When Jack and I went on our daily walk I saw several Canadian geese sitting on the ice in pairs and as I walked by I heard the distinct sound of a cardinal. Sure enough I looked up and there was a bright red bird. Suddenly another song, I don't know how or why I knew, but without a doubt it was a robin. I was so pleased to be enjoying this almost spring day, with all the birds that I nearly missed the sign. Deep down, in my very soul, there seems to be a birder emerging.
I was not prepared for the images this conjured up as I realized this could actually be happening to me. When I got home I looked in my back yard and sure enough there were 4 bird feeders, 3 bird houses and a bird bath. I wish I could say this is all, but lately, when we take our weekend stroll along the Minnesota River I bring... binoculars. The ONLY reason is because there is a pair of eagles nesting in the area. We have named them George and Martha, they have two youngsters that are about ready to leave the nest... Just like us. (Shhheeessshh!)
I believe this is another geriatric indicator of a maturing person, similar to diminished eyesight and the need to go to bed before 10PM. I have checked with Google and found a study by Linda T. Caissie, University of Waterloo (naturally it would be a Canadian). Here is what I have learned and can now share with you, it is all about group solidarity, highlights below:
As the older birders described their participation in nature clubs, it was evident a sense of solidarity had developed among them. When asked why they participated in nature clubs, many of the birders stated: birds of a feather flock together. Another birder stated: they [the birders] are all a bunch of kindred spirits. Based on the findings, this community of birders provided the opportunity for the creation of social bonds.
I wanted to see what my new group might look like so I Googled images of birders. They are a crafty bunch, with very few pictures of their faces, just their backs or shots of them looking through their binoculars. Frankly, I am afraid if I joined their group I would scare them. So maybe I will take this new hobby, interest, awareness of birds for what it might be... Finally, some quite time to notice all the beauty of our world.
The first NEW thing I tried after my latest discovery about the passage of time was to not write the blog last Monday night. This did NOT slow down the passage of time and of course I see my mistake. I didn't DO something new, I just didn't do something... This test failed, you really must do something totally new for this to work.
Earlier this week I did happen upon a completely new activity that I tried out on Friday evening. It was called Acupuncture Happy Hour and was hosted at a local yoga center. My sister and I arrived, filled out the appropriate paperwork and were led into a dimly lit room with mats, blankets and Zen-like music playing. I think this may have been a first for many in the room, but nobody said a word.. we all just stretched out on our mat like a group of sleepy kindergarteners and waited.
When everyone was settled the acupuncturist went from person to person applying needles to various parts of their head. I was the fourth mat down and kept trying to peek at what she was doing as she worked her way down the line. I have no idea why I didn't just sit up and watch, it must have been the peer pressure to stay quiet and get that peaceful/meditative look on my face.
When the person next to me was getting her needles applied I could feel the beginnings of a giggle build inside me. This is when my meditative mantra began.. "please God, don't let me laugh, please God, don't let me laugh". Before I knew it the first needle went into the top of my head and felt like a little pinch so I began to relax. The next needle was placed between my eyebrows and any urge to giggle was swept away by the desire to swear. This one hurt and I had one more to go! Last needle was placed below the lobe of my ear and wasn't too bad.
The results of THIS slowing down time test definitely passed. When you are doing something so very new, which includes needles being placed in your head and then instructed to relax for a period of time unquestionably turns the minutes to hours. As for the acupuncture? I do believe I will try this again because my energy level that evening was notably improved and that night I slept more soundly than I could remember. Was this a direct result of the acupuncture or was it because I was so relieved to have the needles out of my head?
I tried something new with my boarding pass last week, I sent it to my phone. This was not only green, but very savvy in my opinion. I could see the curious glances as I approached the security check point with just my identification and my phone. (I was lucky I spotted someone else do this earlier or I would have just handed my phone to the TSA agent) I held my phone over the scanner, went through security and proceeded to the gate. I wondered what would happen if my phone ran out of batteries before I cleared the gate agent, but my phone told me I had almost half of the charge left.
This is where myself and my phone had a misunderstanding... Wouldn't you think that if my phone had been on for 10 hours and the indicator showed me a picture of "almost" half full that would give me at least another 5 hours? This is not true! Apparently the second half of battery life follows a completely different formula, it changes into something I can only imagine is like dog years. Fifteen minutes before boarding I get the dreaded flashing battery. Fortunately I was able to get on the plane before it shut down, but it did get me thinking about the second half.
The second half of many things go so much faster than the first(this does not just apply to batteries). People I have met just a few years ago now claim to have known me for fifteen. My young teenage son is turning 20 on Friday and apparently I will be celebrating 27 years of marriage in May. I know it is cliché but where did the time go and why is it speeding up? I decided to check the oracle (Google) and here is what I learned:
Scientists have theories and one of them is that when you experience something for the very first time, more details, more information gets stored in your memory. That's because when it's the "first", there are so many things to remember. The list of encoded memories is so dense, reading them back gives you a feeling that they must have taken forever. But that's an illusion. "It's a construction of the brain," says Dr. Eagleman. "The more memory you have of something, you think, 'Wow, that really took a long time! So, first memories are dense. The routines of later life are sketchy. The past wasn't really slower than the present. It just feels that way.
Well, this is a very helpful discovery! I understand now that to slow down the passing of time I must begin to que up some new firsts. A "time stopper" list for the coming years... Let me know what you would put on your list.
This is going to be fun!
