Sunscreen and Spic-N-Span

It was green and grainy and made a whining sound when scrubbed into the kitchen sink. Its cylindrical cardboard container perfectly matched to the color of the product inside. - Comet

It is as clear as water yet its smell is pungent and deadly and feels slimy as it crosses your skin. - Clorox

It was orange but yet had not a citrus scent but the distinct smell of Spic-N-Span! 

My grandmother was a neat freak with a million knick-knacks (I am not really sure how the two went hand in hand)! I grew up under her cleaning guidance in a small two bedroom apartment with gold carpeting and shortly after my dad's mauve pants phase. There were four of us in this home, and it was truly a home. It was comfortable, clean, and full of love. However, our home was not that way by accident, and we were all required to play our part to be sure that it stayed that way. From making beds and putting clothes away, to washing dishes, dusting (all those fragile things), and even scrubbing baseboards, we all had a role and were taught responsibility early on. 

Now, having grown up under this amazing guidance, I am not as neat as I should be, though I blame a lot of that on my husband and his baseline hoarding and our menagerie of animals, and I don't do all of the things that my grandma taught me were "required". For example, making your bed every day - Why?!?! I am just going to get back into it soon. However, I still hold many of the same values, and I think that is where I have gotten my penance for not being able to leave the house before vacation without it being clean or else I break out in hives. Thus, I have spent a huge amount of time in the last weeks doing every menial task that you could think of (it also helps that I am on summer break): scrubbing baseboards, cleaning walls, hand scrubbing grout, etc. and now it is almost done, and it feels like I can breathe again! It is amazing how a good scrubbing can help you with feeling more put together, cleaner, and more sane. 

Additionally, this week, I was reminded that sunscreen is super important. Just before this vacation to celebrate birthdays, hang out with my absolutely insane family and friends, and enjoy time being together, it was determined I needed a biopsy. Now, I am not a regular "tanner", I don't spend hours in the sun on a regular basis without sunscreen, and I only used a tanning bed regularly on a short term basis - preparing for a wedding or summer vacation. However, I was born transparent and have a tendency of getting a bit "crispy" if I don't pay attention to my sun exposure.
As I wait for my results, I remind each of you to lather on the sunscreen and if you must be tan, do it with a self tanner or airbrush tan. Remember to reapply and pay attention to what your skin and body are telling you. Society tells us, at the present time, that tan is the only acceptable color for us folks born lacking pigmentation and that is without care and concern for your long term health beyond that imminent brown glow. Take care of yourself because in the end society won't be the one paying for your biopsy and/or treatment. 

Success?

Success is measured in a variety of different ways: the money you make, the title that's on your office door, your house being clean and your children well kept, your children surpassing your expectations, your lack of reliance on societal systems, etc. 

Sometimes, we get too caught up in the big picture to recognize the smaller successes; be careful how you measure success. Revel in the small things and make light of the failures leading up to the "big things". It can be difficult, but remember you are in control of your destiny. 

- Aim high. 

- Do what makes you happy, and if it doesn't make you rich, that's okay; if it does make you rich even better. 

- Try to maintain a positive outlook. 

- Keep a balance between enjoying your youth and learning to emulate your elders. 

- Life isn't fair but it is how you learn to deal with those discrepancies is what makes you stronger as a person. 

- Learn to laugh at yourself; everyone else is going to anyway. 

- Find strength in who you are. 

- You are allowed to be frustrated (angry, upset, sad, etc.), vent and move on. 

- Learn to find joy in (almost) everything. 

Absolutely Inspired

For those of you who don't know, I love to skate. Ice or track it really doesn't matter; I just like to skate and don't do it often enough.  That being said, I decided I wanted to try out for derby within the next rounds of try outs (fall/winter). This would require more general track time, strengthening my skills, and practicing with the derby girls... So, I made sure to begin with summer. Damn! Where can I skate just in general to practice and not derby drop ins...Hmm... Google! Skating rinks - calendars. Ahh! Found one with an adult drop in not far from the house. Sold!

Morning rolls around, skates are packed in the car, and I'm dressed to practice basic skating. I pull up to the ever shady roller rink building (why is it that all roller rinks have the same creepy vibe?!?) and wait for the starting time to enter. I'm a little nervous and really have no idea why, I've ice skated most of the winter and it hasn't been that long since I've been on quads. I step up, verify I am in the right place, and enter. As soon as I begin my approach, I realize that I am staring at the faces of people at least twice my age. Hmm....

I am quickly approached by friendly faces and kind smiles with tons of introductions and questions. I am assured I am in the right place and welcome to skate with them. Alright, I have no idea what I am in for, but I'm in! I lace up while having conversations with others around me. I recognize that many have their own personal skates - carrying case and all. Wow! What in the hell did I just get myself into?!?!

So it begins, an open skate. I, a little unsteadily, step out onto the floor. This sleekness is nothing to the icy glass from this winter, yet I manage to find my summer balance. Okay, off I go, and I am instantly passed by several skaters. I slow my pace to a crawl and take in the scene before me; the rink is well lit and clean with the impressions of roller hockey set up on the floor, Lawrence Welk era music plays from the modern speakers above my head, and the skaters are beautiful. They are there for different reasons and their clothes show it; some in ice skating regalia practicing for an upcoming dance skating competition, some in jeans and polos chatting with friends, and some in dressier clothes than I manage to put on for work. They all glide across the floor like butter in a hot pan.

I pick up my speed and try to regain my quad legs after a winter of exclusion. It isn't long before I am approached by the lady who heads this particular skate up. She reminds me of my posture and discusses a few techniques with me. Then, she is off in a fluid backwards motion. Next, comes one of the men I met when I entered. He reminds me to watch my knees and reiterates how to become better and has a conversation with me. Then, he's off with another regular that comes up next to me. Another friendly face approaches and introduces himself and discusses where and when else they skate and even shakes my hand while skating (I thought I might face plant on this one). I am feeling so amazing to be in this place that I haven't realized that I have been on the floor for almost half an hour at this point.

The next step in this amazing journey is to partake in some exercises and practice with those that lead this skate up. I'm game, lets try it! This wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, but it was awe inspiring to see these amazing people doing it. It was definitely worth the time and work out! I got the opportunity to speak with a woman in her eighties who has been doing this for 40 years and is continuing. She was amazing on the floor and with the exercises; I was more than impressed and loved speaking with her especially after I found out that she continued doing this even though she broke her hip. Next came the "called out round" where we skated and she gave us directions of the PA. About two motions in, I realize that I could learn a ton from these skaters and what a pleasure that would be. At the end was the one mile challenge that you could "race" or not... I choose the not version, I had already seen what the skaters were capable of! Proudly, I did finish more than the mile in the time allotted, and that was an accomplishment enough for me!

Finally, we were able to go back to an open skate, and I realized that we only had about twenty minutes left. I skated mostly on my own and just practiced what these amazing skaters pointed out to me as I went, I practiced some speed and some combinations that I realized I couldn't do on the "called out round". At the end a bit sweaty, I unlaced my skates, ecstatic that I had come and eager to come and do it again. Most importantly, I came out absolutely inspired. These men and women were amazing skaters, people, and age truly is nothing but a number.

If you find something you love, keep doing it! Don't let age or society tell you what is acceptable and what you should be doing, make your own rules.