What’s something you believe everyone should know.

Love

What does it mean to be a kid at heart?

This prompt gives me the excuse to talk about the PCC node. The posterior cingulate cortex . It’s a tiny node in the center top of our brain. I first heard about it when I read Michael Pollan’s book ‘How to Change Your Mind’

I became a little obsessed because in learning about it’s existence and how it works, a few things were explained for me.

When we are born our PCC node is open and flexible. It controls our inhibitions, our optimism, our intuitive openness among other childlike qualities we have. As we age this node closes and becomes more ridged. During the teen years the closing is the most significant and obvious. That child lightness disappears for some people forever. Scientists have found that people on psychedelics and or alcohol, feel that little node open. A person might feel the lightness and childlike worry free wonder they did when they were young.

Before I learned about this node, I remember talking about how it was weird when I was going into the teen years I always felt so much younger than my peers. They were already smoking and talking like immature adults while I still wanted to make up games and get out my crayons. I would describe my brain as a brain that remained oddly open. Like it was supposed to close and be certain about things and it forgot to.

I never figured out why, but my brain seemed off. I struggled with routine and practical matters, but if there was ever a need for out of the box reasoning, Id excel. My brain has to be reminded that there even is a box. This can exasperate a lot of people. I try really hard to be respectful and polite but Impertinence happens. For a while I was labeled a dumb blonde and believed it. No one could explain how I got high grades or how I managed to get into the college I went to.

I will tell you this. I always have a different perspective on anything. I can’t help it. I relate better to my six and seven year old granddaughters then I do with most grownups. I might even have more respect for their opinions. Open mindedness feels like oxygen. When I meet other open minded people I relax. Extreme in-the-box thinking feels like a straight jacket to my brain. I realize this feels safe and good to others, so I recognize the importance of grown up thinking. I get it. Our brains are meant to specialize. They don’t need to wonder and question, as we age, they need to help us perform.

So I went along as a flawed Pipi Longstocking like grown up. I accepted it as much as I could. Found creative ways to work around my weak areas. Then one day I read about that node and decided that it was a weird gift. Mine closes sometimes but bounces back open. I’m not a kid at heart, I’m kid like in my brain thanks to a faulty node. It’s usually fun. I don’t mind it anymore.

Wishes three

You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?

More fun

Youth

To be able to eat all the sugar and carbs I want without any repercussions (like when I was a little kid)

I gave this zero thought

Describe a family member.

I love all these prompted answers! Rufus the dog reminded me of our beloved Stone. Grandmas and spouses, best friends and stepchildren. I love who we love.

I’m going to choose my first human grand because well, she changed me.

This little baby bounced into our lives with some measure of drama. Furry grand Stone was dropped off in the middle of the night with a note. Too many hours later, updates stopped, so I jumped in my car and drove to the hospital. Maternal grandmother Mae Mae had the same idea. We walked in from opposite directions at the exact moment.

Our little granddaughter tried to enter the world upside down. which is how she turned everyone else’s world, so it was about perfect. She arrived safely much to everyone’s relief. She has grown into one of the most unbelievably wonderful humans I have ever met. Hard not to be biased, but I can assure you, she is amazing. Loving, kind, thoughtful and wise beyond her years.

We have spent the last few days and nights inside another medical drama. A much sadder, stressful, every bit as affecting and life changing circumstance. I’m really too tired to have anything eloquent to say. Joy on one side of life, great sadness on the other. Loving family members…

What is your favorite form of physical exercise?

Walking

How much would you pay to go to the moon?

Some things are more visually appealing from a far. The moon was beautiful last night, full and bright, hanging low in the sky.

The pictures I’ve seen of moon landings don’t entice me. Looks like a lot of dirt and rocks. Though pictures of the views of earth from the moon are spectacular, there’s some pull there, but I pass. It’s one journey I can live without taking. So my answer is zero.

I couldn’t say how much they’d have to pay me to go. Probably a lot.

What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in?

Photographer. I was sure I wanted to be a wildlife photographer for National Geographic.

At seventeen I started college as a journalism major and guess what I found out?

I didn’t like writing. I had no typing skill, the deadlines freaked me out and I thought there would be more emphasis on photography. There was actually none. Looking back, I can laugh a little at my young self. If you don’t know, a wildl life photographer spends hours (which turn into days and weeks even months) staying perfectly still waiting for a perfect shot. In the middle of nowhere, aka the wilderness. I can barely camp for a full night, which I think of as enduring, not as many think of it, as fun. I have no sense of direction. Without maps on my phone I can get lost on back streets behind my own home. (not an exaggeration, you can ask my kids or G who if you do, will just pitch his eyebrows in exasperation)

Not to mention the patient sitting part. Okay right there, not me. I can’t sit through an entire sporting event. I mean I can, but again its an act of utter endurance. I know this now because I have been forced to politely sit through many long baseball games. Where at my own home I can stay happily busy while G watches the Celtics, (I even like the sound in the back ground, I watch a little here and there, I get to know the team characters (players, coaches etc) Here, you must sit on the couch and politely watch as nothing happens for literally hours.

It’s become my time for writing this blog! Still the sitting… .

I love animals, I love nature. I admire beautiful footage and amazing still shots, but wild life photographer was never going to be a dream career for me!

What food would you say is your specialty?

My answer is both short and long. I don’t actually have a specific specialty food. I love to cook,

I grew up with a mom who could cook, but didn’t enjoy it over other tasks or household chores. I think that’s how a lot of people feel and I think its completely fine. Cooking can be messy and time consuming and even a little thankless, but the family needs to eat so someone has to step up an either order or cook something.

If you have someone who loves to cook, let them! Food tastes better when its made with love. Cooking is an art. Let your creativity have some fun, or give the gift to another. Some people don’t even know they are creative until they try.

What do you remember?

Things, events, moments

Looking back. History. What do I remember? How do I remember?

I had a teacher in first grade who taught us about something she called current events. Every week we had to cut out and bring in a newspaper article. She said we were learning about history because the current events would become that. I don’t remember the events we discussed, I remember thinking it’s was super boring. I could never bring anything interesting from the news paper like the comics, for reasons I couldn’t comprehend, but I do remember the concept. I even remember being interested in the idea that we were living history now. It was perplexing to my little five year old brain.

Now I see where she was going, even though we were all too young to grasp it, or care about news stories, she was right. The point has stayed with me for all these years. We are living history right now. Ours, our community”s, our country’s, the world’s. What or how will we remember it.?

Some parts will be traumatic and our body’s will remember. Some parts will give us joy or bring a tear to our eye when we recall them. Much will be forgotten and much will be remembered differently by our brains, then how it really happened. We will ‘rewrite’ a lot of history as we retell it years from its happening.

What do I remember and why and even how? are great questions to ponder today.

Ive had many moments that I wished could hurry up and be history. Long years of struggle and discomfort. Long years hoping against hope that things would improve.

Which they always did. Then there would be something else. In and around and in between there have always been wonderful moments. I aim to make the most of those sweet times and play down the less favorable. So when I look back, I will have fondness for my life and myself in it

This is way easier said than done and certainly easier to do in some circumstances, but not others.

I send you love for this complicated life you are all living in today. Hoping you will have some nice Wednesday moments as you live history.