Lesson 660: The Only Way To Go

 Hello, Readers!

We're rolling into the weekend a bit tired.

School started!

Sam is feeling the impact of the mental exhaustion from the school re-start.

Learning the procedures for a new way of learning is tiring!

From here, there is only one way to go,

and it isn't up or down--

it's forward.

Time is moving forward and that is evidenced by Sam moving up in height!

The first day photos sure looked different this year.

Entering 8th grade at age 13,

Sam is as tall as his dad!

No school bus photos this year--

Grandma and Hazel are helping out with rides

for a one way ticket home.

While we are on the forward progression along the learning path,

we've discovered that there isn't just one way to learn-

there are countless.

Sam is learning from home more days 

than he's learning from the school building.

Ellen Louise is learning from home 100% of the time.

She enjoys the comforts of home, 

but misses her beloved Edinboro terribly.

And sweet Natalie, 

is so happy to be on campus doing her job

that is far from glamorous this year.

Still, she lays out her uniform with pride each night before bed,

sets out her hat, name tag, and bag,

and tells me about her job and the people she works with

in her Natalie kinda way.

Go go work clean tables and chairs sweep see Gina and Shelly.

Supported Employment works for everyone involved.

One thing you cannot move forward on is general playground equipment.

The rings hang still,

and merry go rounds don't spin,

but swings are still good!

Every other swing, though.

I'm moving forward onto a new exercise game.

I finished The Walk this summer.

I made it to Episode 51

plus all 14 Challenges.

I walked the entire way across the United Kingdom,

unlocking part of a story as I went.
Little did I know,

it wound up being the prequel to my favorite exercise game,

Zombies Run!

My feet can't take the pounding of running anymore,

but I still play it when I walk.  

I don't have to run from Zombies anymore

when I full well know how to outsmart them.

I've been playing Zombies Run for over 6 years!

You can confuse them with whistles and clanging pots and pans.

My new game is walking the Appalachian Trail!

It's on an app called Walk the Distance.

I walked 182 miles of the Appalachian Trail so far.
It will probably take me over a year.

My walks are shorter now that I'm back in school.

I was killing it this summer

because I walked with Hazel and Hubby in the morning,

my sister and the dog pack at lunch time,

and again in the evening with friends or by myself.

All summer long I walked between 5 and 10 miles daily.

Walking is a GREAT exercise!

I'd recommend the app,

but you don't have to start with something so long.

If I had explored the app more before I began it,

I probably would have chosen Marathons

National Parks,

or Cities.

Choosing smaller goals to build up to larger ones makes the most sense.

However, there is something neat about starting with something really hard first,

then working backwards.

That's kind of fun, too,

if you have a natural stick-to-itiveness to your personality.

Walk the Distance is a pretty cool app because you track your progress on a map

and when you reach checkpoints,

you can see pictures and read information about those real places.

My family and I got into hiking a bit since we purchased our cabin

and we will check out some of these places next summer

when we take up our hobby again in the spring.

One of the best adaptations I've seen during the pandemic

was Tim McGraw's virtual concert last Friday night.

He found a way to move forward with his music

and entertain his fans virtually.

To celebrate the release of his new album Here on Earth,

I bought a $15 access pass to his concert broadcast from his home in Nashville.

It felt like I had a great seat at a real, live concert.

There was even a rain delay 

due to a lightning storm in Nashville!

Reading the Fan Chat kept me busy

while I sipped on my Rolling Rock and waited.

When my favorite new song I Called Mama came on,

you could give your Mama a shout out.

The concert experience was intimate and fun.

I got 5 out of 6 questions correct on the Tim McGraw Trivia game.

Tim told the stories and development behind each song on his new album

and featured each of his songwriters. 
They were really neat people to see and hear from.

My favorite part of the night was when he let Lori McKenna

the songwriter for Humble and Kind

perform it live for us.  

I was thinking how hard that must be for a songwriter 

to birth a song such as that 

and give it away.

But, then again,

that is what songwriters do.

Here is a video of Lori McKenna singing Humble and Kind

to start off your weekend.

What a beautiful and talented woman she is!

See Lori McKenna HERE

To end this blog tonight,

I'll do so with words that have never held more meaning.

Onward,
Eloise