Resort Girls Work Hard and Play Hard!
Happy Labor Day!
Where was my favorite place to live as a Resort Girl? Big Canoe, Georgia. The beauty of the mountains, the warmth of the residents and the spirit of the chapel all made it a glorious place to reside. It was a crazy time in the world — dealing with the tragedy and the aftermath of 9/11 — and how blessed was this RG to be living in a little hideaway town in the North Georgia Mountains.
The day the planes came crashing into New York, I had driven into the big city of Atlanta to run some errands. Our little town at that point did not even have a grocery store. When the news broke out over my radio, my car immediately turned around and headed back up to the safe arms of Big Canoe.
In those days, and even in these days, having a gated community has its benefits and being somewhere off the radar due to its remoteness can be the safest place to live!
But what kept us there was the beauty of the mountains and my beautiful, warm, caring, and to this day still, best Resort Girl and Guy friends – yes the RG BFFs. Many a day, our group would fill up a long table outside at the Black Bear Pub to enjoy dining, lively conversation and a cold brew after a great game of golf – around warm fires on many a fall day, too.
Big Canoe is where I began to master the game of golf. All of my Big Canoe RGs love the game of golf, playing just about every weekend and everywhere in the U.S. So, I had to get my game on, and I took many lessons from our then golf pro. The only problem was, our pro admitted his short game was not that great and to this day, neither is mine! My drive is fine, however, and I love the tee shot, especially from ones like this. Sky high views with the thrill of seeing my pink ball fly high in the air and landing way down there in the center of the fairway. Now that’s fun!
Other fun I try to never miss is our Big Canoe RGG annual progressive dinner party for the holiday season. It has been almost two decades of warm fires, yummy food and lots of cheer! A huge and hilarious part of our party is deciding who brought the tackiest re-gift presents as gag gifts. The group knows this RG will usually bring a silly stuffed animal, as my mother loves to give them to me. Sorry mom, the word is out: they are re-gifted.
Sometimes a safe remote place forces RGs to bond together. This bond can last a lifetime and together build many milestone memories, but most of all you’ll have caring souls who will always be there when you are in a time of need.
The spirit of the quaint chapel soothed our souls and was open to anyone and everyone of all beliefs and to whoever was in need – forging a community of care.
Is there a remote safe place calling you, Resort Girl? Even if it is just for a few days a year. It is a place your mind can escape to when life’s stresses come your way. Even if just for a minute or two, remember those glorious views of nature calling your name and calming your soul. Resort Girls and Guys, find your community of care and remember your favorite place.
This Resort Girl has a tendency to laugh and chuckle a lot. Why? I have no idea! It’s just a natural habit. One RG gal at my plantation recently declared, “Oh, I knew you were here as I heard your laugh when I came in.”
But laughing is something this RG does enjoy doing with my family and friends – and just even in my everyday chores. My mother was widowed around the same time of my divorce. Even during this time of mixed and many emotions, we decided to make laughter part of this life change. We both faced being on our own after decades of being married, along with the new lifestyle it brings. We decided to embrace our newfound single situation to discover ourselves again at 55 and 85 (Oh wait, she is 84! I keep getting in trouble for adding that year).
To live a bright and great RG life is to never give up! Keep the positive greater than the negative. Keep the laughs rolling in.
Laughs are contagious…my niece is great at laughing too as we did on Resort Girl road trip to Grande Ritz.
A great thing to catch is a Resort Girl laugh! After doing some research, I discovered laughing has many physical, not just mental, health benefits including better blood flow, increased immune response (by increasing infection fighting antibodies), lower blood sugar levels, and increased relaxation and sleep.
You can get these benefits from sharing a funny story, watching a comedy or sometimes by just laughing at yourself. I do it often, as my love of exploring life constantly gets this RG into unique and sometimes crazy situations.
Let’s remember the famous Jimmy Buffet lyrics:
“It’s these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same…
If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane”
Let’s all laugh together, Resort Girls…give and catch a laugh today!
The fury of a thunderstorm rang true to this Resort Girl on this hot, southern summer afternoon. But I had a safe place to retreat into… the sweet guest suite on the May River. Yes! I am that guest who would never leave! Good thing my RG guy and girl hosts are out of town, blessing the birth of their new grandbaby.
Thunderstorms are scary to many and after some RG research, I learned they can also can make you sick – that is, if you have asthma. The storms churn and turn up those pollen enemies, but it also can make many of us breathe easy as it clears out the pollution.
Unfortunately, many of our city skies are piled high in ozone and other particular pollutants and a quick cleaning tool is a fierce afternoon storm. This RG would breathe easier after an afternoon storm rolled through and the ozone warnings waived.
My RG nose is intoxicated by the fresh aroma a thunderstorm brews, and I can generally tell when one is on its way. I can not only feel the strong winds as I do tonight, but I can also detect the clean, crisp, perfumed air – just like those room fresheners, but giving off a pure, natural scent.
What I also observed, while sitting in my protected little suite, was how the storm also cleared out old debris. No landscapers were needed as the pine needles blew on my face and the old palm prams made impressive sounds as they hit the ground all around. Wikipedia states that lightning strikes liberate nitrates, which fertilize the soil.
How blessed I have been to witness, in a protected place, firsthand how nature takes care of itself. We humans just need to get out of its way and respect, enjoy, and be protectors of it rather than destructors…our ecosystem is pretty smart!
RGs, take the time and pleasure in the perfume of the fresh winds blowing in!
Ok, by now we all know it is this Resort Girl’s moving week. What a long week to move, in temperatures with a heat index of 107 degrees! How does a Resort Girl cool off at night? Sittin’ and soakin’ in my friends’ beautiful saline infinity pool. Pools have been a part of this Resort Girl’s life starting from way back when I was a young RG. We had a pool in my backyard from my elementary days. My best friend back then, Carol, and I splashed the hot Florida summer days away in each other’s back yards. Our homes were diagonally located, so we, or should I say our mothers, let us pool hop with each other, depending upon their busy schedules.
It was fun back then, relaxing after long days of studying at school and cheerleader practice. And now, since things don’t change much, after long days working and exercising. Little did I know the benefits of pool exercise for your body… and your mind! According to a Mind Body Green article:
“It’s been shown that swimming produces the same “relaxation responses” as yoga, and the stretching and contracting of your muscles can heighten this experience. Not only does swimming increase relaxation chemicals, it is also highly conducive to meditation. Without having to focus on traffic or other gym members, swimming allows you to focus on simply your strokes and breathing, effectively “drowning” out static thoughts.”
The article goes on to say that swimming helps with improved muscle function, flexibility, and increased lung volume.
The best pools for me are the newest technology of saline. Technology is beneficial to all areas of our Resort Girl lives. Saline is more soothing on my skin, actually making it silkier, and we all want good skin – especially at my age.
So, after a long hot day of whatever R’s are doing, there is nothing better than diving into a beautiful pool of water. Well, maybe if you add a great setting, in my case the May River in South Carolina, and a few of your fave Resort Girls or that special Resort Guy. Make a splash RGs, and dive into a saline pool soon!
Yes, it is moving week and another chapter closes in this Resort Girl’s life adventure. And what an amazing offer from a sweet, kind, and very fine RG friend, Darlene, to offer me her guest suite. What a sweet one it is!
Her RG home overlooks the May River with unparalleled views of the marshlands surrounded by the native shrubs and grasses. I did notice one of those was ragweed, however, and quickly I knew why I sneezed.
I sat there chilling in her little window nook, looking out at nature’s beauty. It was a great break from the weeks of looking at boxes, chaos and the yeses, noes, stays, and goes. Downsizing is one of life’s adventures for those who, like me, are entering their retirement years. Oh, how we accumulate! Well this RG does like to try, taste and experience a lot—and take things home many times. Then one day you say to yourself, “Where did all this stuff come from and where it is going?”
Away this time! It is not following me… well some of it is… into storage for now. My dream condo turned out to have blue cheese on the walls. Mold is good on cheese but not on your home walls. So, this RG is still on search for her next island digs. And to my little mountain town home I will be driving in a week, and you will see a whole new set of adventures coming in the next few weeks. A change of latitude and higher altitudes.
As for now, I am dipping my toes in the infinity pool as the butterflies fly by – realizing just how quickly life flies by.
The wind blows upon the native ferns, making their leaves look almost like delicate arms cheering me on to my next life chapter with big smiles. Cheers to the next chapter in all Resort Girl’s lives – keep on course, steering forward, and try not to turn back (too often). Most of all RGs, always be exploring new paths! Unless you are a cat – you only live once!
