Back To My Roots

livewellnaturallyu
Jul 18
6 min read

It was mid-June as I wove my way through the curvy streets of the South side of

La Jolla in our golf cart. It's a place where I've spent countless days wandering by foot, bicycle, moped, and a variety of cars, mostly old ones—often with my dog as my co-pilot.

As I was headed into the village to sign escrow papers, I felt a warmth in my heart as I reminisced along the way... 'there's where I took backyard swimming at the O'Brien's house, and around that corner was where my favorite Girl Scout Leader, Mrs. Keating, lived.' I was feeling deeply connected to my roots that were laid so long ago and how that was showing up in who I am today. I could truly comprehend how every moment has brought me to now, all within a blink of an eye.

There was something different about this gratitude that I felt that day. Maybe it was due to it being coupled with my excitement for our new house. All I knew was that this short journey from my childhood home into the village was filled with ecstatic bliss.

We only had four days to furnish our new house to prepare it for the rental market. Our friend Britney was integral in getting us to the finish line, thanks to her preplanning with both the design and ensuring all of the orders would be waiting in the queue.

Together with help from family and friends, we pulled it off, enough for Britney and me to head out on a preplanned trip and not leave Doug with an insurmountable amount of work still to do.

I'm going to circle back to the trip in another blog, as it was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. The short overview is that we landed in Bucharest, Romania, a day and a half early, then joined a wonderful group of people from both the USA and Singapore to tour with doTERRA and their Co-Impact Sourcing Group. We traveled to Albena, Bulgaria, to see their lavender fields and the Esseterre Distillery.

What is noteworthy here and ties into my Roots theme twice over is that I saw through my quest of lying down in a lavender field to take a nap after our packed four days of staging our new rental.

What I didn't know would become one of the top highlights of my trip was going to an AA meeting in Bucharest. They only have one meeting a day, an averge of five members at a meeting, and the program has only been there for 20 or so years.

So, when a fellow traveler from Los Angeles happened to show up at the same meeting that I did, it was a breath of fresh air for them to have new perspectives to hear and to ponder. He had 19 years, and at first, they struggled to believe that I had 36 years, since they only knew of AA for 20 years. Then they remembered that AA was started in the USA 90 years ago, and it all made sense. They soaked up our experience, strength, and hope as we appreciated hearing what their journey has been like as well.

It was no different from meetings in the US, we got just as much out of our time together as they did. The meeting and the after-meeting, as we went out afterward for a sparkling water and some fellowship, were fabulous. I left with a renewed appreciation for our 600+ meetings a week that range from 10 to 100 people or more.

Augustino escorted me back to my hotel, and as we walked, he shared stories about his life in communist Romania. In his bedroom, he had an American flag alongside a picture of Jimi Hendrix, much to his grandfather's dismay over his interest in our culture. Luckily, Augustino was just a child when everything changed, and the way of life they knew began to disappear as they progressed.

If you know anything about me, flying, and movies, then you know that often I come across a movie that shakes me to my core all the while traveling up in the clouds—often seated next to a stranger. I don't plan it, I don't see it on my horizon, and yet there I am with my travel scarf around my shoulders, and at some point in the movie, you can find me quietly blubbering into my scarf.

Maybe it's the focus I have watching something just inches from my face or because I have nowhere else to be? All I know is that this is not the first time I have gotten off a flight and said, 'whoa, that was a doozy, I think I'm changed for life.'

Upon returning to our life in our RV, which is nestled in the corner of the driveway at my childhood home, we prepared for a staycation that will be followed by a six week road trip.

I took a moment and popped into my childhood home to say hi to my 91-year-old mom. By now, I'm back to my task mode, and I wasn't so in tune with all of my melancholy feelings that had swirled under my keel in recent weeks.

I told her about my travels and how wonderful the doTERRA community is. I reminded her that the Deep Blue lotion that helps her manage her pain is from this company, and she smiled.

After that, I started discussing my experience of watching the movie 'Here' on the flight home, which stars Tom Hanks and my high school friend, Robin Wright. The videography style enabled the telling of a story that was both intimate and far-reaching.

It started with a scene of open land where our indigenous friends lived. Then it moved through the difficult yet essential history of the land being developed by colonial settlers, while children played in what would become their future neighborhood.

The movie artfully moves through various periods of time, which is usually hard for me to track. Yet, as we collectively gazed through the window of the living room where most of the movie is filmed in, from that house that was built early on, I was able to decipher the various time periods due to the style of old cars going by, the decor of this room, and of course, the hairstyles.

While I was telling my mom about how beautifully the movie portrayed the various stages of life and our shared desires to improve our lives, cherish our families, and create memories that will eventually become our legacies, it deeply hit me that I was sitting at the same kitchen table that has been the heart of our family in the house that has been my childhood home for 56 years. Suddenly, tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably.

Was it due to Doug and me returning to live on the grounds of my childhood home? Could it be the trip down memory lane that day in my golf cart to the escrow office? Perhaps meeting the people in AA with less time than I have, highlighting the growth I've undergone? Or maybe seeing a childhood friend on the not-so-big screen, whom I remember fondly from high school?

Here I was, sitting at the same table where I had once sought my Dad's advice and shared laughs with my Mom as she recounted yet another amusing tale. Our kitchen table essentially served as the living room from 'Here'.

I could envision a talented producer capturing the different occasions we gathered around our table. However, I'm no longer seated there as a child or a young adult, nor just as a Mom, but now as a Grandma.

Much of my life's movie has already been created. I am incredibly thankful for the memories I've shared with my family and friends yet I would be remiss if I didn't also express my awareness of having the scales of time shift to where the time behind me is now greater than what lies ahead. This inspires me to continue to create precious memories, hoping that some might become part of my legacy that I leave behind for my loved ones.

I looked into my mom's eyes that still had a slight glimmer to them, but the fogginess of her mind continues to cloud her eyes more each day, just as Robin's character does in the end of the movie. Tears are now effortlessly streaming down my face as I try to share that part of the movie with my mom. I gently explain that Robin didn't remember living in that house but found comfort and solace in her friendship with Tom's character.

My Mom looked at me and said, 'I don't know your name or even remember who you are...... but I feel you here' - as she pointed to her heart.