I feel like I jumped the shark with that swimsuit photo. It is challenging to deal with this post-mastectomy body. I got carried away after I found a flattering swimsuit and wanted to show off a little. Still, it seems a bit too showy.
Oh, well. I guess there are worse things. I spent decades feeling bad about my body, so what the hell?
I just returned from a visit with my sister, whom I haven’t seen since before the pandemic. She lives in Eureka. The drive is about five and a half hours, but for some reason, we can’t seem to pull it off very often. We’re both super-cautious about Covid, so that’s part of it. The day before I left, we both did home Covid tests, and both were negative.
We had a great time, mostly just visiting and watching movies. I was only there for three nights, but it was movie marathon. I don’t think any of them will win the critic’s award, but we enjoyed ourselves. Let’s see if I can remember:
- Jungle Cruise (our favorite ride from Disneyland)
- The Lost City (because old ladies deserve to look at Channing Tatum)
- The Proposal (because we were on a Sandra Bullock kick)
- Office Space (because we’re retired)
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Rocketman
- The Mountain Between Us (Kate Winslet)
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Persuasion
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (Emma Thompson bares it all)
I may have missed one or two! It was definitely chick flick central, and I have no remorse. I’m just glad Dale didn’t tag along, as he we would have been miserable.
We also visited the local zoo. While not large, it is an exceptionally nice zoo. My favorite part was seeing two bald eagles up close. Amazing!! My other favorite part is a new feature called the Redwood Sky Walk. You can walk on a series of bridges through the redwood canopy. Very beautiful and accessible for people who use wheelchairs.
Eureka is chilly by my standards. I was bundled up, and my sister walked around like it was summer. We are very different, yet we have a lot in common, and of course, we share the experience of being raised by wolves. As children, it was difficult, but as adults, we can look back and laugh. It’s amazing we’re walking upright.
Back at home, the heat has turned extreme. I played golf yesterday, and I can definitely feel it today. I was lying on the couch, got up too fast and almost passed out. Today is all about getting hydrated. Then a swim later this afternoon.
This visit was relatively low-risk, and the rewards were immeasurable. Being able to drive there is a huge plus. We have tickets to fly to Maine in August to visit Dale’s sisters, but the jury is still out on that one. Anticipating Covid eruptions, we bought refundable tickets.
I spent a lot of time planning the itinerary, which airports to go through, etc. The flights have already been changed twice, and now we’re going through Kennedy one way and LaGuardia the other. Exactly where I didn’t want to be in terms of Covid risk, although I’m not sure it makes much of a difference. I would guess most airports are risky.
The whole thing scares me, and I’m probably not going to go. I told Dale I would make my decision this week.
After 43 years, it’s still hard to pry anything out of him, so I don’t know what he’s going to do. He and his sister are close, so I believe he’ll go no matter what. I think I just have to do my risk/reward assessment and figure out what feels right for me at this point. Are you traveling? How do you decide?
I hate that it has come to this, but there you have it. Reality bites. But small wins – a visit with my sister – make up for the other indignities of our times.
Speaking of indignities, I’m eager to see the primetime Jan. 6 hearing this Thursday. I mean, it’s not exactly Channing Tatum, but it will do.
I just wanted to say that I thought it was very cool and courageous that you posted the photo of yourself in a swimsuit. And I think you looked great! It’s too bad that almost all of us feel so ashamed of our bodies. When you think of how they do everything for us, we should be really proud of them and yet we aren’t. So I think you’ve done a public service! So glad you had a nice time with your sister also.
Thank you so much. It is absolutely too bad we are so ashamed of our bodies after all they do for us. I like how you expressed that!
I thought you looked terrific ! Trim, slim, smiling and showing off your healthy figure! And I am a guy!
Keep traveling, playing golf, swimming, etcetcetc.
Drink better wine, eat better food, drive a nicer car! Celebrate!!
You are alive! You made it and expect to keep moving.
You WON! You go girl! You are a hero and you deserve it all!
This might be my favorite comment EVER. I love your life philosophy. Sometimes I forget I won. Thank you for reminding me!
I’m glad you posted your swimsuit shopping experience and photo. I had two mastectomies six years apart no reconstruction and a short round body. I have one falling apart big box suit with no built in bra- yay and one from a specialty shop that takes swim forms – eh. You’ve inspired me to brave the fitting rooms.
I’m so happy to have helped inspire you, and now I’m glad I posted the picture. Thank you. And good luck in the fitting rooms. It’s tough out there.
Lovely bathing suit photo! I love that women of our certain age still are out there living it up!!YAY!!
Travel:I took a short plane trip to San Diego a few months back right after the mask mandate was lifted and it was scary. CROWDED airport! NO MASKS! None on the plane either, but I wore mine.Once I got to the beach I was in BLISS..after a two year hiatus..
But coming back home was the same..AIRPORTS ARE AWFUL!
I am not inclined to want to do air travel any time soon.
I am in Arizona and there are lots of places we can DRIVE. (Including San Diego.)
I didn’t have a lot of wanderlust before Covid and have even less now. Truth is,we traveled a lot in our working days— we treated ourselves to vacations, mostly tropical as we are divers.. we had a business and could take off on our own schedule.. and so we did..
Now..my own backyard swimming pool and some Trader Joe appetizers feel pretty much like a vacay!
I’m with you on the travel. The only reason we are even considering the flight is to see his sisters. It’s hard when we live at opposite ends of the country. For the most part, I’m pretty happy at home. Like you, we traveled a lot in our working days. We were divers, too!
I’m really embarrassed to admit this, but after two years of being extremely cautious about covid, we are no longer wearing masks anywhere. We are on vacation now and didn’t even wear them in the airport. Almost nobody has them on here in So Cal. It’s like there is a mass weariness and death doesn’t look so bad compared to the utter weariness of the last two years. Obviously, I’m joking, but seriously, very few people have them on. I tried to reinstate but my husband just wouldn’t. We know it isn’t over, but we are acting like it is and we’re in our seventies. Although we have been hand sanitizing. And we have been going to restaurants for over a year.
I admire your fortitude, and I’m glad you’re able to travel without the stress of this beast. I think my husband is more where you are, but I just can’t get there. I’m having a pretty good time in spite of it all.
Let me alleviate your flying concerns if I can.
In May we flew LAX to Istanbul returning from Venice. All wore masks. That was before mandate was lifted.
Yesterday I flew Burbank to Sacramento and back same day for a meeting. The morning flight I chatted with a physician who is in the Newsom Cabinet as head of California Department of Veterans Affairs, yes he is a doctor. He lives here but spends Tuesday to Thursday each week in Sacramento so he flies a lot. Both he and I were masked up, only perhaps 20% of passengers were. I have had four shots which I suspect he has since he like many of us are in that older more compromised group.
My point is that while many continue to get the plague, it doesn’t seem to cause as much illness as it once did especially if you are boosted. Flying coast to coast is always a pain, especially in the summer which we try to avoid due to crowds. No judgmental thoughts of anyone avoiding crowds due to the plague, but I think that with smart personal protocols, travel is fine at the moment.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I appreciate the input. I totally get what you are saying, and then I add up the plague, coast-to-coast and peak season. It’s a hard sell. But I definitely think my husband is going, and he will probably have a better time without me stressing out over every maskless person.
Donna, like you both Himself & I are Covid cautious – or have been until the past few weeks. I took my mother to the US Embassy in London yesterday in connection with her relocation to the US, and only the visitors from the Far East were wearing masks – which is pretty much as it was pre-Covid. I did wonder how I’d feel if I was to bring it back into our home where we’ve managed to keep safe all this time, but we’ve made the decision together, so that makes it easier. I was ready before Himself, but we made the decision to go maskless together. I’m not sure about travelling on a plane – that I probably would break out my specialist high protection level mask for. Lots of people I know have caught it recently, and all have been away on holiday by either rail or plane.
I really am up for more adventure even in the face of Covid, but I’m also with you — not sure about traveling on a plane.
I have 5 friends who have gotten covid in the past 3 weeks.i was exposed to some of them so I had to have two periods of a 5 day wait,with testing.No Covid thankfully, in my house. Yes, those with covid had been traveling. I believe travel is keeping covid alive.. and mutating. I know we are ALL so weary of this..but I do believe airports and planes and mingling with people who are not wearing masks and are form ALLOVER the USA AND other countries, is kinda like a RECIPE for more covid!
We did do a weekend getaway to a local resort in the mountains here.It’s a large historic hotel with big open spaces and we never came too close to other people.. I guess we all have to measure and weigh what we do but air travel still scares me somewhat,too… and we are NOT boosted..so lots of places won’t “take us”- the original shots are now considered expired, so boosters are REQUIRED for many travel destinations.
When we are able to start traveling again I think it will be local,mostly.. small mining towns ,Sedona, airbnbs. Where we can drive.
The whole thing is so depressing. I’ve decided not to go, but my husband is still planning to fly. Fortunately, his sister was so understanding. I’m with you on the road trip destinations. Much easier to manage.