Hope Writer Challenge - Reimagine

The last topic for the @hopewriters writing challenge is Reimagine (#hopewriterlife)

Ah yes, reimagine.  What can I say?  Of course I imagined 2020 differently.

We all did.  We all of us had a rhythm and a plan for our lives that didn't involve being stuck indoors and suddenly conducting our business and entire social calendar through a video chat.

I've watched people struggle putting desks together on their own in order to try to accommodate a home office.  I've heard people ask for prayers as they set up Google classrooms for kindergartners saying "God is my only tech support".  None of us imagined the world this way, or were prepared for it when it came.

So when I reimagine 2020, I naturally start by thinking about my original plans.  I think about the way I had mundane plans for doctor visits and a few weekend plans to see friends.  And I begin to question if my plans haven't changed for the better in some ways.

I'm more aware of and focused on my neighborhood. It's becoming a community again. And I have been able to help address some needs there I might not otherwise been aware of.

And as I think about how I want this year to progress, I've been thinking about what goals, writing or otherwise, I want to accomplish.  The conclusion I've reached is that I want to be more bold.  I need to stop prepping, stop organizing the supplies and just do it.  I am skilled enough.  I am ready.  Whatever isn't perfect I'll edit and work on once I've sat down and accomplished some things.

That is my goal, to put into action some bolder plans than I might not have imagined myself doing at the start of this year.  The world has paused for a moment and I've used that pause to reflect on what I really want to achieve.  To reflect on what I really want the future to look like for myself and our world.  I hope you can all step out into a bolder better 2020 as well.  The future is what we make of it, let's make it a good one, a bold one, a better one. 

Hope Writer Challenge - Reimagine 2020 - Rewrite

Hope Writer's hosted an Instagram writing challenge to reimagine 2020.  The challenge had a different topic every day for a week. And the first day's topic was Rewrite.  I wrote about all of this on Instagram on my profile @madderhattery, but I'd like to repost the writing here because I think we need more words of hope these days.

Reimagine 2020 - Rewrites

Spring Blossoms in Chicago - photo by The Madder Hatter

As part of the Hope Writer's challenge I'm talking about Rewrites today.

As much as we may wish to change the things that have already happened, we cannot.  What we can do is take this unprecedented turn of affairs, this global pandemic, and use it to rewrite our lives.

Everywhere I look I see neighbors meeting and growing closer during this new distance.  Being stuck at home has forced us to look closer at our communities and see the very real things going on in our own backyards.

Sometimes, we get so caught up in the rhythm of our daily lives that we don't ask ourselves if it's the right rhythm.  This forced pause has caused us to look inward.  We can't run from our thoughts and doubts when they are the only company we keep.  So I think it's time we face them.

It's time to take the giant blank slate of our future and reimagine it.  How often have you heard someone shout down your dreams because they couldn't ever be?  It's just the way the world is.  Yet, here we are living in a world nobody had imagined.  It tells you something; some of the largest most unavoidable things about modern life are entirely arbitrary.  And not only can we change them, we can change a lot of them all at once in the course of a few weeks.

So take up your life and examine it.  Listen in the quiet for what you've always known you wanted and use this pause to start fighting for it.  The future can be rewritten, no matter what course it was on before.  Take a moment to learn from your fear and anger what it is your heart really wants.

Don't put off that project, career change, or dream.  Start down that path today.  Nobody can say what the future will bring, but it certainly won't hold the things you didn't bother to fight for.

You are the author of your future.  Pick up your pen today and remember that coming together (even when that means staying apart), is what makes us stronger.  Remember that there is always something you can do to help both yourself and someone else.  And remember that every single one of us will help shape the future.   So make it a good one.   Make it a beautiful one.  Make it a loving, accepting and hopeful one.  Join me and rewrite a better future for all of us.

A Whole Tree of Spring Blossoms in Chicago photo by the Madder Hatter 

I wrote those words about the global pandemic just a few weeks ago, but I think they take on new relevance now considering the racism and injustice we've all seen this last week.  Even reconsidering it all I want to leave you with the same words.  

Join me and rewrite a better future for all of us.

What is my Car squeaking about?

"Chitty squeak, clackety screech" the dashboard in the car sings merrily as we drive about town. It sings like it's someone's Great Aunt Ethel, with a high-pitched voice that is both annoying and familiar; nattering away non-stop as you drive.  Maybe my car is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's stately relative Great Aunt Ethel.  You don't think cars have great aunts and sing?  Well, apparently you haven't met my car.

If my car really is a Great Aunt Ethel type, it is no doubt telling you to "be careful, and slow down, and watch out for that squirrel, and did you know that your cousin three times removed on your father's side had recently bought those horrid foot gloves that masquerade as shoes and I can't see how it's going to improve her appearance any, and don't you just love those red bougainvillea plants they planted in the median?"

Or maybe it's not Great Aunt Ethel after all.  Maybe the car is singing its own song about roads, stoplights and gas tanks and the smell of freshly paved asphalt roads in the morning.  Perhaps, the car is singing a song that goes "every day out of the junk yard is a good day!"

Maybe I'm driving a cheery realist around town.  He knows and accepts his fate with a dash of cheer, realism, and song.  Its squeaky rattling tune tells of its happiness to be living the life of an automobile to the fullest.  I have enough gas and enough working parts to keep driving, so driving I will go.  Three cheers for working motors!

Or maybe my car is plotting mutiny.  It plans to wait til we have set sail on a long journey of enormous importance and break down leaving us stranded in an inhospitable section of shark infested waters.  Maybe its little creaking symphony is the mutinous mumblings of a car that fancies itself abused and overworked that will crash on purpose at the earliest convenience with a raucous shout of "Drink up mechanics yo ho!" right before it careens full sail into a ditch with faulty brakes.  Just maybe.  Of course, I could just be imagining all of this because I have an advanced case of scurvy induced madness, anything is possible, right?

Whatever it is my car sings or mutters about, it certainly does so at a constant rate.  Sometimes the squeaking cacophony is almost soothing while others it's enough to drive you mad in a mere handful of blocks.  Maybe if I roll a window down a bit it will drown out Great Aunt Ethel's helpful nattering.  Or perhaps, I ought to join in with the song... "every day out of the junk yard is goooooooood day!"  Everyone can use a healthy dose of cheery realism once in awhile, right?

Mad Travel Favorites: Unexpected Pleasures

No doubt, you've heard that oft used quote by the incomparable Robert Burns "the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry".  No doubt you've also heard it used to mock the very idea of making plans.  Plans do have an alarming tendency to go awry, it is true.  But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have them.  Plans do have their place.  You just need to recognize that they aren't the end all be all of travel.  The seasoned traveler knows that they must make plans AND expect them to fall apart at times.  Being able to roll with unexpected circumstances is just a part of travel.

For instance, I love planning my trips to maximize the amount of cool things I can see in a short period of time.  It can be convenient to know that two of the things you most want to see are in the same area.  It saves on unnecessary backtracking.  Yet, after reflection, it seems that my favorite parts of trips have all been the unexpected parts I could not, and did not, plan for at all.

Unexpected Discoveries in Rome

In Rome, one of my favorite discoveries was a little church that I hadn't planned to visit.  Rome is full of churches and there is simply not enough time to visit every single one of them.  No matter how beautiful they are, how historic, or how full of incredible art they are, the numbers make it impossible to see them all.

So, my friend and I had planned to visit only a few.  On the way to the Capitoline Museums we came across the side entrance of another church and impulsively decided to enter.

The Santa Maria in Aracoeli has a particularly uninspiring exterior.  But we decided it was worth a quick peek through the door since we were there.

And boy was it ever!  It is hard to describe the vast discrepancy between the exterior and interior of this church.  Let's just say that we stood frozen two feet inside the door gaping at arches bedazzled with chandeliers.  

I mean, I have never seen that many chandeliers in one place.  Have you?  Not only does every arch down the colonnade have a chandelier in it, the main arches in the crossing/transept of the church have them every two feet.  

I know it's not the best photo of the interior, but it's good enough for you to get an idea of how truly amazing it was.  If you find yourself in Rome anywhere near the Capitoline Hill you should pop in to see it.  Truly, it's worth the five minute detour.

    

The guidebook only mentioned the ceiling, which is clearly impressive.  However, I have seen many intricate and gorgeous ceilings.  Nowhere else have I seen chandeliers adorning arches the way they do in the Santa Maria in Aracoeli.  

It is my favorite little church and we would have missed it altogether if we had stuck to our plan. 

Take a minute, peek into something you didn't plan to see and you might be astonished by what you find. 

Delightful Surprises in Naples

In Naples my friend and I met a delightful older gentleman sketching in the sculpture rooms.  He gave us a sketch each and introduced us to a gentleman who worked at the museum.  The gentleman asked us if we wanted to know where to go for dinner.  We said we would definitely be interested in his advice on the subject.  He then personally escorted us across the street to a local restaurant.  Whatever he told the people there must have been good because our pizzas arrived in heart shapes and we were told which desserts were the best.  We weren't given menus we were given a personal description of the desserts.  It was the best evening in our whole trip even though none of it was planned at all.

This is an Il Baba.  

Apparently an il Baba is a traditional dessert from Naples and it is gorgeously delicious.  Had we been left to our own devices and a menu we may never have chosen it and that would have been a true loss.  Sometimes the unexpected, unplanned for, locally recommended things, truly are the best.

Hidden Treasures in Granada

In Granada, one of my favorite discoveries was a little unexpected house tucked away down a narrow alley street.  A great friend and I wandered down a tiny alley, lured by an intriguing vine growing from a gutter that we wanted to photograph.  

Then we wandered through tiny alleys heading vaguely uphill looking for views of the Alhambra.  Then, by accidentally losing ourselves down these tiny alleyways, we accidentally found this incredible old Moorish house.  The door was open and looked intriguing but at first we couldn't tell if it was just someone's house or actually something open to the public.  The lack of furniture and a plaque on a far wall convinced us to step inside and have a peek.  

We found ourselves in an old Moorish house with a beautiful courtyard pool and a spectacular view of the Alhambra.    

It even had some of the original wall plaster with the original Moorish wall decorations.

               

If we had stuck to a strict plan and only gone up the wide roads that led to the top of the hill without twisty turns we would never have found this place.  The Unofficial Best Tourist Award for that year went to my friend for suggesting the alley that led us to this place.  It may not be in a guidebook's list of highlights every tourist to Granada must see, but it's one of my favorite memories of the trip.  

Get Lost to Find the Best Things in Life

Sometimes the detours, the bits where you get lost on purpose in a great little neighborhood, turn out to be the best path.  Get lost and find something unexpected and exciting.  Take a local's advice and see something that hasn't made it on the top five list of every tourist in the city.  Pop in a random doorway to satisfy your curiosity and see what treasures you might find.  Eat in a local place or in some place recommended to you by a local.  Do at least one thing you didn't plan to do on your trip.  It may even turn out to be the best thing you could've done and become your favorite memory of the whole trip.  

Article and photos by The Madder Hatter for more travel stories and tips visit The Madder Hatter Traveler Blog.  

If you give a moose a muffin Madder Hatter style

I was sitting in my room calmly doing productive things such as checking emails when I decided I wanted a dessert.  I remembered that I had a lemon cheesecake cup waiting for me, but I had no spoon.

I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a spoon and I saw the kettle.  That reminded me that I was cold in my room and should heat some water for a hot water bottle.

While the water was heating I remembered that I should transfer tomorrow's lunch into containers that could be microwaved.

When I opened the refrigerator I realized that I wanted something salty first.  So I ate some bread and hummus.

Eating the bread reminded me that I had accidentally bought two loaves of bread and I needed to freeze one.

Putting the bread in the freezer reminded me that I was cold and I needed the hot water bottle, but it was upstairs.

Going upstairs I found my hot water bottle next to the piles of laundry and remembered I needed to put in a load of clothes.

Thinking about clothes reminded me that I needed to pick out something to wear for work tomorrow.  Which made me think about how cold it was going to be.

Thinking about the cold reminded me that I wanted my hot water bottle.

Going back down to the kitchen with the hot water bottle I thought I should be rewarded for being productive with something sweet.

Then I remembered that all I'd really wanted was a spoon.