the second half of the game.

And remember, you heard it here first.

Navy, Green, and White

Back in the day, when I called Washington my home state, I worked for radio station, KEZE Rock 106. That job was the most fun job I've ever had, and it came with a ton of cool perks, usually in the form of tickets. In any case, our radio station had a weekly football promotion that showcased the Seattle Seahawks, and since my husband was born and raised in WA, and we attended the promotion religiously, I became a fan. That was almost 30 years ago.

I was young, a newlywed, and I didn't know shhh about football, not that I do now, but I soon learned that my spouse was once the co-captain of a championship high school football team. He played fullback for the Omak Pioneers. With that kind of history, it followed that football would somehow be a part of our lives. Because I had the cool job at the radio station, it was in the form of games and events. 

Little did I know back then that the Hawks would never stack up for a Super Bowl win, and even though I hear tell that back in 2005 the Hawks lost it one time to the Steelers, I can't recall that game to save my life. This being due to the fact that I had totally and utterly given up on that heartbreaker of a team - and anyone who is a fan of the Seahawks will back me on this - until this season.

Fast forward to last year when we were invited to a fraternity brother's home for a televised Seattle game, and he asked me if I was still a fan. "I gave up on the Hawks a long time ago," I said. "I'm tired of getting my heart broken."

"Well you should watch them this season," he countered. "The Hawks could actually pull it off. Their roster is really impressive this year..."

Reluctantly, I snuck a peek at their roster, and them, and in both cases I was not disappointed. I found myself starting to believe. Then last week against the "Ain'ts," I watched as our classy team stood up to and surpassed that team of dirty players as they took out one of our best, but ultimately got crushed by my Hawks. Pride started to emulate from my midsection, as I watched our players speak words of respect towards the Saints when asked about the penalty hits they took, calling them "competitive." 

I went out and purchased a Seattle t-shirt later that week with the number 24 on it. When I wore the shirt later that day at a grocery store in suburbia California, a man in the produce isle asked me in a somewhat gruff voice why I was a Seattle fan, and I channeled the Beast Mode. I put up my straight arm like a lady saying talk to the hand. We both chuckled together in unison, as I walked on. I expect that after today I will be able to wear that shirt with pride, and perhaps a little less opposition, after today's game. If I'm lucky, my next post will be about why the Seahawks will be that team, and many more people will be wearing navy blue along with me.

Parenting 101

I spent the day with three different generations of parents today. We were each about a decade apart in our process. We each shared stories of some very happy times with our kids, and we all had at least one heartbreaker story. There was one common thread in all of our stories. Each of them had an element of letting go. 

When children are adults, there comes a time in the relationship when a series of events play out, and it becomes time to move in separate directions. For the parent this is extremely challenging because up to this  point, there has never been a time to move in an opposing direction. However, it is important to make the move away or the child will never really learn to fend for themselves. When it comes to parenting, there may be no greater lesson. 

New Year's Resolutions

I am a fan of laughter as a daily practice, but it takes something witty to tickle my funny bone. I find that watching a funny movie will really help me to chase away the blues. But this year I'm not finding very good material, and the old stand by movies aren't doing the trick. Also, I don't enjoy slapstick type humor, so that rules out a lot of material. I do enjoy stand up comedians, and this past year I've discovered a television show that will regularly make me laugh, the Fashion Police. I'd honestly say that I now call myself a Joan Ranger, a follower of the show.

This year's final FP show had a segment about what each of the co-hosts could do differently as a sort of New Year's resolution to make the show better. It was hilarious, complete with footage depicting each host caught in the act, but it got me to thinking. I don't particularly care for resolutions myself, mostly because there is so much I'd like to change that I get overwhelmed. I mean, who among us likes looking at our own flaws and makes an attempt (resolution) to fix them. So after giggling at the FP together, I asked my husband to come up with one for me. I left the room for him to think for awhile, and when I came back, he said he had something. It was: Stop worrying about our children. 

I was thinking that, like Joan, he would suggest something doable... some small thing like make the bed everyday, or stop using the f word, or quit eating cookies for breakfast. You know, something easy to change. For example, for George, Joan suggested to macho up his laugh, and for Kelly she suggested stop using the word obsessed so often, and for Julianna she suggested to stop referring to motor boating. All of those sounded easy, as least from my perspective, but stop worrying about my children? That sounded practically impossible. 

Even today, it sounds impossible. Does anyone know a mother who doesn't worry about her children? And even worse, telling a woman not to do something, like worry, practically makes her do it even more. Right ladies? As I reflect on how to do this seemingly insurmountable task, I hear him working in the kitchen, and I laugh inwardly at my suggestion for him. Try not to get water all over the place. But when I get up, of this I am certain, I will have to get a towel and dry the place off.

Forgiveness

I just watched an excellent piece on the CBS morning news show. It was an interview with Carlos Santana. He was a Kennedy Center Honoree, and they are promoting the upcoming Sunday night special. Being a Santana fan, long before the Supernatural craze, I was hooked immediately. I liked how he said that he didn't really enjoy being famous because he didn't think human adulation was normal. 

Interestingly, he talked about being molested as a child and how he came to terms with that. He said of the forgiveness, "I release you now, and I send you back to the light. I'm not gonna condemn you, or me, to hell, because if I send you to hell, I'm going to go with you."

These days, Carlos Santana is 66. He says, "I used to say, the best is still ahead... The best is now."

I Miss Michael Jackson

I came home from work today and my television set was tuned to palladia. This Is It was playing and I easily got hooked. I looked at it differently this time. I was evaluating Michael's exhaustion level. Was I projecting? Likely so. He looked tired, I thought. He l looked old too.

I grew up along side Michael Jackson. We were almost the same age. I can remember listening to his 45s on the phonograph in my bedroom. I remember having to put the middle piece on the apparatus to get the record to play. When I think of those days, I feel like a teenager falling in love for the first time. I can remember dreaming about him. In my mind, we were friends. 

Now he is gone. It's been four years, and I still miss him. I miss his music. I miss his antics. And I know I'm not alone.

Rest in peace, King of Pop. 

Grace

I know two women that seem to be the epitome of grace, and I am inspired by both.  They are two of the most relaxed and centered women I know.  I aspire to be like them. 

What I love about each of these women is their speed. I wouldn't call it slow, although neither of them moves rapidly. The word smooth comes to mind - smooth and methodical and balanced. I see one of these women at my gym. We work out around the same time, and also end our workouts around the same time. That is, when I show up. She is always there, when I show up.

She prefers to swim, even if it's raining outside. Afterwards I will see her in the hot tub, and then she will make her way home. We rarely chat, but I know she recognizes me from working out at the same place over the years. I admire how she sticks to her swimming routine day after day, week after week, year after year. Her dedication is impressive. 

I occasionally have a chance to chat with the other woman. She is retired now, but occasionally shows up to substitute at the school where I work. She says she does it once a week to remind herself why she is retired. We shared our lunch break the other day. I love how she doesn't gossip, she just shares her thinking and her philosophies about living. There is something about her demeanor that is simply relaxing - even when she says she is not (like when she wasn't retired). She has always seemed centered and peaceful to me.

I swear, it's all in the way they move.