Traveling with adult children and Curiosity

Good morning, Don,

I hope that you got your pickling done. I love homemade pickles but I have not tried to make them. There is a special technique to it and I don't think I've got the knack for it.

We took a couple of days and went to Steamboat Springs with our son and his wife. The last time I was in Steamboat Springs, it was a very sleepy little ski town. Not so today. I was overwhelmed by the waves of people that were crawling in and out of the shops, standing on the sidewalks – the traffic was overwhelming. It felt like I could not turn around without bumping into somebody. And what I was looking at on the rack was instantly snatched up by somebody else.

But I can truthfully say, that I will go back to Steamboat Springs in another season to see what it's like. It is quite possible that that area would be a place that I would retire to if I ever choose to retire. One of the things that really drew me was fishing. I have not fished in at least 100 years – but being in a place that has lots of lakes and rivers brought back a lot of childhood memories. And fishing was one of them. Another was skiing, but I don't think I'll be taking that up again. However, Steamboat Springs does have a hot springs, and it also has a college. It's a thought.

I found traveling with our son and daughter-in-law to be interesting. There were times when it felt like we could not make up our minds as to what we wanted to do – as a collective mind we had no focus, no destination. That made for a lot of wasted time. None of us could really say that we wanted to do "this thing" and feel comfortable about it. My husband did finally manage to say that he wanted to go to Steamboat Lake, and the rest of us agreed, thankful that we had a direction. By the time we got to the evening music, which my son and his wife wanted to do, both my husband and I were so over peopled, that we chose to go back to the motel. Introverts surrounded by lots of people tire easily.

The other thing that I find interesting is that by the time we get over the parent and child communication problem, our son and his wife will return to China where they are teaching. I feel I have missed out – and most of it could be my fault. I am the mother, I take my job seriously, and even though my son is over 35, I want to know that he is okay. As he is not forthcoming with information, I ask a lot of questions and that becomes our form of communication. I still have a lot to learn about being a mother.

We've always been told that the parents are the role models. Is there a time in the lifespan between parent and child, that that changes? I know that watching my son and his wife shop is an experience in patience for me and an exercising of their curiosity for them. They have visited so many different cultures, I'm sure that there is a constant comparison going on in their minds and also in their conversations.

I know that I have lost, maybe it is better to say I have focused, my curiosity. I am curious about certain things, but I think I have lost or maybe stuffed down the childlike wonder. As I have gotten older, and I feel like time is shortening for me, I focus on want I to see, where I want to go, what I want to experience. I rarely wander aimlessly.

Curiosity is an interesting subject. Can you plan an exploration to satisfy your curiosity if you don't know what you're curious about? If you have no idea what sparks your interest? After your exploration, you come away dissatisfied – because you weren't looking for anything specifically, you didn't have a focused reason to look in the 1^st place; we did not know what to hunt for. We are not trained to look for lessons, to see the small integral pieces and parts and how they fit together; we have become a civilization of hunt, find, stay in the box.

As to stepping out of the box and being left-handed, there are no great insights to report this week. I have days when I can really focus, organized, on top of it; and then every now and then a day slips in where I'm lucky if I can chew gum – forget the walking and chewing gum. Those days are really exhausting and embarrassing. 3 more weeks – I should get the hang of being left-handed by then.

Thanks Don, for getting Jeroen's ghost story edited. I can't wait to share this story in September. My other editor had emergency surgery so I will finish off Tammy's story this afternoon. The 2 stories are thematically tied even though these authors don't know each other. September is going to be a great Transport. I'm hoping to get back to the riddle contest – that may have to wait until I can do things a little faster.

Have a great week everyone,

Carolyn