Desert Magnolia

I spent a significant amount of the last 20+ years driving people around. Kids to events, practices, meets, etc., and often this driving turned into trips, or very very long driving stints to out-of-town tournaments and cross country meets. Granted, some of the best conversations I had with my kids, during their teen years in particular, I had in the car on the way to somewhere. When baby girl got her drivers license, this all changed. Which was good! I worried about her being out there and I worried about other dumb drivers and I worried about her propensity for texting and I worried a lot. But I wasn't driving when I was worrying. Fast forward 2.5 years. After a relatively quiescent period for schlepping, and much smaller gasoline tabs, to boot, I find myself on ground support duty for my husband and his buddies. Who hike every Saturday. Every Saturday. Usually I'm on pickup, so when they pop out onto a trailhead after a hard day's hiking I'm there...and all ...

This year has been one for the record books in terms of sequential over 90 degree days for us. It's been brutal. And it persists. Today we're supposed to hit 96....again. There's a possibility but not a probability of afternoon thunderstorms.  Let's cross our fingers for those-they're much needed respite and rare indeed. Grandma Gin is now in a rehab facility in which she'll remain for a week or so. They're going to work with her so she's stable on her feet and confident in her ability to move about and generally as self-sufficient as possible given that she's not been completely stable on her feet for years and that she's 91. They seem very competent, positive, warm, and I'm guessing they're demanding, too, which is a very good thing when it comes to empowering surgical patients. More family arrives beginning tomorrow, which will be good for her and also let the hometown gang of myself, my aunt and my cousin get a little bit of a bre...

G.G.'s avid about hiking, has been for years, and has recently stepped up the whole effort by going every weekend for pretty much the entire summer. The only time he hasn't gone was when he and the Daughter were on the great national park tour and soccer tournament of 2011, and they hiked then, too. Did I mention that G.G. is a coach? And is all about encouraging others to enjoy what he enjoys? And he's pretty much relentless when he decides his cause is worth sharing? Are you figuring out where this is going yet? He recruited me. Me, the trail walker/jogger/part time yogi/stair walker wife. How did he do this? Boots, of course. He bought me boots. My old ones were fine, but heavy, and old, and mostly weren't the more modern form fitted design that bodes well for funky rocky surfaces and such. New Boots that GG bought me so I'd join his hiking club. But the lite version of the club, not the 21 miles along the Crest trail club. Because when you'...

Actually, I'm ground crew for G.G. and his buddies, who have decided to spend nearly every Saturday this summer hiking. I'm on the pickup end, usually. And can I just say, some weeks are better than others. Hiking at our elevation (7,000 feet at the base of the mountain; 10,600 feet at the top) presents its own challenges, most of which the guys, who have been doing this a long time, have overcome. But sometimes one of them is dealing with an issue that surprises and annoys. Like a blister from new boots, addressed by (but not remedied-that takes a week or so) slipping on the old boots. Or like mild food poisoning that strikes about midway up a particularly steep portion of the hike and causes no end of angst, weakness, leaden legs, light headedness, and general malaise while it's running its course. Sometimes the challenges are simply about lifestyle choices made up to that point, like choosing to consume generous amounts of (fill in the blank) pizza, beer, cookies...