Win of a Trip (July 2022)

Posted on August 8, 2022 by chivarnado

Are you coming from or going on a trip? Either way it can be viewed from a positive lens. During the preparations for an adventure, we look forward to it with anticipation. Our minds conjure up what it might be like and how much fun it could be. We imagine and plan for activities in new settings, our thoughts running wild. This anticipation can certainly bring us joy.

And then it’s time to embark! Fresh sights to see, new things to do, local cuisines to savor… fill our days with vivid experiences. We explore unique areas with a sense of wonder, perhaps gaining new insights to old issues. Hopefully our travels go smoothly, but, if not, we can at least view them not so negatively if things somehow turn out all right in the end. Fantastic, or not so great, we add them to our memory banks.

Coming home can be just as wonderful. No matter how fabulous the trip has been, I always feel grateful getting home. And this feeling can last a good long while. Even weeks later it can still hit me: There’s no place like home and no place I’d rather live.

In early June a friend and I took a vacation together up to the western Sierras. We hiked beautiful new trails, drove through stunning national parks, had meaningful conversations, and checked out a local health food store. We had a great time, and yet I was still happy to get home and appreciated it much more than if I hadn’t gone at all. Our adventure truly was a win/win/win.

It seems to me now, as it does from time to time, how each of us is a slightly different person depending on who we are with. I would not have been the same if I’d traveled with my husband, or my sister, or my kids or grandchildren. Each relationship is unique and I try to be my best authentic self in each of these roles. But, being human, I can only give it my best shot.

Even if we could be exactly the same self to every person, they would not perceive us the same as anyone else does. Their personality changes slightly with different individuals as well. Each of us has varying experiences as well as different ways of experiencing things. We can’t always predict how things are going to go.

As I travel through life and go through new adventures (both inner and outer) I can gain new perspectives while continuing to renew my spirit. Maintaining a freshness of appreciation is definitely worth the effort. The journey forward, however, is seldom linear. It’s usually circular. What goes around comes around, you know? The best I can hope for is that by the time each thing comes back around again I’ll be better able to handle it. Or embrace and revel in it—appreciating what really is.

So, whether we’re coming or going, may each of us remember how special life is and, if nothing else, we can at least rack it up to experience. Happy travels!

Chi Varnado has four recently published books. The Old House in the Country, women’s fiction; and three YA novels in The Dance Centre Presents series. Her memoir, A CANYON TRILOGY: Life Before, During and After the Cedar Fire, and her children’s book, The Tale of Broken Tail, are also available on www.amazon.com. Her collection of essays, Quail Mutterings, can be found on www.chivarnado.com or www.dancecentrepresents.com. You can follow her on Instagram or on www.Facebook.com/dancecentrepresents.

QUAIL MUTTERINGS #69. Aah, The Country Life (May 2022)

Posted on June 28, 2022 by chivarnado

The buttermilk sky overhead brings to me a sense of calm and contentment. Ever since my mom showed me one, so many decades ago, I’ve probably pointed them out far too many times, making my children’s eyes roll. But the subdued lighting and faint cooling that it brings somehow also reminds me of my summers spent in the deep south of Mississippi. Of course, it’s much more humid there.

After enduring the last few days of an intense May heatwave, today is a welcome change. For three days straight I’ve powered out in the hot sun, finally sorting through the pile of stuff which has sat under a tarp for over three years. I’ve taken each item out to stare at, assess, decide whether it’s trash, recycling, donation, give to someone, or keep and clean it up. The task is not completely finished, but the end is well in sight and that feels really good. And last night’s lovely moon, looming large over the canyon wall, brought tears to my eyes.

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This morning, my dog and I took a wander up the canyon. Not a hike or power walk, just more of a meditative leisurely stroll. The bright yellows of the yarrow and deerweed combined with the purples of the nightshade and penstemon made me smile. They helped remind me that, in spite of all there is to do, life itself is worth taking time for. Sometimes—to just be, breathe, and smile. At least for a little while, until the call of chores grows too loud to ignore.

Wednesday was the last park day for my daughter, three-year-old granddaughter, and me while the older two kids are in school. We’ve had a great time swinging, riding the teeter totter, and picnicking. I’ll miss this even though we plan to get back to it in the fall when school starts again. Traditions and rituals, a lot of us look forward to them. As summer approaches new things appear on the horizon. A road trip to the Sierras with a friend, a wedding in Washington, family potlucks and celebrations… I’m looking forward to it all. Carpe diem!

A few days later, we were treated to the spectacular lunar eclipse accompanied with a blood moon. It felt like a special treat (eye candy) as I wandered around the canyon that night enjoying the eerie, mystical light. Somehow, even as many of us were witnessing the same event, we each had our own vantage point with our own perceptions—no two alike. This reminded me that everything actually is that way and it’s probably a good idea to keep this in mind.

A Red-shouldered hawk circles above, piercing the air with its call. The ground squirrel climbs up the prickly pear cactus and gnaws through the tough fibers. Lizards clammer over rocks and pause to perform their pushups while various bird species serenade from the branches, each in their native tongue. The butterflies flit from flower to flower as the drone of bees filters through to my ears… Each carries on with its own unique perspective.

Aah, the country life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

QUAIL MUTTERINGS #68. Out With The Old, In With The New? (April 2022)

Posted on April 18, 2022 by chivarnado

Out with the old, in with the new? Uh, not so fast—at least not with everything. Even though our old Model A truck had gone through the Cedar Fire, my dad insisted that he was going to get it running again. I had serious doubts about that. I just wanted to use it as a planter for a bed of beautiful flowers. But I rounded up a couple of friends to help him move it further up the canyon where he wanted it—where over the years it rusted and fell apart even more than it was. He never did get around to fixing it.
Almost two decades later, I paid some guys with a trailer to bring it back down here to its next resting place: as yard art—backed into the bushes down by the gate. This whole process feels similar to our own aging. If we’re lucky to live long enough, we, ourselves, must make choices about how we adapt to our changing circumstances. Some resign to the recliner and take an increasing number of pharmaceutical drugs; a few push forward while attempting to exercise more than what might be good for them; others continuously adjust to their unpredictable situations and try to make do… I sometimes wonder how much fight is actually good for us.

I suppose I’m a little like the old Model A truck, repurposing myself as I go along—but probably still working too hard. Members of our generation may indeed be fading, but I do think we still have ideas to contribute as our younger brothers and sisters take over. They’ve grown up in the age of technology and can probably assess some things better than us. We can offer advice, stemming from simply living more years than them, as long as it doesn’t come with the outdated notion: Well, it’s always been done that way, therefore it’s tried and true.

But, as with our evolving physical bodies, the world must also address continuous change. Everything effects everything. For every action there is a reaction whether or not we can see it with our own eyes or experience it in our own lifetimes. Overpopulation, pollution, rising sea levels… Some of our current practices are not sustainable in the long run.

I personally love a lot of the old things like Model A’s, World War II airplanes (they fascinate me), antiques, horse and buggy stuff… But each of these things has had to take a back seat to new developments which ease burdens as the population grows. And sadly, I believe the era of each and every one of us owning our own car and going wherever we want to go, whenever we want to go, isn’t going to work forever. Rising gas prices curb some of this naturally. Yes, our cars are still necessary, but perhaps we should each start looking toward practices that can help solve some of our current problems, yet not add more toxic fallout to our future. Let’s try to be forward thinking about this.

My family has lived in San Diego County for seven generations and I’m a native Ramonan. I was here when the first stop light came to town, the first chain restaurant, the change from cement to asphalt roads, the widening and rewidening of the highway… It’s this last item that does not sit right with me—for the sake of our community or the environment.

Folks want to go faster and faster and get impatient and rude when they can’t. It’s no wonder so many accidents happen on that road. Perhaps the time has come to address the issue with forward thinking. Much of the rest of the developed world is light years ahead of us on this. Instead of widening the highway again and again, run a light rail line down the center (or along the side) that connects to other communities. We could still choose to drive our beloved cars on days we need to, but the transit system could serve us well.

Yes, this would be expensive, but everything costs a lot. Instead of putting a bigger and bigger bandage on this growing problem, let’s take care of the larger issue and move forward. Anything new takes time to adjust to. Can’t we at least start now?