Bit by bit…..noticing the small changes

Last year we purchased an inflatable hot tub. Oh boy! It was an immense pleasure to once again ease into the hot water and feel it work on my aches and pains. In West Virginia we built a screened room around a 6-person hot tub and it became a nightly routine for us to sit and chat about the day and coming things to do and other odds and ends. Some days we were just silent. What a soothing part of the bedtime routine.

The inflatable was a great option since we are renting here and it will be easier to move if and when we do. However, it does not have the power to keep the temperature as constant as the conventional hot tub. It  has a four degree variance with 104 at the top end. 104  is a bit hotter than I like…but easing in slowly gets the body acclimated and then the warmth goes deeply into the joints. Ahhh. But 10 minutes is about all I can take at that heat.

On the other end, 100 is almost too chill. Easy in but it just does seem to help the aches as well and we end up staying about 10 minutes because it is not warm enough, particularly now in winter.

I like 103. A bit slow to get in but not as slowly as 104 and pretty equivalent deep comfort. Ahhhhh and I can relax for 15-20 minutes. Sweet comfort zone for me. 

Last night I got the idea that this might be an understandable metaphor about how the rise in sea water temperature is causing all kinds of issues with the climate. Graham, being a scientist, felt it was too superficial a presentation. He wanted me to delve into the facts.  I think the climate change deniers don’t consider the facts and never will consider the facts. But they might consider the FEELINGS.

Perhaps you don’t have a hot tub and know your ideal temperature but most people know how they feel with the outdoor temperature. 70 degrees is a point of comfort for many except people in Florida who think it is still cool. People in the UK go to the beach at 65 but I feel better about swimming when the air temp is closer to 80.

We each have a point where it feels right. Above or below that temperature, our tolerance is tested.
So, too are all the life systems affected by the rise in sea water temperature.  I’ll leave it there. Just please think about it.  If that premise is one you can accept, you might be willing to look a bit deeper into the issue. Please be willing to consider scientific facts and join the millions of people who are trying to make small changes in their life that can help our planet sustain us.

 

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Noticing, and Adjusting, to Differences

We’ve been blessed with a wonderful reception here in Oregon.  When we moved here the end of the summer we started building a circle of friends who have introduced us to places that would enrich our lives, taught us skills that enable us to enjoy the bounty that Oregon provides, and welcomed us into their homes.

As we headed west, we carried with us so much of our years in West Virginia.  The people and places there continue to be well loved and we are so very thankful for the contacts on Facebook who help us remain connected.

Making a move like ours need not be 3000 miles to have similar feelings. Whether someone moves across town, across the state, across the country, or even to another nation each of us carry some sense of what makes us feel comfortable. It is when those comfort zones are rediscovered in the new location that a sense of building new roots can start. Likewise, if it takes a while to replace what is missed, it takes longer, unless a decision is made that not all places need be alike.

I once had the wonderful opportunity to work in Europe for 6 months. While I had never had Germany on my personal bucket list of places to visit, I never turned down travel where expenses were covered by someone else. I looked forward to what I could learn while being vigilant because of my heritage and understanding the history of the place.  It was a wonderful time and I learned a lot.

But one of my travelling companions for the job, I’ll call him Bubba, had a very different experience. During our first evening ordering dinner in a restaurant he was impatient, used to the way restaurants provide pretty quick service here in the United States.   The drink orders came fairly quickly, but he was dismayed to find out that the beer was served at room temperature, not ice cold. I pointed out that the glass was about a liter of beer and would have been room temp anyway by the time he got through with it. But that was the least of the issue that evening. After we put in our food orders we waited about an hour before the first dish was presented. It was mine, and as we are used to all plates appearing together here, I waited.  After ten minutes I told my companions I was going to eat while it was warm.

Bubba then pounded the table, hollering “schnell!”, the only word of German he knew and the source of that had been from the tv show, Hogans Heroes. Of course, the service on our meal slowed down, as the Ugly American had to be taught a lesson.  But Bubba learned, instead, that he would not tolerate this cultural difference, and for most of the three months that he was there, he ate at the local McDonald’s. He went home for Christmas and refused to return to German to finish the work. He would not tolerate anything different from “home” and so lost a wonderful opportunity to enhance his life experience.

With the homogenization of American culture I knew so much of what I was used to would be found here in Oregon. Living in West Virginia prepared me for living in a small town in a rural area in many ways. Although McMinnville has almost everything I need, If I now need to drive a bit (here, maybe 20 minutes) to get to a more densely populated area where more shops are available, I have learned to tolerate that.  We just plan those kinds of trips because driving into the suburbs of Portland means more traffic and I am loving living in a small town surrounded by farmland.

Basically, it comes down to a choice on how each of us faces life. Do we stay in the nest we grew up in because it is too scary to fly away? Is the concept that this home nest is the best place in the world based on actually evaluation of other places? Or is exploration something that can provide exciting stimulation and help build a sense of flexibility while building a new