At first, I was thinking Hawaii…palm trees…tropical breezes…the sound of ocean waves…becoming one with nature…ahhh, lets delve into the soul. However, after several attempts to center myself, I quickly learned this was no book to immerse myself in with all the loud people, construction, sirens, traffic and helicopters. Out comes Erma and her travels to the suburbs instead. Yes, that is just what I needed, a humorous look at life and a giggle or two between the pages.

I’m not a person who can read amidst any noise, I get easily distracted. It truly has to be the right setting for the right book, otherwise I’m re-reading the same chapter over and over again. I realized all the banter between Bombeck’s family and the emergence of characters eager to sell her a house, insurance and a whole host of things that come with suburban living, was the perfect insanity to accompany my visit to Waikiki. In fact, at times it appeared that some people around me could have been the characters I was reading about.

When I was in Kona, I read Joseph Campbell’s, The Power of Myth from cover to cover, but that was easy amongst the tranquility we had found ourselves in. Waikiki was far from tranquil. It is the hub of action, which is fine, if that is what you are searching for on your trip. Adapting reading to the setting is just something I have to do. Others, (maybe even like yourself) may feel quite comfortable to pick up any book and begin the journey into the authors world; I’m envious of that. I’ve always wished I could just read without being like a dog that has just seen a squirrel. ‘Concentrate Jennifer, concentrate!‘ Our relationship with our books is personal and it is about carving out the right space, time and genre to capture our attention.

What type of books do you take on your vacation? Is there any change depending on the location of your travel?

All the clothes were geared to young mothers who must have children and partners with very deep pockets. With emerald and diamonds jewelery well over $1000, most perfumes were over $100 and even lingerie being a trendy gift for Mother; a little card, flowers or dinner appears to be passe.  “You know I have always loved lingerie but I wouldn’t be expecting that for mothers day!” my mother said.

Let me tell you what this really meant to my mother, as she ages she become less and less relevant. She lives in a world full of age discrimination, erased from the consciousness of advertisers except if they are peddling medications or leak proof under-garments.  The Bay, a Canadian institution bought out some years back by a U.S company, has changed like so many things in her life and it is frustrating. Beyond her realization that this promotion failed to consider mothers of all ages was her observation that most of the featured products did not make sense as gifts for this special day and I tend to agree.

Is this really what mothers expect to receive? or Is this just another opportunity to exploit a day of respect and persuade us all to show our love through Coach, Michael Kors and Prada. You can bet it was the latter! Persuasion and exploitation go hand in hand in the world of advertising. Lines like “the Golden Rule: Treat Her” next to diamonds and gold, “There’s no Present like the time”  for Fossil watches and “Objects of Affection” to describe earrings and pearls, do we need to guess who their target buyer really is? No pressure for any child or partner intended, of course.

One day, it will probably happen as it has with my mother. I will be sitting in my chair and it will dawn on me… I no longer exist. I will recall when I turned heads and wore heals that were bad for my feet but great for attention. I will have to be more savvy with my shopping in order to find the clothes that stylishly suit my age. I will be surfing the television channels to find shows that use language I can understand and some representation of a woman over the age of 60. I will be flipping through a magazine or flyer searching for “Every thing I love” and finding it really hard to even find one product, article or picture that speaks to me. I’m not looking forward to that reality.

My mother still wears heels and other not so grandmotherly looking things. Though, she would never want her kids to buy her any of those items, (preferring instead to receive a beautiful card) she wouldn’t have minded having The Bay, and others like them, remember that she’s a mother too.

The Candice Tells All show is in its second season and in between those new episodes I watch  repeats of past episodes.  I’m sure each of us can think of what we would love to do with our homes if we had the money, talent or a designer ready to take over the whole project. However, even with all those things intact it can still be overwhelming and time consuming. It is not easy to trust the vision of someone else but when you watch Candice with her clients you can tell they get her and she gets them. Fabulous show and for all the fans of her work let’s hope she continues to dazzle us with more shows in the future. 

” There are many types of ships. There are wooden ships, plastic ships and metal ships. But, the best and most important types of ships are friendships. “

I am one of the luckiest people I know – I have wonderful friends! How about you?

Would you say you were closest to your friends than family? Is your life partner your closest friend? Do you consider your sister, mother, father or brother your friend?

No matter who it is, we are all infinitely more happy and healthy if we cultivate and maintain friendships.

I can’t imagine my life without my friends; I truly think I would whither away without that connection.  Friends allow us to be who we are and do so without the expectation that we should or will change.  When I look to the many memories I hold near and dear to my heart almost always one or more of my friends is right there.

Like me, you probably gather together with your friend(s) from time to time and reminisce about those youthful, crazy years in which you each had more guts than brains. To this day, my friends and I get quite a laugh about our former antics and then announce halfway through the stories, “There must have been an angel looking out for us.”

Thankfully, we are not fixated on the past to the point of boring others around us but we can certainly spin a tale or two. We can gather with equally as much chatter about the rich lives we live now, but, what has changed is that for the most part we have more brains than guts.  As a result, we spend more time trying to convince each other about the merits of pushing beyond our comfort zone in careers, life and love.

Each of my friends are not necessarily friends with each other.  When we come together it is always good but it is not likely that they stay in close contact outside of that; I am the common link. Though, there are some commonalities, for the most part we are quite different. We are diverse in age, professions, family circumstances and even most interests…is that odd? We are also divided in our pet preferences dog people vs. cat people. (I’m on the dog side)

Each friend brings a special kind of love and wisdom to our relationship; their uniqueness is what draws me closer. My mother told me many times when I was a child, “you don’t want a rainy day friend,” these were the types of people who were only there when they had nothing better to do. I would certainly say I have grown up surrounded by friends that are there through the rainy, stormy and sunny days.

When you look at your own life take a moment to acknowledge those who hold that special title called FRIEND. 

How would you describe your friends?

What do they mean to you?

How do they contribute to your well being?

Remind them every once and awhile just how important their friendship is to you.

To my friends:

Je vous aime, mes chers amis ( Now, go look up the translation. We took French in school, remember?) 

They issued fifty-two tickets, one of which that morning was for drunk driving; that in itself should make it all worthwhile. I love this idea! I like the creativity involved to make our streets safer from those that refuse to abide by the laws. It is not entrapment since they are already committing a crime and really should we have any sympathy for those that may put each of us at risk by their stupidity.

I look forward to the next costume that is worn to capture any criminal or nuisance driver. It probably was a fun day at the office for those involved as the Sgt. stepped out of his uniform to become a happy, cuddly Easter Bunny.