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Posts tagged ‘autobiography’

Aug 2

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Crabbing With Dad

I spent last week at my parent’s river house, and it was just the vacation I needed!

While I was there, I got to go crabbing with my dad, who started out by crabbing off of his dock.  What I learned from that is there are crabs right there at the dock.  Well, I wasn’t planning on swimming in that water anyway!  At some point, he started placing his pots out in the river, but last week was the first opportunity I had to see them.

We went out twice a day to work the crab pots, and something interesting happened every time.  I saw a school of fish jumping out of the water, this way and that, trying to evade the hungry jaws of some bigger fish.  I saw large male crabs cradling little females (doublers), protecting them at molting time and securing mating rights.  I saw plenty of jellyfish, birds dive-bombing for their dinner, and a crab swimming on the surface of waters that were forty feet deep.

My dad is just a natural teacher, so he pretty much talks you through whatever he’s doing.  Crabbing technique, boating lessons, history, crab anatomy, bay ecology…there’s plenty to teach about, out there on the water.  I learned some things, too.  I learned that driving a boat is way different from driving a car.  For one thing, when you turn a car off, it usually stops moving.  I learned that eels are really slimy.  And they can get out of that bucket if they really want to.  I learned that dead jellyfish can still sting you, that lighthouses out in the middle of the bay don’t have indoor plumbing, and if your eyes tell you those waves look rough, then they are.  Only more so.

Some things I already knew; I just needed reminding.  Like what a joy it is to spend quality time with your family.  Family and friendship are blessings that not every one of us has.  It doesn’t do to take them for granted.

♥

I made a little video of my dad working his crab pots.  Vegetarians, beware: the crabs in this video all got cooked!

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♦

Items of Interest:

Weekends at The Rivah

River Vacation

Blue Crabs – Fish Facts

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Jul 4

15 Comments

Six Month Resolution Review

Most of my focus in June was on getting items cleared out of my house and packed up for the yard sale (July 21st!).  I didn’t put as much concentrated effort into the other resolutions, just a tweak here and there.  I was able to get some blog work done, though, so that feels good.

In reviewing where I am six months into my resolutions, I’ve come to a decision to drop three of them: one because it was accomplished, one that is not entirely necessary, and one that’s too big and vague to effectively take on right now.  I’m making big progress on the house, a little progress with my budget, and breaking even in other areas.

I’d say this first six months has been a really great learning experience for me, if sometimes frustrating.  But there is a reason why there are so many quotes about the usefulness of failure, and how learning from those failures leads you to success.  I feel as though I’ve failed more than I’ve succeeded, but I’m trying to learn about myself in the process.  And I’m trying to teach myself not to be upset about my failures, but to keep in mind that this is a long-term venture.  I am changing habits, and that doesn’t happen overnight.  I’ll be lucky if I get some of these new habits accomplished in a year.  Until then, I’ll just keep plugging along.

Here’s how I did in June.

♦

May 11

7 Comments

In which, I tell you that I totally tanked my April resolutions.

‘Nuff said?

No?  Well, double darn.

So, things were going pretty well in March, particularly on the big two: budget and nutrition.  And then… continue reading…

May 3

8 Comments

Lather. Rinse. Do Not Repeat.

I came across yesterday’s journal entry just the day before, and of course I had forgotten all about writing it.   And yet, don’t many of the words seem very familiar?  I wrote it nearly a year and a half ago (long before the idea of blogging ever crossed my mind), and lo and behold, it’s one of my resolutions this year.  Following through on my good intentions, on the internal prompts I get to reach out to people, falls under the Being Nice category, that resolution of ill-defined proportions.

As I look through my old journals and pick out pieces from this year or that, I see how consistent I am in my thought processes, my opinions, my desires, and in the things that I want to change about myself.  Perhaps the biggest consistency of all is that I don’t change.  I don’t believe that’s unique to me; I think it’s simply a characteristic of humanity.

To begin with, we don’t always recognize the possibility (probability?) that we need to change.  It’s so easy to criticize other people and so hard to see undesirable characteristics in ourselves.  And when we do recognize the uglier parts of ourselves – the thoughts or actions that repeatedly cause us heartache, discomfort or just minor irritation – they are quickly forgotten.  We behave in ways that we don’t like and we suffer the emotional backlash (hurt, anger, sadness, distress), but life keeps moving forward and we are soon emotionally and mentally past the upset.

Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.

I’ve long understood that I am who I am, and without putting diligent, targeted effort into changing things about myself, I will continually repeat the same patterns over and over.  This is clearly evident in my journals: write about it; forget about it; write about it again a year later, using much of the same vocabulary, phrasing, tone and emotion.

One of the things that blogging has afforded me is public accountability.  We are, as bloggers, publicizing our thoughts and opinions, our feelings and experiences.  And this year, since I started blogging, has become quite a bit about facilitating change within myself, moving forward in a positive direction.  Posting about it – knowing I will post about it, victory or loss – has helped keep me motivated to trudge on.  I feel as if I’ve stepped off the treadmill and my feet are on the ground for the first time.  And I may actually get somewhere.

I don’t expect that to be the last journal entry in which I chastise myself for not listening to that still small voice, for not reaching out to others, for not walking my faith.  But I hope it’s the beginning of the end.

♦

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