Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong...

“Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong... where the eagles fly on a mountain high...”

I have decided that Brussell has an infatuation with me. Brussell is the eagle I keep “getting to see” in these boondocks I call home. (We always name our favorite birds in my family. We have a Great Blue Heron named Eve, as well.) This week's eagle-sighting was while driving westward to my home, ten miles yet from my road. My daughter, Emily, and I saw the large set of wings and the shadow of a magnificent bird gliding low across the field. I noticed, with that quick glimpse I was able to initially get, that the bird's wings were flat outstretched and not flapping. It was either a HUGE hawk, or, or...

I shrieked, unsafely swerving a little as usual, and whispered, “What was that?” Emily, finally now understanding at nearly fifteen years old that I am incredibly geeked about seeing these birds, looked closely.

“White head! White head! White head!” she cried excitedly.

“What? For real? Ohmygosh!” We pulled off the road, thankful that no one was behind us. (The snow and ice is abundant on the roads this week, so this whole ordeal was not my brightest moment on driving safety.) We watched Brussell swoop low in the field right next to us and continue to a spindly tree not far away in which he perched.

“Turn at the road right there!” Emily ordered. I did, and we pulled right up under the tree where our eagle sat.

We barely breathed, hearts beating wildly. I grabbed my daughter's hand and giggled. Brussell looked down at us. He stayed put.

“I have my camera,” Emily mentioned. (I was thinking about the FLIP video camera I'd just taken out of my purse and left on my bed earlier that day. Mental punching of self...)

“Oh! You do?” Hope rising.

“Yeah,” she smiled. She reached back and got it as I rolled our windows down. She climbed out her window and took several shots. Brussell readjusted himself a little, taking note of us. We laughed.

Then two dogs came running out of the farm house in front of which we were parked. They barked at us, yelling at our audacity to be in front of their yard. The little Pitt-Bull came close to the road and yelled the loudest, while the giant Rottweiler stayed back and gave deep-throated woofs. I think maybe he was yelling at the smaller dog to shut the heck up.

Either way, Brussell decided to leap off the tree and fly toward the north. Emily took a couple more pictures of the outstretched wings, and we waited until we couldn't see him anymore before driving the rest of the way home.

Always forever changed.

That's how I feel when I see one – Always forever changed. We saw one on Christmas Day – probably Brussell. Although I wonder if it was Beulah, his wife. Our Christmas eagle looked a little bigger. That sighting was right across the street from my home, pretty much.

All this to say: Eagles can make their bodies go out of joint in order to ride out storms. Yee-haw! I really admire the eagle, and this is just one more reasons to admire him! Or her.

Also, the eagle waits for a gust of air and rides it without struggling. This is why we see them gliding and not flapping their wings.

How smart!

Applying this: I really believe in maintaining flexibility. (We talked about this a few blogs ago.)

I know. That was round-about. (It's my blog; I can tell it my way.)

Today, I have decided to purchase a medicine ball, or whatever they are called, so I can do a free-weight program for the lower body with it. I am also going to incorporate my big exercise ball into this. I think I will do this instead of joining a gym for now, because it helps me economically.

I self-removed most of the hair on my body this last week, by the way. Yes, I do mean that hair. I used a cream hair removal. It was a no-name brand version of Nair, or something. I bought it for $1.50 at Family Dollar. I have not had any negative affects, and I plan to do it again later today to get the stragglers, now that I know my skin can handle it. I left a landing-strip (feel free to stop reading if this is hard for you...Mom...) and trimmed it with scissors.

The bottle said not to let any of the cream get “inside” of me, basically, and that's why I just used it on outside places. I have named this procedure an “extreme bikini wax without the wax.” It is not Brazilian. That will be professionally done, of course, because it's not just the outside and front that gets done... (I told you to stop reading, Mom...) ALL OF THE HAIR in the whole region gets addressed. Hehehehehe.

Anyway – I really, super like the results of this. I could get used to this being part of my regular routine of self-maintenance. And I didn't break out in bumps, probably because I did not use a razor. I lotioned up immediately after I was done, and a few times after that, and never had a problem. Still a week later, my hair isn't growing in, so I've confirmed my initial reaction to cream hair removal as being a better way than razors simply because if done right, it lasts longer.

Lastly, I want to write a short list (according to Laura) of reasons why setting goals is good for your health.

1. Maybe you'll actually get something done, and the happy endorphins will release and cause less stress.
2. Reach for the moon, you'll land in the stars. (I told you that before...) It's true – even if you don't finish each thing on your list in the time you originally gave yourself, let yourself feel good for all that you did manage to accomplish. I think eventually we learn to write better lists so that we can accomplish everything on them.
3. If we never set a goal, we'll reach it every time. (I didn't make that one up, either.) Ouch, right? Healthy people understand that staying busy is essential. Crazy people are too busy, (ahem), but there's a healthy place in between goal-less and super-human. It's called healthy.
4. Read O'Henry's, “The Last Leaf.” It's my favorite short story about a woman who's dying of pneumonia, and she's so weak that there's no fight left in her. She vows to let go and let herself die as soon as the last leaf on the little tree outside her window has fallen. Well, that little leaf hangs on, and hangs on, until one day... (So read the story.) A goal can sometimes be that one thing between success and letting go...
5. Health depends upon our attitude. If we have a good attitude, we are more charged to make choices that are good for us. A goal is a tool. We can set a goal when we have rotten attitudes; we can set it out of necessity or this deeply-rooted sense of doing what we know we should. When we begin disciplining ourselves to make small, baby steps toward that goal, it can be the defining moment toward ultimately changing our lives, and eventually finding health.

Making positive choices is no joke. Health is the only way we can enjoy life on this earth. Plagued with disease and exhaustion, (too much) extra weight, and stresses about things we can't change – nothing will drag us down to death or mere existence faster.

Next blog, obviously an update on the free-weight and exercise ball routine. I will also talk about how my stretching is going, and some choices about food and drink I am making.

And, of course, if I see Brussell again, I'll tell you, and sprinkle in something eagle-ish and inspirational. (Did you know that there are no eagles in Hawaii? None of any kind... It's the only of the fifty states where none are spotted, ever...)

xoxo

Until next time...

Laura Lee