My fifteen minutes of fame..................................

One of the reasons I have been lax about blogging is because BIG things have been happening in my world. I actually started writing this post the day before yesterday, and am just now getting back to it.

Back in January the newspaper started a year long series about senior citizens. At that time they requested people with thoughts or ideas regarding seniors write in and share. NO WAY could I pass up an opportunity to share my opinion so I sent off an e-mail and heard nothing back until a couple of weeks ago when a gentleman from the paper contacted me about an interview on the part of the series regarding housing options for seniors.

When he came out for the interview I had a respite resident and the reporter loved the story angle about the way this couple was able to keep promises made to one another years ago through the availability of respite care. I LOVED the notion that the word would get out about the concept of respite care in general.

A few days after the interview the phone rang and it was a different person from the paper asking me to take part in an open forum town hall meeting regarding the same topic, senior housing options. Quote, "_____ from the _____ told me you have a great passion for the subject and he thought you would be an ideal person to have on the panel." Flattered beyond belief, my response was, "Passion is kind of an understatement. Do you have a cowbell or something to shut me up because once I get going I sometimes don't know when to stop." She wanted me anyway!

A miner rub to this whole thing is the date of the meeting is a date I had planned to be in CO on my way to a half-marathon in South Dakota. A few travel plan changes later along with an amazing offer of assistance from Random and it was worked out so I can do both. Let me stop here a second and interject that if you don't run you really should consider taking it up if for no other reason that the great friendships it will bring into your life. I have yet to meet a runner that isn't a kind, considerate, go out of their way to help a fellow human being out without thinking twice about it, kind of person. "My" Random is all that and more!

So back to my stardom... I get to share my ideas about quality senior care. If any of you have ever been in the situation of needing to find just the right fit for an aging parent you know how hard it can be to weed through the system. How great would it be if we could design a way to narrow the field a bit to make things easier? What a great thing to be a part of.

And then, two nights ago, the phone rang and it was a reporter from the area weekly paper and he wanted to interview me about the dog park. I am waiting to hear if the Parks Committee got the okay from the city to give us the land, but this is a great opportunity to get the word out to people that might be interested in helping to design and keep the park going when we do get the land. Like I told the reporter, "I want as much input as possible, because I don't want this to be my dog park, but the communities dog park, and the more people that get involved the greater the chances that the final product will be a place that lots of people and dogs will have lots of good times at."

And don't forget that movie credit I am going to have for sewing the costumes for the movie that is being filmed in our town. I wonder if they will put a black mark through my name if I don't have time to finish the last two still sitting in the corner staring accusatorily at me each and every time I walk by them on my way to do something else?

Don't worry, I have no big plans of changing up my life from the way it currently is. I have not (yet) begun to look for homes in Hollywood or search the net for a publicist. My feet remain firmly planted on the ground of my ordinary life, and there really is no other life I can think of that is better than mine, or that I would rather be living.