Today is Monday, January 29, 2024
National Puzzle Day
On this day in history…
1936- Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb were among the first players to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Good News
What better way to start the week than with a bit of good news? Enjoy this recent news story found on the Good News Network.
Spotlight Photo
A brilliant view of sunset from the balcony, something Rachel rarely has the privilege to see due to a unique sleep schedule.
Quote of the Week
“I’m not alone! I’m with myself. And myself is fabulous.”
– Eva Longoria
Happily Ever After
https://www.everafterphotographypnw.com/
Ever After Photography PNW is owned and operated by photographer extraordinaire, Mira Nachtigall. Mira specializes in birth, maternity, and newborn photography. She shares her art each week to help beautify the My Monday Memo. Mira and Rachel’s friendship spans back to 2007 in Las Vegas. They now reside very close in Washington.
A Few Good Facts
This section is an add-on from Britannica.com. Each day there is a new fun fact on their All Good Facts section. These are a few Rachel found interesting.
Running for an hour, a gas-powered lawn mower produces about the same emissions as 11 new cars combined.
In the 1980s American Airlines executive Robert L. Crandall is credited with saving the company $40,000 a year by removing a single olive from each of the salads in first class.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2021 report, logging workers have the deadliest job. Rounding out the top three are fishing/hunting workers and roofers.
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
38 Weeks Old
A letter from Beli to Brady…
Dear Brady-
First of all, why do you insist on getting up on that counter? Mom clearly gets upset when you put your dusty kitty litter paws on the kitchen counter and stove. When you do this, she is much less inclined to give us treats. I miss out because she feels guilty only giving one of us treats. Stop jumping up on the dang counters. She’s tired of cleaning them.
Secondly, you sit there like a king while I sit below you just waiting for you to come down. Don’t you realize this hurts my feelings? It’s like you are throwing it in my face that I can’t jump like you. Mom is happy that I can’t, but she feels bad for me when she sees me sitting there envying your abilities.
Thirdly, how am I supposed to cuddle up with you when you continue to sit in places that I can’t join you? Fine, I will just keep sitting on mom’s lap so that she thinks of me as the sweet one.
Much love, Beli
24 for 2024 Happier Project Update
As the first month of the year comes to a close, Rachel celebrates a few items she has been able to mark off her 24 for 2024 Happier Project list. She has started to learn origami and is now learning to knit. She looks forward to continuing to work on both and enjoys new skills. She also knocked roller skating off the list in January. More on that in the Story of the Week.
Origami got off to a rough start when Rachel couldn’t seem to figure out what the instructions were telling her to do. With a little bit of help from YouTube videos, she was able to make sense of things, for the most part. The journey will continue as she ventures into more difficult projects.
Knitting Day 1–
Rachel and Mira met at a coffee shop with the goal of Rachel learning the basics of knitting from Mira. They spent two hours and Rachel was able to catch on, for the most part. And then…
Knitting Day 2-
Rachel was excited to practice at home but didn’t have Mira watching over her shoulder with tips and tricks, which led to too many difficulties with the fluffy pink yard she had selected for her first scarf. She gave up and switched to a different yarn, less fluffy, and thank goodness she did, as her confidence was regained. Let the scarf begin.
Knitting Day 3 & Beyond-
Knitting isn’t easy for Rachel. Frisky kittens like string, which is the least of her struggles. Her hands get tired quickly. Maybe too many years on the keyboard? Who knew that hand discomfort would be such a challenge? She had made a bit of progress with her scarf as of day six but decided to switch things up and try out hand stitching and made her first chunky blanket. She loved hand stitching and loves the blanket even more. This could easily become an addiction. Loved ones beware… you may be receiving a chunky blanket in the future. Color preferences should be reported to Rachel quickly.
Word of the Day
Will you find it?
As a fun challenge each week, Rachel visits Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day when she sits down to write her weekly story. Whatever the word of that particular day happens to be, she must find a way to fit it into her story. Will you find it?
NE PLUS ULTRA
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day on Sunday, January 28, 2024
Meaning
Ne plus ultra refers to the highest point of development or success that something may achieve; it is a synonym of acme.
Story of the Week
Never Say Never
Pictured LT to RT: Skate School instructors Romera and CJ pictured with Rachel after class.
When Rachel created her 24 for 2024 Happier Project list, she knew some things would be difficult, fear based. Roller skating would be one of those things. With two major spine surgeries under her belt in the last decade and significant stability issues, she can’t afford to fall doing something trivial and have a setback.
To her recollection, the last time she laced up with a pair of roller skates was in her very early 20s, as in prior to becoming a mother. When she looked into local skating rinks, she found Skateworld Tacoma, located only two minutes from her apartment. Even better, she found they had skating lessons. Yes, please. The lesson was set for Saturday, January 27, 2024.
As she prepared to head to the rink, she was a bit nervous. Upon her arrival, her nervousness intensified. The rink was enormous. She sat down and laced up her skates, then stood up and froze. She found herself scared to move. There were a few minutes before the lesson was to begin, so she stood in this frozen state while she watched other attendees lace up in excitement. It should be made clear that of the roughly 20 attendees that day the majority were under the age of 10. No wonder they were excited, they fall all of the time and don’t really need to fear the results. There was one other adult, Annie, taking lessons on Saturday.
Instructors CJ and Romera made their way onto the rink and asked everyone to join them. Beginners to one side and advanced to the other. Rachel realized she now had to move, great. She slowly made her way, taking steps, into the rink and grabbed onto the short wall. Phew, she made it that far. She could not believe how unsteady and scared she felt. Annie, still younger than Rachel by likely two decades, ended up right next to Rachel. Throughout the lesson, they supported each other, and Rachel learned that she was a past ice skater, which gave her a leg up.
Immediately, kids were falling all over the place, and this was just as they were lining up along the wall to start the lesson. This did not make Rachel feel confident that she would be free from a fall. CJ and Romera started off the lesson with how to fall correctly. What? Is there a correct way to fall? Apparently, yes. They explained and demonstrated that if you begin to feel unsteady you should bend your knees and go into a deep squat that would put you so close to the ground you could easily place your bottom on the floor. “Now everybody try,” CJ announced.
Rachel, having completed a workout early that morning (plenty of lunges), went into the best squat she could, but her 50-year-old range of motion being a factor, she stopped short too high to gently place her bottom on the ground. As she and Annie both landed in this same position and everyone else was on the ground, CJ and Romera watched with patient smiles and provided encouragement. Annie finally succeeded and Rachel tried again with no luck. “I opt out of a safe fall,” she said with a smile.
CJ and Romera demonstrated again how to fall and safely get up once again and asked everyone to give it another go. Rachel did her best and was able to get down on the ground safely this time, and then return to a standing position without incident. CJ gave her a thumbs up in support. They would teach forward skating, bubble skating and how to stop by dragging the toe stopper.
Next up was skating forwards. CJ and Romera demonstrated placing their skates in a V-shape, heels together, and taking one step at a time but keeping the feet in the V-shape. They then asked everyone to leave the wall and skate across the width of the rink to the other side and back. The kids began to take off, as did Annie. Rachel was the last person to leave the wall. She carefully and slowly made her way across the rink. When she reached the other side, she felt winded. She checked her Garmin and was shocked to see her heartrate up to 110 bpm. She took a moment to calm herself and headed back. She would be the last to arrive back to the beginning but did so without a fall. Top layer shirt came off, as she was already sweating.
Then she realized that everyone was going back to the other side already. Wait, was this a practice going back and forth multiple times situation? Pass. Rachel was too scared to leave the wall again. The one time back and forth was enough, she was terrified of a fall. As everyone else went back and forth, she clung to the wall and skated back and forth along that wall. Parents of the participants were all seated nearby along the wall and would look up from their phones from time to time as she passed by. A couple of them even commented that they would be in the same position.
Next skill would be to skate forward making a bubble shape. Picture the V-shape to start, then skating outward and back in as to make a bubble. Okay, she would try. She made it a few feet from the wall and became paralyzed with fear of falling. She slowly turned around, headed back to the wall and continued to practice bubble skating along the wall.
CJ then brought the cones out and set a couple in the middle of the rink. He asked everyone to forward skate to the cones and come to a safe stop. Mid rink? Away from the wall? Nope. Rachel once again skated back and forth along the wall while practicing stops.
Eventually Rachel realized that she needed to leave the wall and try to make it to the other side. She practiced both types of skating movements and made it to the other side and back. Heart rate 144 bpm, not cool. She was so sweaty. Why didn’t she wear black? As she returned from that out and back journey, the parents along the wall applauded her for her efforts with a few claps and kind words. The back-and-forth effort would likely be the ne plus ultra of her skating abilities.
As the lesson concluded, CJ and Romera invited everyone to meet in the center of the rink and form a circle. Rachel went for it. The group all put their hands in and gave a loud cheer by saying “Skate School!” They were then given the opportunity to participate in free skating. Rachel headed right back to the wall and took a couple of laps around the rink, right up against that wall. She had made it this long without a fall and wasn’t going to risk it at the end.
Rachel was pleased by the supportiveness of everyone involved. CJ and Romera were patient and kind, giving encouragement throughout the lesson. The other attendees were also encouraging. Rachel even had several little kids give her encouragement during the lesson. Before leaving, Rachel told CJ how much she enjoyed the lesson and thanked both he and Romera for their help. She finished up by saying with a smile, “I will never do this again,” which gave CJ a good laugh.
Rachel felt very sure at that moment that she would never try roller skating again, but then after thinking on it, one should never say never, right? Maybe if she finds some sort of padding for her bum, she may feel safe to hit the rink again. All she knew was how happy she was to take off those skates and feel stability once again.
Maybe it would just be best to call it good and enjoy this experience for what it was, a fun time marking a goal from a list. Only time will tell. She couldn’t believe that she used to be an avid roller skater and was happy to have had the opportunity to try it out again as an adult. Until next time, be well.
