Takin' the plunge

Good morning! We're back after spending a frigid day with Big Sis in Sea Isle. And yes, Tink made the plunge....and so did I (metaphorically speaking, of course). The weather was nasty. It was cold, drizzling, and raw. Tink had to check in at noon, but the plunge was not scheduled until two pm which meant that we had to spend two hours waiting by the beach to jump into the cold water. And we waited and waited in the rain and began to feel the effects of the weather. After an hour, I could not feel my feet or fingers. Tink was calm and serene or perhaps too scared to say anything so Big Sis and I kept the conversation going...."OK, we need a plan...."

What kind of plan? Well, since BS has been to the annual Polar Bear plunge for a number of years, I considered her an expert, so I went with her lead. We need a spot to meet....Check....

You need to have your blankets and coat ready to take off and put back on again....check....

Let's find a good place in case you get lost since you won't have a cell phone...check....

Are you sure that you want to do this?....Ummmmm.....yeah....check....

And so, we watched the other crazies prepare for the splash. By the way, the most scantily dressed, ie. the Tom Cruise Risky Business dress shirt and BVDs, the men and women in tutus....the guys with diapers on....the contingent dressed like penguins had a few adult beverages before venturing out to the beach. Then the moment came....Tink! You're on...go, baby, go!

 

She walked....sprinted....ran to the water with her GAP rain boots on...."Ooops" says Big Sis "Rookie mistake. She should take the boots off..." Ooops, indeed....

And Tink finally got into the water....stop! Don't go any further....come back...and then she dunked herself in the frigid water in the freezing rain that was turning to snow and bingo! She can now take the Polar Bear plunge off her bucket list, which I did not know that she had. According to Tink, she was either going to be a polar bear or jump out of a plane. Glad she chose the frigid water. ...just sayin'....

The minute she ran out of the water, she had her blankets and glasses on and  we ran to Fuzz's beach house as fast as our wet feet and the crowd would let us. Fuzz is Big M's brother, so Tink had a place to shower and warm up. After this venture, I have much more respect for our Tink. None of us and I mean 'none' of us would ever consider doing what she did. But, lo and behold, the kid has some hutzpa (is that the way you spell the Yiddish word?...I have to check with my Jewish BFF Muscles, for the actual spelling. She teaches me the very cool words, although my accent is not South Tel Aviv, but South Philly....yo...)

OK, on to the broken hearted big kid in the mountains. Yes, he lived through the weekend by sleeping, pitching his bullpen, and attending a huge fund raiser for kids with cancer on campus. Then came the call...."I met this little boy who had cancer since he was 16 months old...he's had chemo...he's a neat kid....I don't have any troubles, so I?"

No, my son....you do not have troubles...just a bump in the road on your way back to the mound. Life has a way of sharing what is really important. These are the lesson that are learned not from your parents but by paying attention to the little messages in our minds...perhaps it is the conscience....perhaps not....What I do know is that he had a big blow from inflated expectations. He had to process what it meant and how he was going to deal with it. I was not not needed for my presence or cooking specialties. he chose to work through his disappointment on his own and discovered something important about life.

What did he discover? Well, he's right...life is not fair....and there are levels of 'un-fairness'. The little boys and girls with cancer have it rougher than a big college kid who did not travel to Tennessee to sit in a bullpen while the team plays a baseball game in the snow. The kids who are in the wheelchairs or the parents who have to learn to say good by to their five year olds with brain tumors. How about the children who do not have food in the pantry or the people who don't have a mom who would drop everything to cook your favorites all day and drive it to the mountains for her disappointed son?  Yep, life is not fair....

On to something else....if I cook comfort food...am I filling a void with food rather than figuring out how to handle the disappointment without it? In other words, does this type of comfort create eating disorders? After all...what is comfort food? Well....macaroni and cheese (25 WW points), ice cream (a zillion WW points)....hot chocolate with marshmallows (6 WW points).....baked french toast (let's not even go there).....Something to ponder......
On to Zumba class....have a great day!