A few weeks ago, Heath and I headed to the panhandle of Oklahoma for a little getaway before the fall semester started. We picked Oklahoma for a few reasons: 1) I’ve never been there! 2) It’s the 49th state I’ve visited, and 3) the place we stayed is in a Bortle 1 zone, the darkest designation a place on Earth can receive.
We had a great time and we learned A LOT about stargazing, most specifically what NOT to do. For example, lack of moonlight is key to seeing stars and meteors, and, unfortunately, our time in Oklahoma was a few days out from the full moon.
We did get approximately 45 glorious minutes of stargazing one night. During that time, we saw the Milky Way and one meteor. It was enough for us to feel wonder and awe, and inspire in us the desire to see more stars in more dark parks. Unfortunately, our plans to visit a Bortle 2 Dark Park in Colorado on Friday night were thwarted by cloudy skies. But we’re committed to try again!
During the day, Heath and I relaxed and read. It was HOT, so we only ventured out briefly for one hike on the Rock Garden Trail at Black Mesa State Park, and another day we visited the Cimarron Heritage Center.
On our way home, we stopped at the Capulin Volcano in New Mexico. We drove to the top and then walked the rest of the way. We say wildflowers, ladybugs, and caterpillars galore!
We had so much fun on our little trip that we’re planning to do another one in 2026 with an emphasis on stargazing and reading. This plan works well for us because the one night we did stay up late for those 45 minutes, we were quite zonked the next day. Having low ambitions of lying around and reading is the perfect antidote to late-night stargazing.
I’m also hoping we can visit Alaska in 2026 because then I’ll have spent quality time in all 50 states. That might be a stretch because we’re also down to one car and saving a lot for the next several months so we can buy a new-to-us one.
In the meantime, it’s back to work for both of us. The fall semester started this past Thursday, and I’m teaching close to 400 students.
Happy Back to School, everyone!
And if you aren’t going back to school, head to your local library and pick up a book on stargazing. It’s never too late to learn something new.
On Friday, I turned 48 and my blog turned 10. I had high expectations for the day centered around doing nothing, but upon further inquiry from Heath I realized I, unfortunately, had quite a bit to do.
Could I have put off this work for another day? Perhaps. But it was the kind of work where other people were waiting for me to respond or do something. And as my birthday was a Friday, that meant it was either send someone work emails on a Saturday or wait until Monday. I didn’t want to be that person.
Instead, I reframed the day as having no obligations that would make me go anywhere. But, the damage was done and I felt a good portion of my birthday feeling blue. Brene Brown’s insight of “Expectations are just resentments waiting to happen” has never rang more true.
Now that the day came and went, it was a pretty good birthday (objectively speaking). It started with my usual walk around the lake. I petted two of my favorite local dogs, Lovie and Sal, who I don’t have a picture of but imagine two gigantic walking clouds. I pet them every time we pass each other around the lake.
I also received many birthday wishes via text, some through phone calls, a few through email, and more cards this year than previous years. I hope this means snail mail cards are making a comeback despite the ever increasing cost of buying and sending them.
Photos of birthday cards I received this year!
I also received two very good gifts!
Heath surprised me by getting us a beginners dance package at Arthur Murray Dance studio. I say surprised because even though I told Heath I wanted us to take dance lessons, I thought I would have to do all the logistical work of finding lessons for us. So when he showed me the online gift card, I was thrilled! Getting what I want and not having do to any work to make it happen is like a double treat!
My second gift came in a more convoluted way.
One of my 25 in 25 goals this year was to buy a pair of ice skates and use them 25 times. When I made this goal, I knew it would be a second-half-of-the-year goal because of the cost involved. In June, I researched where to buy skates. I also looked up the local skating rinks and their schedules to make sure there would be times that I could fit into my schedule.
And then I felt reluctance creeping in. What if the motion sickness I developed as an adult kept me from enjoying skating? What would I do every week if I wasn’t working with a coach? What were my actual goals for skating? I didn’t want to compete again. Would I get bored without working towards something? I didn’t want to invest a couple of hundred dollars on ice skates without having good answers to these questions, and less expensive skates would be too flimsy for my level of experience. I am 48, after all. I have to take good care of my body, especially my feet and ankles!
As if it was a sign from the universe, the closest rink would be undergoing renovations starting in July. So, I shifted my focus to something else I’ve been wanting to do but couldn’t for those 8 years we were nomads – play the piano.
So I asked my mom for a high quality 88-key keyboard as my birthday gift this year. It came with a bench which was ridiculously hard to put together, and thankfully, Heath helped me (and by helped me I mean he put it together after I gave up).
I took lessons for one year in high school and one year when I lived in Illinois. It was during my Illinois lessons that I received one of my greatest compliments. Kelly, said my piano teacher, I wish all my students were as happy as you.
Pro tip: To get these kinds of compliments, it helps to do things like clap your hands and yell yay anytime you finish a song.
I love to play the piano for the sheer joy of playing it. I like the challenge of learning new songs and I especially enjoy playing Christmas carols. I have zero expectations that I will ever perform for anyone other than myself and I don’t care! My greatest ambition for piano playing is that if I ever see a piano anywhere I can go up to it and play Carol of the Bells, which is my favorite Christmas song.
For years I kept my piano books because I always wanted to return to it. Even when I got rid of almost everything during our time on the road, I didn’t get rid of those books. A piano is something I’ve been wanting for so long and now that we have a home, I was finally in a position that having a full keyboard was possible.
I now have a piano in our basement.
My new piano!
By my birthday next year, I can serenade myself with Happy Birthday on the piano.
Uh oh. Sounds like I already have an expectation for next year….
Oh, well! I did end up having a happy birthday this year anyway. I just had to let go of those pesky expectations and enjoy what I had.
