Adventure makes me happy, and I have my shoes on

Adventure makes me happy, and I have my shoes on

Every once in a while, my daughter says something that makes me look at her in a whole new light.

The other day, she started our day at 6 am, by saying “adventure makes me happy, and I have my shoes on.”

adventure makes me happy

I’ve always known she was adaptable, and maybe even adventurous, and she’s happily rolled with the punches of every upheaval we’ve thrown at her, family illness, new home, road trip, frequent changes in routines…

But this time I saw another dimension. Not only is she adventurous, she’s a go-getter, she doesn’t wait for adventure. She’s got her shoes on, and she finds adventure everywhere we go.

The park is full of adventure, leaves, things to climb on, trails, squirrels to chase, and even in winter we can usually find a flower. The grocery story is full of colors, and signs with letters and numbers, balloons, magazines, apples, brownies, and the greeting card aisle can entertain us for hours.

Even the commute on those days we drive Aaron in to work is full of adventure, cars, trucks, signs, buildings, sometimes we can see an airplane take off or land as we drive by Boeing, and some of the trucks have letters and pictures on them!!!!

Life is just so full of adventure.  It’s wonderful to go somewhere new, but if you’re willing, you might even find a little adventure in your own back yard.

The scanning project

My Dad was a shutterbug; he loved to take photographs, and he took a lot of them. That’s where I get it from. This is a wonderful thing for collecting a treasure trove of family memories. On the other hand, neither he nor my mom were the organizing type who enjoyed putting together photo albums. As a result, I’ve inherited about 30+ boxes packed full of random family photos and other mementos.

I’ve got my work cut out for me.

Add to that, I’ve got the world’s  S L O W E S T  scanner.

Yes, yes, I know. I can pack them all up and ship them off to a service that will scan them all in for me, quickly, and for a nominal fee. Nominal being defined as an arm and a leg, and my first-born child. But I’ve already lost a few body parts in the past couple years so I have none to spare, and I wouldn’t give up my first born for my life; that option is not on the table.

So back to the slow scanner, and my ADHD.

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[That’s Grandpa. He was a dentist. I’m sure his patient there would be thrilled to know he’s been immortalized in my blog. Just doing my part here, helping everyone live forever.]

ADHD? Oh, yeah.  I get distracted easily. Especially when going through old pictures.  I was that kid who could never complete cleaning her room because I KEPT FINDING THE COOLEST STUFF IN THERE. Sorry for yelling, but you have no idea just how cool some of your own stuff can be. Especially when you’re supposed to be cleaning.

There’s just so much to see in here.

There’s proof that my dad once had a mustache

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There are good times

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adventure

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Bivouac

garage bands

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and precious memories

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What am I going to do with all these pictures? I’m really not sure yet.  For starters, I’ve got to get them scanned in quickly because they are starting to fade, and some are falling apart.  Also, storage space is becoming a problem; my husband has accused me of being a photo-hoarder, and he’s not entirely wrong.

But once they’re scanned in, what next?  I’m going to upload them to our family Flickr page, and hopefully family members will help with tagging names, dates, and locations, and then at least we will have the photographs in one central location that is accessible to everyone. After that? Well, that’s a few years out yet. I’m telling you, it’s a lot of photos. They have their own closet in our home.

So, now it’s time to get back to work. I’ve got some skeletons to dig out of my family’s closet

Mom & Aunt Anita at Our Point of View

Who she saw

Who she saw

She saw a woman with kind eyes and a big smile who was happy to play peek-a-boo with her.

I saw a homeless woman with brown teeth grinning at my little girl.

*Stranger Danger* [Insert helicopter-mom posture here]

Seriously, what was I afraid of?  Their exchange was completely innocent, and grounded in sharing joy. There was a full table width between them. Why the fear? Why did all my red flags go up? Am I really that shallow?

When we talk about listening to our gut, how do we know the difference between intuition and prejudice? Bigotry can feel a lot like instinct.

I consider her again as my daughter continues to play peek-a-boo and talk to her. She’s warming her hands around a cup of tea in a Pioneer Square coffee shop. Her clothes were tattered, but appeared clean. The coat had seen better days, as had her shoes. The clothes in the bags around her feet were faded, but neatly folded…

Oh, good grief. Really, Judy? Is that the best you can do?

I had to look back a couple times before I saw not what, but whom my daughter saw: A woman with kind eyes and a big smile who was happy to play peek-a-boo with my little girl.

I’ve got a lot of learning to do.

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In Living Pink 2011 – Young Survival Coalition

In Living Pink 2011 – Young Survival Coalition

It sounds cliche to say that women who have faced down a life-threatening diagnosis really know how to embrace life. It is cliche. It’s not even always true. But my girls? My friends? They know how to party.

Suzanne Wastier - Young Survival Coalition

 

Friday night we celebrated and raised money for the Young Survival Coalition with our annual silent auction and dance party, In Living Pink.

The silent auction was wildly successful, and boasted donated items such as massage certificates, white water rafting, sight seeing cruises and flights, art, event tickets, A NYC package including Letterman tickets, Seahawks gear – autographed by players, jewelry, restaurants, vacation packages, and too much more to list.

Silent auction - Young Survival Coalition

So what does all this money we’re raising go to? Here’s a few examples:

  • $25 pays for a resource kit for young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. This resource kit includes an organizer for tracking the onslaught of information that must be managed through treatment, an encouraging and helpful DVD “you are not alone,” a guide to services available to young women with cancer, and a chemo-hat – hand-knit by the mother of one of our members.
  • $50 pays for flowers for one of our girls in the hospital, or going through a rough patch
  • $125 pays for facility rental so we can bring in educational guest speakers on a wide variety of issues such as nutrition, dealing with the effects of treatment on sexuality, and post-treatment breast reconstruction.
  • $200 pays for the facility rental and therapist facilitator for twice monthly group therapy sessions.
  • $300 will send one of our members to our annual retreat at Harmony Hill
This is more than just a dance party, this event raises money that makes a difference.
But we do know how to have fun…
Nicole Taylor - Young Survival Coalition

 

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The guys, too…

YSC Seattle Young Survival Coalition

Hey, look, it’s me. (One of the best parts of having a 2 year old little girl: Gem declared me to be a “mermaid princess” before I left the house #mamaswoon)

Carrie Sieber Massey, Judy Schwartz Haley, Barb Greenlee

Thank you to everyone who contributed so much to this event, from the planning committee to the volunteers who put in so many hours the night of the party.

in living pink

The decorations looked amazing, Brooke from Movin’ 92.5 kept the party hoppin’, and Miss Shelrawka rocked the house.

Brooke Fox at In Living Pink, Young Survival Coalition

Thank you so much. I puffy heart love all of you.

 

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You can learn more about my cancer story here:

my cancer story | Judy Schwartz Haley

 

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Harmony Hill

I’ve spent the past two days working on a couple projects that have had me knee deep in photographs from the Young Survival Coalition. That’s had me a little emotional, to say the least: memories, faces, friends…

One of those projects a presentation on our getaway to the Harmony Hill Cancer Retreat Center. I’ve just got to share a few of these photos.

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There’s just something about the ability to get away from it all, and bond with the girls –

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girls who have been through what I’ve been through…

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at my age, rather than me being the youngest by 30 years…

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Who knew getting our craft on would be so cathartic?

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or so much fun

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We noshed on homegrown vegetarian fare

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Wined a bit

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Practiced a little yoga

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enjoyed the scenery

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and got a little clarity.

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The words on the back of our jackets:

“When it hurts
to look back,
And you’re scared
to look ahead,
Look beside you…
your friends
will be there.”

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You can learn more about my cancer story here:

my cancer story | Judy Schwartz Haley

 

Let’s Connect

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