A Different Kind of Hangover

It is the Monday after "Games Weekend" at the shore.  The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the stifling humidity of the past week has finally subsided and there is nowhere I "have" to be right now.  All along the shore you can almost hear a collective sigh of relief, secret snickers about memorable moments, and groans from over exertion or over indulgence of one kind or another this past weekend.  The "Games Weekend" is a one of a kind extravaganza!

Heading over to the bocce games on Saturday morning.
Dad flying the American flag to "represent".

The "Games Weekend" is a three day test of mental, athletic and social stamina.  This year was the 44th annual games.  I was a teenager when they began!  They begin on Friday morning bright and early with a golf game.  We had around 60 participants from the two extended families and it came down to 10 strokes.  We (the Browns) lost the event. From the golf game we head back to the shore, suit up for the beach and cool off in the water before we go home, eat dinner and head out for a night of cribbage, Hearts and Trivial Pursuit.  This night has been known to go on into the wee hours of the morning for some...  It is always a great time and involves many people!

It was an intense game of Trivial Pursuit!

After our late-ish night, the weekend is off and running.  The rest of the two days include bocce ball, Frisbee golf, volleyball, a water relay, softball, a sack race and finally Ultimate Frisbee.  Every one of these activities requires major coordination of teams and venues.  There are over 100 and maybe 150 (I've never really counted) participants and spectators in these "games".  Three days, 11 events, one winning family.  We take our weekend sports seriously!

Bocce is serious business!

I can't throw a Frisbee but I can use a camera so...
I set up a photo booth in front of our outdoor shower for the Frisbee golf game.
I counted at least 96 participants...most were wearing clothes!

I can remember participating in almost every one of the games...in my younger days.  This year I participated in three of them and coordinated one event.  Everyone is included in these games from the children to the over 60 crowd.  It really is one of the most loved and sometimes dreaded weekends of the summer.  Dreaded only because life gets put on hold for three days.  There are no regular meals, laundry goes neglected, privacy is impossible during the games and sleep is fleeting which may lead to an element of dread for some.  I am not one of them.  I love this weekend!

At the end of the games we come together, both the Browns and the Christies and use up all the rest of our energy at the barn party.  What better way to make sure you leave it all on the field than dancing and partying all night long?

This year as I watched the crowd on the dance floor looking younger than ever...or was I just older than ever...I was reminded of previous barn parties.  There were years I danced every dance and drank way more than I should have only to continue the festivities into the wee hours of the morning.  The next day was usually met with a huge headache and many body aches brought on by playing sports I play once a year and dancing for four or five straight hours.  The hangover may have been epic.  Then came the years my children were those teenagers making questionable decisions and TJ and I stayed at the barn party "dancing and partying" just to keep a watchful eye.  Then there were the last few years with our adult children when dancing all night together made my heart swell.  I guess I really do love to dance and I love my family.

My cup runneth over at the 40th Games in 2014 !
I sure did miss them last night!

Today I woke up with a different kind of hangover.  I drank very responsibly last night so that was not the problem.  But....why do my knees, hips and feet hurt so much?  I have come to the harsh reality that I just can't dance for hours on a concrete floor.  Well...I can, but I feel it more than I used to.  Nothing a lot of water and a couple ibuprofen can't fix....so worth it!  Bring on the Mull River Shuffle!

Look for the Red Doors

We celebrated Canada Day this week three weeks ago with another fun day in Pugwash at the annual Gathering of the Clans.  There was the usual parade with plenty of  area emergency vehicles blaring their sirens, decorated floats, horses....one cow, and four marching bagpipe bands.  After the parade we perused the main street, ate some awesome food truck tacos, watched the highland dancing competition and listened to the piping competition.  All in all it was a lovely way to celebrate Canada!

He just wasn't sure he wanted to wave back!

Getting ready for their performances.

On our walk back to the car we stopped in a local photography gallery.  I enjoy his photos and admit to copying a few of his ideas.  What is it they say, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery"?  He can consider himself flattered.  One of my favorite photos in his gallery is of an old weather beaten red door.  It is simple and to the point.  I had gone to the same house years ago and taken my own red door photos to have for all of posterity.  Unfortunately....I can't find them!  So much for posterity.  I mentioned to the photographer that they had torn down the red door house.  He said he knew and the owners had actually given him the red door.  He said it was in his gallery.  The framed photo of the red door was hanging on the red door.  My daughter and I both looked at the photo when we walked into the gallery but never noticed the door!  He said it had been there for four days before his wife, who lives there, even noticed.

That night I was reading my book and skipped to the back and read the teaser for the author's next book when the first paragraph leaped off the page.  "There are so many things we don't see...things that are right in front of us." I actually got out of bed, got paper and pen and wrote down the ideas that started flooding into my head at that prompt.  The characters were talking about not seeing things that are right in front of them.  The problem is that one of them was talking about the physical surroundings while the other was talking about feelings.  A classic miscommunication. When a theme slaps you in the face like that you just have to go with it!

I recently witnessed one of those situations where what wasn't seen to some was obvious to others.  This happens all of the time in much communication.  We only see what we want to see or what we can consciously absorb.

What do you see here?
Pretty purple flowers or red potatoes?

It never fails to amaze me when my siblings all have different recollections of the same events.  We all had the same experiences but saw them so differently!  We are limited by our own perspectives and none of us is omnipotent.

So...that's the ten minute blog for the....month?  I have been busy since the red door experience trying to fully see things around me.  It is harder than I thought!