One of the joys of my weekends is working on all my creative projects. Being mostly unscheduled is absolutely delicious, especially when time passes without me realizing it.
Before I hopped onto the creativity carousel on Saturday, I completed my morning chores, including going to CVS to pick up an OTC medication for Mom. This OTC Herculean journey usually requires visiting more than one location.
When I finally found it, there was only one box on the shelf. Since it was buy one, get the second half off, I went to the checkout counter to see if more was in stock. Instead, the guy gave me 25% off that one bottle on top of my employee discount, which miraculously brought the price down to what I’d paid for it before.
The sneaky pants thing was Mom was still a victim of shrinkflation since there were 20 fewer pills than in the previous bottle. So, that sweet discount just counteracted the reduction in supply.
Later that morning, for the first time ever, I used the record function on powerpoint. Although I could only trim the clip ends without making any advanced edits, I became acceptably good at recording the voiceover for most slides without even using the trim clip function. Added bonus: the slides automatically advanced after the voiceover finished.
Then, I took the deepest time plunge into the world of flag design. My mother’s side of the family, those of us who are the descendants of Grand Elder Jesse Strange, have been participating in a family reunion for 83 consecutive years. Currently, family members have agreed that we should honor this accomplishment with a flag. All flag designs must include the following: the Strange Family logo, the names of Jesse Strange’s 12 children and the 12 colors associated with those 12 branches of the Strange descendants.
Well, at least we don’t have to depict some type of “tree,” but still. Those three criteria seemed like two too many. Yet, as time passed, my mind churned with ideas until, after a week, when I finally created my flag, a beautiful, “clean” design unfolded.
The beauty of a flag is that many elements of symbolism come together. I’d struck upon a way to combine seemingly clashing/distracting colors and the potential wordiness of 12 full names and that SFA logo in an aesthetically pleasing manner. All flag submissions will be revealed during our 83rd Strange Family Reunion in June, so family members who have paid their dues can vote.
Sunday mornings, I type up part of one of several journals from nearly 30 years ago in an effort to digitalize them all, so I can stop lugging them around. Eventually, I’ll scan the pictures and marry them to the journal entries. I’ll keep the actual photo albums, but I still like the idea of scanning them to have digital versions.
However, this Sunday, I ran a little behind and left late for my mid-morning hot yoga class. As much as I enjoy practicing in the front row, I managed my expectations to be satisfied regardless of where in the room I’d practice. Much to my surprise, every traffic light turned green en route to the yoga studio. I even found a convenient parking space and had my choice of two front-row spots.
As I worked through the challenging yoga flow, the idea arrived that I should extend my feel-good weekend by getting a mani pedi before Sunday dinner, which my sister would prepare after she arrived from church.
As usual, I walked-in without an appointment, listened to an audio book, checked email and texted as I waited. For the first time ever, I asked for a glass of red wine while I sat in the vibrating massage chair, getting my pedicure.
I had rather low expectations of the wine quality and was not too impressed when it came to me chilled, but it was drinkable. I sent a picture of the long-stemmed wine glass to friends and family.
When one friend indicated that she was nursing a serious cold, I got the impetus to call her. I don’t remember the last time I actually talked to her, which meant that a call was long overdue. I usually sent the occasional text and rare email, but a call was a luxury I rarely afforded anyone except my sister who thinks of herself as my second mother. All I can say is that if laughter is the best medicine, then I helped heal her.
That magical weekend was how I envision retirement. Plenty of unscheduled time to juggle creative projects and check in with people who I care about. That weekend was a preview of things to come. Just have to get there.