My long departure from the world of blogging has been caused by many things over the course of the past year. Many which will be cleverly, or not so cleverly, discussed in this blog posting. Most likely, this post will be poorly written as it has been a while since I last exercised my blog writing muscles.

1. Love – We all search for it. We date, we break up, we date again, we break up again. We repeat this pattern until we find the one person who drives us the least crazy in our lives; someone we can call our best friend. I once heard a lovely speech from a new groom at a wedding.  He remembered the moment when he knew he had to marry the girl he was with. It was when he realized that he missed her when she was gone. That is where I’ve come to in my life. I miss my fiance and worry about him when he is gone. He is a part of my family now; and I want him to be safe, happy and healthy at all times. Sure…he drives me crazy. But I know that we have a friendship and love that will grow stronger over time.

2. Marriage – On to the wedding…because no great love story is complete without a wedding. Yes, I am at that point in my life where planning a wedding is necessary. I could take the same path that my hippy parents took and plan my wedding in a week, complete with a wedding cake that has a ‘Happy Birthday Ralph’ message written on top of it. Or, I could elope and spare everyone the expense of flying, driving, taking time off from work, etc. And then I remembered that maybe this once, this celebration was about more than just me. As I start my new life with my future husband…my parents, brother, sister-in-law, friends and extended family will be a part of it as well. So, I would like for them to all be together to witness our union and be happy with the fact that we started our lives together with them present.

3. Finances  – Planning a wedding is not cheap. Planning a wedding, buying a house and getting furniture all at the same time is INSANE!!!!  So, my fiance and I thought…perfect…let’s take it all on in 2009!  Bring it on!  So, since January, my fiance and I have been planning our wedding and searching for a home.  Now that we’ve moved into our home, we’ve started to get furniture and slowly put our lives together again. Furniture moves into the house…dollars are drained from our bank accounts. Makes sense.

The wedding planning continues, and I check my budget daily. Now, I never considered myself to be one of those girls who wanted an ‘out of this world’ wedding with extravagant flowers and decorations, but everything adds up so quickly. So, I missed my chance to save money and elope to have an Elvis wedding in Vegas about 7 months ago! Now, I will have to go forward with printing invitations and figuring out the playlist for the reception (rest assured that Celine Dion will not be on that playlist). All I can hope is that everyone has fun. I will have a chance to build back up my fiances after it is all said and done.

There…that’s been my year in a nutshell. Now that I am back on the blog writing bandwagon, maybe my next post will be better!!!

It wasn’t until I was 10 years old that I met my godmother/cousin, Sherrie. When she first met me, she gave me a stuffed animal as a gift. It was a lion. I named him ‘Leo’. 

For years I kept ‘Leo’ in a pile with all my other stuffed animals. Slowly, I got rid of  all the other stuffed animals; but I kept ‘Leo’. He held a special place in my heart,  just as Sherrie held a special place in my heart.

Sherrie spent a good portion of her life with Hodgkins. She went through 2 bone marrow transplants, various other medical treatments and somehow managed to be one of the most positive people on the planet.

As I got older, Sherrie invited me to her house in Central Florida for vacations. We always had fun visiting theme parks, swimming, cooking or watching movies together. When I got old enough, I would bring my friends along for a visit with her as well.  She would graciously allow 6 screaming, giggling 20 year olds into her house for New Years Eve and would casually turn on the Ohio State fight song at 7 am the morning after we’d all been out until 3 or 4 am. 

Sherrie always sent birthday cards or letters, always called, always remembered, always cared. She had a way of making you feel like the most important person on earth. 

My godmother/cousin managed to stay healthy for several years. Then, while I was away in Honduras, everything started to go downhill.  Sherrie had moved back to Ohio to live with her mother to ensure that she was in good care.  While home for a holiday visit, I called Sherrie to wish her a Merry Christmas; and I remember her saying, “It is time to let go Erika. I am tired. I am ready to move on.” She passed away about 5 months later.

When you form a special bond with someone, it’s hard to let go. And at her funeral, I cried as though I was crying for everyone else in the world all at the same time. I didn’t think that I would ever be able to stop.

A year after Sherrie’s funeral, I was driving down the road at 85 (more like 90) mph. I was speeding home from an event that I had been to that evening because I still had some school work to do, and I also had to prepare for a test that I was administering the following morning. Rush rush rush… 

I had my whole evening planned in my mind…then a dog jumped in front of my car. I swerved to miss the dog, pulling my steering wheel all the way to the left. Against all laws of physics, my car did not flip and roll off the road into the man-made lake. I ended up on 2 wheels. That is when I jerked my wheel all the way to the right, and my car landed on all 4 wheels. I swerved again to avoid a road sign. Eventually, a cement culvert stopped my car from slamming into a tree.  I got out of my car with bumps, bruises and a really bad headache; but I survived (can’t say the same for the poor dog who jumped in front of my car though).

I still have ‘Leo’. I still think of my godmother / cousin daily. I still have all of the cards and letters she sent me. And I wish she could be here this year for my wedding.

So, why do I believe in angels?

Do you really have to ask?

What every child needs in life is one good piñata party. What constitutes a good piñata party? First, you have to have one fabulous piñata! Second, you must invite at least 20 screaming, young children. Third, you must have a really solid stick to bat the piñata. Finally, you must fill the piñata with as many sweet goodies as possible so that when you break the piñata, the candies fall to the ground for the children to wrestle away from one another. Essentially, mad chaos breaks out and sugar headaches follow.

I once attended the world’s sadest piñata party deep in the Honduran countryside. 

It started off like any regular piñata party.  Fabulous piñata…check. More than 20 zillion screaming young children…check. A solid stick…check. All was going along splendidly. It must have been the largest piñata party I had ever been to. Both children and parents filled the yard outside of the home where the grand piñata was hung. Parents cheered on their children as they batted at the piñata, and some took pictures. Since many of the children were quite small, we knew it would take a while for the piñata to be broken.

The piñata took a beating. Each small child has his or her turn swinging at the dangling burro. Each attempt left yet another gash in the burro’s side. Yet, we noticed that the burro was more than determined to hold on to the sweet treats. The poor little paper burro was pummeled for over half an hour, yet no candies had fallen. Children became wrestless, parents became agitated, the hosts of the piñata party became suspicious.

Then came the big hit. One child finally took a swing that would certainly knock the candy out…or would it? Everyone stood staring at the broken piñata in amazement. The burro was shredded, yet no candy had fallen. The parents lowered the sad piñata in disbelief. It was then that the hosts of the party realized that in their rush to raise the piñata before the party started, they forgot to fill it with candy.

My grandparents were the first of their families to be born in the United States. As my grandparents assimilated into the U.S. culture, my family’s Finnish heritage was lost. Unfortunately, my grandfather and grandmother never passed the Finnish language on to my mother because they were embarrassed that they didn’t speak English very well when they were younger. Now, all that is left of our Finnish heritage is a few words that my grandmother taught me before passing on.

The old metaphor about the U.S. being a ‘melting pot’ has given way to a new metaphor about the U.S. being a ’salad bowl’ where ingredients mix together but keep their individual characteristics. The U.S. has truly become a mosaic of distinct cultures where children can maintain their cultural uniqueness while embracing the U.S. culture as appropriate.

I witnessed exactly what this ’salad bowl’ metaphor is all about this weekend just while going to a couple of parties with friends. One party was both a farewell and a celebration of time spent here in the United States. While we were saying our goodbyes to a friend who was headed back to Italy, we were also commemorating another friend’s 10th year here in the U.S. The friend who had been in the states for 10 years spoke about how she managed to stay so long in one place after moving from country to country for most of her life. Essentially, she stayed so long because she could be as close to her culture or as far apart from her culture as she wanted at any given time. She could find others who shared her cultural heritage, or she could share her cultures with others who had diverse backgrounds.

At another dinner party, I heard both the Italian and English language spoken freely. Of the couple hosting the party, one was American while the other was Italian. So, the mixture of friends consisted of individuals from both cultures. It was funny to witness how everyone embraced their own cultural uniqueness while enjoying the other culture’s distinction.

Although I’ve come to realize that I am rather awkward in most social circumstances, I’ve come to enjoy being in social situations where everything is awkward anyways…situations where half a sentence is spoken in one language and half in another. Situations where guests at a dinner party might represent countries on every continent. Situations where people embrace the fact that their differences are exactly what make them feel like they’re at home.

This year I learned about Blog Action Day. On October 15th, bloggers from around the world unite to discuss a single issue in their own unique way. This year’s topic is poverty; an issue that couldn’t be more timely. While millions are worried about how the global economic crisis might affect them, there are countless others who live their daily lives in challenging circumstances.

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. The state of one with insufficient resources.

Source: Merriam-Webster  Online Dictionary 

This definition of poverty seems simple enough. However, it is a much more complex issue. There is a difference in what we are experiencing in the current economic crisis and what millions around the globe experience daily. Our resources are greatly reduced, but we wake up with a shred of hope.

Many years ago, I lived in Honduras. I think it was there that I first experienced what true poverty is really like. It doesn’t mean that you have to clip coupons to be able to purchase groceries, it means that you have to beg to get scraps of food.  It doesn’t mean that you can’t afford health insurance, it means health insurance and health care, in general, is not even an option or consideration. It doesn’t mean that you have to cut back on fuel costs by taking public transportation, it means that your only possibility for transportation is your own two feet.  It doesn’t mean having to share a bedroom with your sibling because your parents couldn’t afford a larger house, it means worrying about where you’ll sleep every evening. Sadly, these circumstances exist in various degrees of severity all over the globe.

Luckily, I can say I have lived a charmed life. I had stable, loving parents who were able to provide me with more love, support and resources than any child could ever hope for. So, how can someone like me help those who are in much greater need? At this point in my life, I feel as though educating those about poverty is the greatest way to make an impact. Realize that small actions can make a big impact. By educating yourself, you can begin to understand how your small actions can affect others.

Someone recently said to me, “taking the moral high road is the most direct route to poverty.” This may possibly be the most disgusting thing that anyone has ever said to be before in my life, but it did make me think. Are there others in the world who feel this way? Have we become a society that values wealth so much that we will stop at nothing to achieve it, no matter who is hurts? I would like to think that this is not true. I believe that by taking the moral high road, we can help those in poverty to escape their circumstances.

So, today I ask you to educate yourself. Pick an issue that is close to your heart whether it is education, health care or otherwise and find a way to use your passion to help others in need. Your small actions may make a world of difference.

http://www.erikawatters.com/

When I was young, I distinctly remember my mother trying to teach me not to say things like ‘ain’t’ and ‘ya’ll’. The New Yorker in her didn’t want a child who spoke using parts of words. Although I’ve managed to escape an obvious southern drawl, it has been known to come out when I am speaking quickly or when I am around other friends from ‘the south’. Now, some of you may be thinking…you’re from Florida…that’s not ‘the south’. Well, my friends…northern Florida is more like southern Georgia than you may think.

So, maybe every day isn’t like a scene from ‘Gone with the Wind’, but life sure is a lot different in northern Florida than in other parts of the state. Where some may think of palm trees, Disney World and beaches when they think of Florida; I think of pine trees, rolling hills, azaleas and old oaks with Spanish moss. I appreciated the spring more than the fall because of the color it brought to the landscape. I grew up thinking that your next door neighbors were people that you invited over for dinner and with whom you became life-long friends. All of my friends lived down a dusty dirt road, and we could all walk into each others homes without knocking. I miss all of these things about home.

But…if you know me…you know that every day is a new adventure.  And I am loving every second in my new environment.

http://www.erikawatters.com/

‘Dirty Dancing’, ‘Flashdance’, ‘Footloose’, ‘Take the Lead,’ ‘Dance With Me’, ‘Save the Last Dance’…the list goes on and on. Pick a movie, any movie about dancing; and I’ve probably seen it. And to be absolutely honest, I’ve probably watched all of these movies more than 3 times each.

When I was younger, I took every single type of dance class that you could possibly take: tap, jazz, ballet, etc. My mother always tells me that I used to jump around the house to the ‘Nutcracker’ ballet when it would play on TV at Christmas. She always feared that I would accidentally leap into the fireplace. Fortunately, there were no catastrophes!

My friends still call me the ‘Dancing Queen’ as they know that when I hit the dance floor, I will not stop unless I need water. So, I believe that I had a secret passion to become a dancer. Obviously, it was a passion that went unserved; but at least I can live out my dreams through movies.

http://www.erikawatters.com/

A cold water shower can be refreshing or limb numbing, depending on multiple factors. One constant consideration is the fact that the first drop that rolls down your spine is undoubtedly the most difficult. As someone who has taken far too many cold water showers in her life (too much time in Honduras has given me the privilege to make this claim), I feel that I am now certified to give tips on how to take a cold water shower without fearing hypothermia. I believe that there are a few ways to approach a cold water shower:

The ‘Think Later’ Approach

1. Turn on cold water
2. Jump in
3. Think later about how icy cold your entire body feels

Using this method will certainly lead to an immediate and temporary state of paralysis followed by an overwhelming sense of ‘what in the world was I thinking’ type of thoughts. However, these feelings wear off after a few minutes, leaving you to enjoy the rest of your shower.

The ‘Wash One Body Part at a Time’ Approach

1. Get into the shower and face the wall opposite the faucet and shower head
2. Position yourself in a semi yoga-like pose so that you are tilting back your head and making an arch with your back
3. Turn on the cold water
4. Gaze up at the shower head to wet your hair first
5. Slowly turn around so that your back is still arched, don’t let your head up quickly…or that first drop is going to go right down your spine
6. Proceed to put one arm at a time under the water, and then one leg at a time under the water until you are finished

Using this method will take much longer than the average amount of time it should take to bathe normally. The biggest problem with this method is that you feel cold throughout the entire shower.  However, I will say, after the first drop goes down your spine, the rest of the shower is much more bearable.

The ‘Control It’ Approach

1. Fill two over-sized buckets with cold water
2. Dunk your hair in one bucket
3. Proceed to lather your hair over the bucket
4. Use water from the other bucket to rinse hair
5. Using the soapy water, proceed to wash other body parts
6. Use clean water to rinse

This procedure is best used when you are in an area where water is scarce (umm…yeah…I am really familiar with this technique). The good part is that you end up using less water. The bad part is that you don’t feel much cleaner at the end of the shower.

Now, I hope you are better prepared for your next cold water shower.  

http://www.erikawatters.com/

Recently, a colleague of mine was talking about her son’s first day at school. So, I started to remember my very first day in kindergarten. Somehow I was more bold and confident at the age of 4 than I am today at 31.

At age 4, I started elementary school. Since I had a December birthday, I had to take a special exam to be admitted early. I was the only kid to pass the exam. YAY!!!  Now I could get a lunch box!!  

I think some parents worry about their kid’s first day of school. Apparently, my parents understood my desire for exploration and independence early on. They knew that it was my dream to proudly carry my new lunch box out to the bus stop with the other ‘big kids’ and get on the yellow bus to go to school. So, rather than drive me to school on my first day, they let me get on the bus all by myself.

It was on this day that I met Heather and Jessica. They were in 1st grade…more experienced in the world of lunch boxes, bus etiquette and elementary school life. I sat by myself in a seat in front of them. The two little blondies (all three of us have blonde hair so it was hard to tell us apart at that age) quickly invited me to sit with them for our ride to school. And we three became fast friends. Even though they were a year ahead of me, we remained friends throughout high school (but that’s a different story).

When we arrived at the elementary school, I got off the bus and was led to an area near the kindergarten rooms. Apparently, I didn’t feel that the organizational process for new kindergarten students was really all that effective. So, I took matters into my own hands. I marched up to the front office (don’t even ask how I found my way there), and I demanded immediate action. I said something like this, “My name is Erika, and I need to know who my teacher is.” Well, I don’t remember much after that. I am sure my mom could fill in the blanks. Long story short though, I made it to my classroom…with my lunch box. And at the end of the day, I found my way back to the bus to make the long trip home.

Some days I just wish I could be 4 again!

http://www.erikawatters.com/

As summer ends and fall creeps up on us, I thought this might be an appropriate time to reminisce on family road trips.

No one understands road trips better than my father. Early in his career, my dad was a surveyor for the State of Florida and spent hundreds of hours travelling from one beach to another surveying the coastline. Now, as an engineer, he doesn’t travel for work quite as often. However, that doesn’t mean his love for road travel has diminished even the slightest bit.

My dad truly found his soul-mate when he met my mother. She may be the one and only person who likes to travel by car as much as my father (actually, I just think she likes to hang out with my dad…whether it is in a car or not). It isn’t because they are afraid to fly, they just happen to really enjoy the scenery when traveling. So, getting from point A to point B by car makes the most sense.

When I was younger, my family would always try to take some sort of a summer trip. Sometimes, they were short trips and sometimes they were long trips. But, two things were constant. The trips were made by car, and I sat in the backseat with my younger brother.

I’d like to say that my brother and I were civil to each other during these excursions. But, I won’t lie. We weren’t. Come on!!! We were young kids! And these were the days before iPods and built in DVD players. So, you can imagine how much fun these trips were for my parents.

Needless to say, we spent a lot of ‘quality’ time together as a family. Maybe pieces of my road trips sound like some of the road trips you’ve taken in life:

Florida to New York – Purpose: Attend my mom’s high school reunion

I was 10. My mother wanted to attend her high school reunion in New York. So, my younger brother and I were going to New York for the 1st time in our lives. We started in Florida and made our way up the East Coast. Along the way, my brother started attacking me with the middle seat belt saying it was a snake, throwing it on me and screaming. Clever. My brilliant mother started a game that had the goal of spotting as many different state license plates as possible. That game helped us get through Georgia and the Carolinas.

In New York, we lived it up… Visited my mom’s friends out on Long Island and got to stay in a swanky house in the Hamptons with a pool (that is all my brother and I cared about at that age)… Ate at a fancy restaurant where my brother decided he didn’t like the food and instead wanted a hot dog… Had a canolo for the very 1st time… And got to see the Statue of Liberty. All that fun packed into one road trip.

Florida to Prince Edward Island, Canada – Purpose: Walk in the footsteps of ‘Anne’ from ‘Anne of Green Gables‘

Like many young girls, I read the ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ books. I envisioned visiting Prince Edward Island and walking in Anne’s footsteps. For some reason, my mother understood my excitement and thought that Prince Edward Island was the perfect place for us to take a summer vacation. So, off we went, in the car, driving up the East Coast, all the way to Canada. Of course we stopped at great places along the way; and then finally, crossed the border into Canada.

All I remember is how clean and beautiful it was. Certainly my father was thinking, ‘Canada, Oh Canada’ in his head. 

We took a ferry over to Prince Edward Island and instantly discovered its beauty. I remember dark red sand, wild grass, green pastures and our lovely house that overlooked the beach. We rented part of a 100 year old house that overlooked the ocean for a week. We explored the island, witnessed the aurora borealis (well, my family did…I was asleep) and found Green Gables. My childhood dreams were fulfilled.

Seattle to Montana to Wyoming to California to Oregon to Seattle – Purpose: The ‘legendary’ 3 week camping trip that started off with us losing our luggage in Kansas City

Ahh…finally my favorite trip to complain about, yet the most fun to remember. Believe it or not, one year my parents decided to FLY.  You heard me right! We flew all the way out to Seattle for a 3 week camping trip that would start right after we left the Seattle airport. First, we had to make it to Seattle.

No trip is complete without some kinks, and this trip had plenty. Due to weather, our flight was cancelled; and we were stuck in Kansas City. Of course, our luggage was shipped off to another city as we were escorted to a hotel for the evening. We made it to Seattle the next day, our luggage didn’t. Luckily, we were able to stay with friends until our bags arrived about 3 days later. Then, we were off, gear in hand. Bound and determined to conquer the wild west.

We drove up into Canada and then over and down into Montana to see Glacier National Park. Yes, camping the whole way. I like camping and all, but a 3 week camping trip for a teenage girl is just too much. Then, my parents thought it would be great fun to relive memories from their honeymoon. So, we went to Wyoming and hiked various trails in the Tetons. Then, we zig zagged across the great west…singing ‘Lion King’ songs the whole way.  We finally stayed at a hotel to take a normal shower in San Francisco. YAY!!! I could write an entire entry about this camping adventure, but I’ll spare you the details today.

It has taken me years to get over the trauma of being a teenage girl who has to deal with semi-primitive camping conditions for 3 weeks. But now, looking back, I can see how very special that trip was. Our whole family was together. Enjoying the scenery. Not worrying about work or school or anything back home. We were just living.

Remember, life is a highway…

http://www.erikawatters.com/