Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Letting Go

Some personal struggles over the past several months have really forced me to employ the principle of "Let Go and Let God." Good thing that I've been working on this for awhile, because the weekend gave me opportunity to put this into practice.

Son & I had an early flight Saturday morning to Oakland. From there we took a taxi to his housing complex. He stood in the check-in line for well over an hour while I stood guard over his luggage. Surprisingly, he was the first of his room mates to arrive. The dorm was configured with one set of bunk beds and a single. There appeared to be space to debunk the beds and reconfigure the room and debunk the beds. So we did. Then we made his bed and went out for lunch. We returned to find one of his room mates had arrived. They spoke a bit about the configuration and he was more comfortable unpacking his stuff. We had some time to kill, so we explored the housing complex and surrounding area then decided to walk over to my hotel.

Exploring the grounds of his housing complex

This courtyard looks peaceful.

Just as we walked out of the dorm, JoLynn texted me to make plans for Sunday. We intended to finalize plans shortly after I got settled into my hotel.

However, I arrived at the hotel to discover that while they had my reservation, they didn't have any available rooms. How does that even happen?!? Both the hotel clerk & I tried our luck at finding some other accommodations near campus to no avail. After all, it was move-in weekend. Sigh. The only option in Berkeley was down by the marina at a much higher rate.

JoLynn graciously offered her spare room and after working through things in my mind, it really seemed like the best alternative. It was better for her because she wouldn't have to drive up to Berkeley early on Sunday morning. It was better for me because I wouldn't be alone Saturday night. It was better for Son because he was anxious to get on with his college life without mom hanging around for another day. However it did mean that I had less time to explore Berkeley and needed to say goodbye to him much sooner than I expected. We had a quick dinner, walked to the nearest BART station, said our goodbyes, and I was on my way to Fremont...

I must say, JoLynn and Keith are wonderful people. I feel so blessed that things worked out the way that they did. What initially seemed like a bad situation (no available hotel room) turned into something wonderful. We we up late Saturday evening chatting away until JoLynn & I were both exhausted. They fed me breakfast. JoLynn took me to her favorite hiking location (Garin, of course!) along with Boomer and Bella. She even lent me some shorts because the weather turned out much warmer than expected (irony, huh?) and dropped me off at the airport when it was time for me to go home.

Single Track at Garin

JoLynn (and Boomer too!) & I

Despite the fact that the weekend didn't turn out anything as expected and Son has moved out and moved on, I have nothing but pleasant memories...

It seems I also may need to let go of my plan for the half marathon in October. With the pressure off, I was able to really enjoy my four mile run this morning. It rained last night, so I found myself running on a muddy ditch bank. We're never too old to play in the mud, right?

Life is good!

14 comments:

  1. you done good, momma! Son is growed up, move on, healthy, vibrant. It doesn't get much better than that. Time to make some more memories.

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  2. It had to be tough dropping Son off at college. WOW, all grown up. Looks like a beautiful place; I'm sure he's going to love it.

    Glad you had a friend to stay with and some decent time on the trails too!

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  3. Congrats on raising such a smart cookie!

    You def made the best out of that situation! Glad you got to enjoy the trails with a friend and glad you're feeling better after getting the pressure of the Half off your back. I'm right there with you!

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  4. How does a hotel have your reservation but not a room? That seems so odd to me.

    Dropping Son off was probably tough, but you'll get to see him at the holidays and parent's weekend and such!

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  5. Dumb of the hotel, but definitely sounds like things worked out for the better! JoLynn was a great distraction and entertainer :)

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  6. My mom still bawls every time I get on the plane to fly back "home" and I'm almost 22. I remember her being an emotional WRECK my first year of college and I was only two hours away!

    Anyways, I'm glad things worked out OK (what idiots at the hotel!!) and that looks like a beautiful hike!!

    Amazing how much better our bodies work when we don't put all the pressure on mentally, hey!?

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  7. I just got aggravated with some hotel-related issue and seeing your post about your hotel experience kinda ticks me off.

    I am glad, however, that things turned out to be pretty good though.

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  8. I remember a Seinfeld episode about a car reservation, but then there were no cars available when he went to pick it up and the argument about the point of making a reservation is to hold the car...kind of a classic.

    My heart is kind of breaking for you. I remember some time ago when I complained about my 4 year old misbehaving and 'when is he leaving for college?', and you said something along the lines about how it will be sooner than I expect and be careful what you wish for. That has stuck with me and I'm imagining myself in your place and my heart hurts.

    I like that mantra "Let go and let God".

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  9. Sounds like a big change in your household!

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  10. Having your son off to college is a huge milestone--I'll probably need sedation when that day comes here...if I'm still lucid that is.
    Glad you are enjoying having the pressure off running wise--there's much to be said for that.

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  11. Sounds like it ended up being a wonderful weekend. How nice!

    Glad you were able to have a nice, muddy run. Letting go sounds like it's working out for you.

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  12. Not that driving to Berkeley Sunday would have been such a pain. It's only like 40 minutes from here. LOL But, I am so happy you got to spend the night here and we were able to talk so much. And we got a great breakfast prepared for us.
    Any time you need a place to stay when you visit your son, you know you're more than welcome here. ;)

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  13. Looks like you handled the college drop off very well. I will also need a box of kleenex and a xanax. I am glad the hotel mix up worked in your favor.

    I was in your shoes about having to give up a race last year. It was a tough call and very disappointing but it was for the best. There will always be other races.

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  14. wow, Lisa, what an emotional journey you have been on, I'm so glad you were able to spend time with JoLynn and not be alone. I'm sure your son will sort out his new life at school just fine.

    Sorry to read about giving up the half marathon, but take your time and enjoy your running, sometimes we forget to do that (right?).

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