How would you describe yourself to someone?

Do you mean so someone could find me in a crowd at the airport? Like a driver or something?

I did have a scenario like this once.

I met my birth mom for the first time when we picked her and her husband up at the airport. In fact I think it was the same airport I’m heading to right now.

She was one of the last people from her flight, to come down the escalator that day, due to a mix-up at the gate. I had that omg-she-changed-her-mind slight panic, afraid-she-didn’t-come feeling for a little longer than was comfortable (sort of like a good movie clip)

She stood at the top of the stairs.

Looked down and saw me, pointed with both hands, she was one hundred percent sure it was me!

The funny thing was, that she and I had forgotten to have that conversation. Her husband had asked her on the plane “How will you know her?” She told him that she just would.

I probably told her I had blonde hair. Living in southern CA that is not a unique quality that helps me stand out in a crowd.

Once I was painting a mural in PR and there was only one of our group who spoke enough Spanish to be able to sort of communicate. The kids kept asking which one of us it was. Told it’s the blonde one, the kids would say in exasperation, they are all blonde! I’m from Canada, learned French instead of Spanish, the blonde was not me.

I really don’t know how to describe myself. Maybe just: you’ll know me when you see me. Or you might not. Face ID only recognizes me part of the time. 🤷

Good thing I don’t need an anonymous driver.

If I make my connection in Charlotte, G will be there to pick me up. If I don’t, I’m pretty certain he will pick me up whenever I get there…

(PS in case you wondered, I missed my connection, but so did most everyone flying on that airline that day. I was lucky enough to get a flight out later so unlike most everyone else in line around me, I didn’t have to spend the whole night in the airport, just part of it. Many were on their way to a hotel, picking up meal vouchers etc.

G picked me up around 2:30 am in the pouring rain, sitting in a long busy airport traffic. At 2 in the morning! We were delayed 3 more times! 11:55 to 1:03 to 2:18 so…it was…an adventure?)

If you could bring something back…

I like to believe that life moves the way it does for reasons we don’t understand, that it has to, that it’s all naturally correct.

I wish I could bring my best friend back or my grandfather. Impossibility is not a great place to dwell, though.

If it were, I expect that I don’t know enough about all of any of it, to rearrange circumstances.

Jurassic Park was a fun movie that depicted what could go wrong if we mess with Mother Nature’s timeline. Or Nature at all, remember the dust bowl?

My own evolution, society’s, the earth’s? It’s all happening and I sort of trust it. Mostly because whenever man has gotten involved and managed to manipulate things, there are consequences and repercussions .

I trust nature. It seems to understand the bigger picture.

If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?

Funny to get this prompt today.

I just spent yesterday flying from Las Vegas to Kansas. Two and a half hours of in-air time, took my entire day. I’ll spare everyone the boring details of mostly sitting around waiting, changing gates 4 times AND terminals. I had to go through security twice because the tram from terminal D to A takes you to baggage claim? I think maybe someone from the Vegas airport should visit the Kansas City airport because clearly Vegas needs to pull up her socks. Oh and could someone please buy Spirit airlines? They need some serious help too. I had to buy a tiny plastic cup of water on the plane because nothing is free on Spirit it turns out.

Where would I go? Back to CA again to see everyone I just left!

What’s the story behind your nickname?

I’m not one to have a nickname or be nicknamed. No one ever shortens my name, but I do get every pronounciation of Andrea. I never correct. I actually like all the other pronounciations better. I like that certain people call me this one or that one, it becomes kind of like a nick name, specific to this one friend or that.

My grandfather was the only one who got away with calling me Andie.

My mother hated that he did and he eventually stopped, but I have the fondest memories of being Andie to him. I was the first grandchild. The only one old enough to go with him on errands or ride on the lawn mower or sit on the front of a mini bike. I went with him on his little boat, I followed him around his giant garden. I stood on a chair and watched as he cooked.

I named my boat Belle Andie. Belle because I was Isabelle for my first few months, from birth to adoption and all the lost time in between. It’s weird that no one knows where I was then.

I was adopted and became Andrea, then Andie…

I named my boat after myself.

I’ve had so many memories come up from that brief time in my life lately. It’s interesting that my grandkids are close to the age that I was when that time ended for me.

I was just visiting my son’s family. It was a quick trip and I spent every minute with my sweet grands. Their youngest, my mini me, said a few things that I will likely remember forever.

She said, while just she and I were walking home from the beach, “Grandma, you get me. You’re like the only one who does! You can’t miss my childhood!” She’s eight. She has always been so animated and funny and imaginative, but also shy. I don’t know if anyone even knows her at school because she composes herself so completely. Shes right, I HAVE to be part of all of their lives…

So I missed seeing my friends and going to yoga because we spent as many moments as we could, in as many different combinations of small and big groups, hanging out together.

Eating chocolate cake made by twelve year old Lily, Thai food, Italian, tacos, going to the beach, an arcade,on walks…

It was all amazing.

Now I’m on a plane heading for the rest of my kids homes.

Names my grandkids call me:

Grandma, Grammy-grand, Grands, Gram, Memaw, Grammy, Granny…they are goofing around but it’s perfectly fine with me!

What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

I like my well being. So I use strategies regularly.

I have lots of strategies.

Stay hydrated

Enjoy my coffee

Yoga regularly

Try to only eat sweet food after a good meal

Walk as much as possible

Listen to upbeat music or podcasts

Read

Breathe consciously

Look around and feel grateful

Be picky enough as an eater to only eat food I like and savor it

Find joy

Keep learning

Let things go

Get enough sleep

Artwork of course

Life sometimes can move fast.

It can get intense.

If I keep myself feeling healthy and well, I just do better. I’m like a toddler that way, and I no longer apologize for it. I’m sensitive. My energy picks up everything, so I have to plan accordingly.

What’s your go-to comfort food?

I dearly love my comfort foods. I probably love comfort in general but I’ll admit I used to not allow myself to enjoy it much.

When I was in the parenting phase, I thought comfort was a luxury I didn’t have time for or could afford, so I went along, going without, often lumping it, for years. No surprize that I was an endurance runner. I’m good at enduring or I was…

But, I’ve changed. I’ve expanded my outlook a little.

Now, I take my comfort very seriously. I’ve learned that when I’m in a comfortable vibrational state, I’m happy. I show up better.

I’ve learned that there is a lot more to life than enduring, in fact, I may have reinvented the endurance process for myself.

Now, I eat what I want and don’t eat what I don’t want. I pay attention to how I’m feeling and when it’s off, I do something different. I excuse myself from things, change the topic, get off the computer or phone, hang out in nature, stay hydrated etc. I put my needs above where I used to put them.

And when I want a food for comfort, I make sure I’m comforted in every way, because if I’m craving comfort, I’ve probably been enduring something uncomfortable for too long.

I once went through a rough patch and regularly made Kate Hepburn brownies. There was a poem I read, that said when you’re feeling down, dress in gray and black, draw the curtains, slump your shoulders, bake a black cake…wallow.

There was something about the list that made me laugh and at the same time want to follow its advice. A sweet surrender. So the brownies became my black cake.

What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why?

Monopoly. I have some good memories of playing with my grandkids. Once when they were small and Rose was too young to do much besides roll the dice, we dragged out the game and set it all up. She did insist on all piink money. Their black lab Stone, zigged zagged across the board which made the kids all scream. No one cared if they won or not. It was August and we all had that hot, bored summery feeling. Pushing Stone out of the way and re positioning everything was just funny. It was chaotic but made for a perfectly perfect memory.

I like card games too…and backgammon

Also, there are some fun games we invented at the park. One was called monster and it was just a version of tag, only when you were caught you became a monster with the ‘it monster’ until everyone was a monster and only one person was trying not to get tagged. We played this every time we were at playgrounds. until one day Lily aged out of playing at the playground. This happened slowly and abruptly. I read somewhere that we do everything for the first and then last time. Usually we aren’t even aware when its the last time.

I miss those babies! Those little chipmunks voices…

What foods would you like to make?

Well. I would like to make some dishes from what is growing in my garden!

I am the most impatient gardener! I love looking at what changed overnight. I love searching for tiny green versions of everything. I am genuinely excited for every full grown pea pod and every single green bean. I actually found two cucumbers and one zucchini and a full bowl of green and yellow beans!

We have so many green tomatoes! I just know they will start turning red while I’m away! This heartbreaking truth I can only handle because I’m pretty sure there will be an ongoing supply in August. We have six thriving plants!

I’m not just excited about MY garden either. My neighbors have been doing this for years! One has eggplant ready to pick! The other has a patch of zucchini that looks like a five foot jungle.

I’ve been making every kind of salad. I can not wait to make a Greek salad with my own tomatoes and cucumbers!!! Or fry up some zucchini! I’ve been putting the peas raw in salads. My lettuce has been hanging in there. I pick some every night! Tomato sandwiches! BLTs! Buffalo mozzarella with my own basil and tomatoes. I’d love to make a veggie quiche! Last year we had some of Martha’s eggplant, I made eggplant parmigiana. No one thought they liked eggplant, but now it’s an often requested favorite. I have two very tiny hopefuls growing right now.

I never knew I could be so excited about growing vegetables! They actually pretty much grow themselveseS. With all the rain we hardly even have to water. I do pull out little weeds and spray soapy water where bugs seem to be nibbling. Mostly I just look and marvel. Once empty dirt is now lush and growing!

Which activities make you lose track of time?

Any art activity. Most creative pursuits.

I love in-the-flow timeless feeling. You look at the clock and somehow three hours disappeared.

Today I spent some time painting the name on my boat. 91 degrees and humid, but I stood out there and worked on it for an amount of time that I don’t even know. Suddenly it was after 5:00 and dinner had to be started. I’m not finished…

Reading

Cooking

Shopping…