Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

My Faith kitty has been unwell for a week. Geriatric Vestibular Syndrome? Brain tumour? Diabetes? I do not yet know. Yesterday’s blood test does not reveal a definitive answer. What ever it turns out to be, hopefully it is easily treated.

I am taking a leave from everything that can wait. Writing about my evening with Oprah (!) can wait, as can launching my speaker site, finishing year-end bookkeeping and sundry other things that typically occupy my time. Rather, I am spending my time caring for and watching over Faith – my top priority at the moment.

In this photo, the green lump beside me is Faith, safe and cozy under the Mom-knitted blanket. Note the water and food bowls on the end of the couch: the cutting edge trend in home decor!

During this leave I have had time to reflect the upon the lessons I have learned from Faith over the last (nearly) 17 years:

1. When tired, nap. She often tells me it is nap time. I am not sure whether it is because she knows better than I do when I need a nap or it is because she needs time with me, on her terms. Either way, I generally do not argue; she is persistent.

2. Be in the moment. Whatever might happened tomorrow, next week or next month might or might not happen. Right now a purring kitty wants her ear rubbed or her back massaged – until she tells me she has had enough. If I am listening and paying attention, I don’t need to be told a second time because that involves a claw in the back of my hand, immediately bringing me back to the now.

3. Relinquish ego and control. Faith cuddles on her own terms, not when I would like her to and I need to be okay with this. Surely this can be applied to other aspects of life too.

4. Take the last bite of a meal to another level. Faith typically takes the last mouthful to the floor to eat; when the bath mat is down, even better. I have yet to realize the significance of this, but I am sure a profound one exists. After 17 years, I am still learning.

5. Appreciate the small gestures made by others. Both will feel good.

What lessons have your beloved pets taught you?

Reflecting upon the last year, 2012 was a good one. Amazing, in fact! Adopting the 4-Hour Workday (although not always perfectly implemented) and letting go of one career choice in favour of a new adventure have positively changed my energy and my outlook for the upcoming year.

Before diving into 2013, I’d like to share highlights from 2012, many of which are represented in photos.

On beautiful days Darrell and I grabbed our respective cameras and headed out somewhere we could easily get to. These photo wheels became an outside activity we enjoyed together.

One of my favourite photos from the year remains:

What makes me grateful is that, because of the technology – in my case, my scooter, my Gorilla tripod and my point-n-click camera, Darrell and I now have a hobby we share.

Meike and I have been friends since senior high school. Although we don’t see each other that often, we always have fun, have a few laughs and find trouble! (Not necessarily in that order…) This time around it was the Cloverdale Parade and Rodeo (read the full account of our escapade):

Hands down, my favourite place any Saturday afternoon…!

And…there is nothing like saying "Hell, ya!" when an opportunity presents itself…

Thanks to friend and mentor John Foliot, early July Found me in San Francisco and then in San Jose to give two presentations. The first presentation was for a corporate client, where one individual in attendance was the son of the founders of a well-known American coffeehouse chain. Had I known that beforehand, I might have rethought using this photo in my PowerPoint:

In between events, John and I had a bit time to kill and he asked if there was anything I would like to see. I did! I didn’t need to think about the question and let an opportunity go wasted.

His top-drawer service included a car tour of Stanford, Cupertino, and the Apple campus (not necessarily in that order) and then…the Golden Gate Bridge! The weather wasn’t the best for taking in the entire view of the bridge, but that didn’t matter. What did matter is that two friends shared the moment together. (John had yet to see the bridge despite living in the Bay Area for six years.) Sometimes it isn’t the photo that is great, but rather the memory that it represents:

Without any question, Saturday, July 28th, 2012, will be remembered by many for years to come! Thanks to the kind folks at Wish Upon a Hero and many others, I conquered the Rocky Steps in Philadelphia in a mere 7 minutes.

Here’s a brief recap of the day…

Standing between Rocky impersonator Mike Kunda and the inspiration for the Rocky movies Chuck Wepner – an-art-imitating-life kind of moments – was one of my most humbling and awe-inspiring moments…

From Philadelphia I went on to Pittsburgh for ISAAC (International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication). That conference was tough because I went alone and none of my peeps were there, and because I was thrown a few curve balls as a presenter. But I did meet a few new friends:

• Lisa, an Australian Sex Party member, is demolishing the myth “No sex, please. We’re disabled.” Need I say more? We had a great conversation the last night with Proloquo2Go on our respective iDevices until, after one margarita, the text on her iPhone became way too small for me to read. There is nothing like two new friends bonding by sharing one iPad (with large text) to communicate. It’s likely a good thing the conference ended when it did, otherwise we might have found trouble together – or trouble might have found us.
• Marlena Katena epitomizes “Grab life by its balls and live it." Watch her theaacjournalist channel on YouTube and be inspired.
• 4-year-old Leo stole my heart. (Sorry dear, but he did!) Having a conversation with our two iPads was definitely THE special moment of the conference. I struggled hard to swallow the tears. He is light years ahead by beginning his communication journey with an iPad. I love this news story his mom sent to me: horseback riding with his iPad mounted to the horse. Light years ahead! (In the video, he is the boy in the blue jacket.)

  You go, Leo! You are amazing. Dream big and you will go onto achieve many great things.

In September, as a delayed celebration of our 14th anniversary (I was in Pittsburgh for our actual anniversary. Oops!), Darrell and I joined Mom and Auntie Fern for one of their “ferry cruises”. With miles of water between them, the two sisters have found a way to connect by visiting on the BC Ferries, while enjoying the buffet. Ingenious!

On our return trip, we were lucky to pass a pod of orca whales. The captain slowed the ferry so that we all had an opportunity to marvel at the sight of whales breaching. Imagine whale watching for the price of a BC Ferries’ passenger fare! This is one of amazing photos Darrell shot:

Mother and daughter enjoying time together on the water: priceless!

The special commonality amongst these highlights is they are all memories created by taking time to spend time with friends and family, away from online. And that is so valuable these days.

Who is up for creating memories together in 2013?