New York City – So Much to See, So Much to Do!

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Coffee to Start the Day © 2014 Bo Mackison

Start the morning with the largest cup of coffee in sight. A very good beginning.

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Harlem School Children’s Mural © 2014 Bo Mackison

Then a walk through the neighborhood, brightened by a long wall of children’s. There is something about community art that makes the whole street a happier place to walk

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MOMA Interior © 2014 Bo Mackison

Pre-baby-shower duties performed, we took a two break and visited MOMA. We arrived early enough to beat the Saturday crowd, and so had no lines to negotiate. Matisse’s Cut Out Exhibit was a surprise bonus (no photos inside the exhibit though.)

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Shower for Smudge © 2014 Bo Mackison

Baby shower fun and games. So happy we were able to be there to celebrate with daughter, soon to be mama.

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Tea Blossom © 2014 Bo Mackison

After the party, it was time to relax with a cup of tea. Specially brewed with a tea blossom – a bud of tightly wrapped tea leaves that opens like a flower when submerged in hot water. Beautiful.

Cloudy Skies, City Lights — and the Gift of Presence and Time

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December in New York City © 2014 Bo Mackison

There is something reviving about colorful lights, dangling stars, a mesmerizing light show, all against the backdrop of cloudy skies and rain-soaked streets.

There is something precious about a reunion of family, the reconnection of a mother and her two daughters, and a day that stretches forward at a leisurely pace with no plans, no hurrying, no outside commitments.

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Bakery overlooking the City © 2014 Bo Mackison

There is something priceless about an unhurried conversation, face to face. No cell phones, no Skype interface. Conversations that are funny, serious, full of hope and longing, conversations that range from the past, to the present and the future beyond.

There is something about a comfort food lunch. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Rice pudding for dessert.

More stories and laughter, memories and wonder, questions and pondering and even an answer or two.

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December in NYC © 2014 Bo Mackison

There is something, oh so special, about the waiting, the anticipation of that first child. Something equally special about the waiting of your first child’s — your daughter’s — first child.  The endless wondering — will the baby be a boy or a girl, what names are still in the running, oh, and what will the next six weeks bring forth?

That is how I spent a part of this past weekend — in conversation and connection. With hope and anticipation. Soaking up the gift of the presence of time and  togetherness with my girls.

Priceless gift.

Thirty-One Thresholds – A Traveling Threshold Not to Be Missed

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Threshold – On the Plane © 2014 Bo Mackison

Out the door in the early morning dark. A car ride across town. Suitcases unloaded at “Departures” at the airport. Check in at the airlines. Through security. A brief stay in the waiting area at Gate 8 and then down the gateway to the waiting aircraft.

Biggest threshold of the morning — the single step from the airport to the airplane.

I wasn’t planning on counting this trip as a threshold, but after some thought, I decided that this weekend has innumerable thresholds. All well worth counting!

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Early Morning Take-Off © 2014 Bo Mackison

I’ve done a lot of traveling in the last few months. I’ve not been not anticipating another weekend of travel, but the reason for the travel is a good one, a great one. A reason not to be denied. I’m visiting one of my daughters who lives half way across the country. And I have a suitcase full of gifts.

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In the Sky Heading East © 2014 Bo Mackison

I’ve been invited to attend a baby shower, and the expectant mama is my older daughter, so there is little hesitation. No matter what, I am on my way!

Grateful that I am traveling with family, that I will be staying with family, and that we will be visiting the Big Apple, a city that I could never live in but that I love visiting! Grateful that I have the opportunity to attend this celebratory party, that I can take part in the special moments of waiting for this first baby.

And recalling the baby shower I attended over thirty years ago, the baby shower when I was expecting my first child — my daughter who is now expecting her first baby.

Such excitement.

Thirty-One Thresholds – A Break in the Clouds, Today That is Enough

A Break in the Clouds

A Break in the Clouds © 2014 Bo Mackison

I should have expected this kind of day to happen, even planned for it.

When I created the Thirty-One Thresholds Project to encourage me to get out of the house and provide inspiration for getting involved in a daily activity, it sounded doable.

There are many places to visit in the Madison area. It is reasonable to expect that I could find a place to go every day. (Though I might have thought a bit more about the effects of weather and choosing outside vs. inside spaces…that is another technical glitch for me to explore another day)

I visited the National Mustard Museum the first day (with the admission that it made the top of the list because of its proximity to my home). One Threshold checked off the list.

Yesterday I managed a cross town trip to Olbrich Botanical Gardens, tempted by the thought of sitting in the tropical conservatory and luxuriating in the green and the warmth. The tropical appeal was enough of a carrot stick. Two Thresholds checked off the list.

Today. Today, though it wasn’t my initial plan, the threshold I crossed was the door of my house as I took Gracie for a pre-sunrise winter walk through the neighborhood. And then the return home after admiring a break in the clouds and momentary glimpse of sunlight.

I did run an errand, so I could have taken a photograph of the double doors of a neighborhood convenience store, but I previously decided that the thresholds of stores, while important, were not going to be a part of the Thirty-One Thresholds. There was also the threshold of the door to the laundry room. Doing laundry is important, too, especially since I needed traveling clothes for the weekend. But again, not a part of the Threshold Project.

So, it was a slower than hoped for day. And since I am boarding an airplane tomorrow morning for a very important weekend visit, I gave myself permission to indulge in self-care. And that is a threshold in itself — knowing when the practice of self-care takes priority.

Thirty-One Thresholds – A Tropical Pause in the Bolz Conservatory

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Bolz Conservatory © 2014 Bo Mackison

There is a place on the other side of town that always offers a magical experience when I cross its threshold.

No matter the weather outside, when I step through the heavy double doors into the Bolz Conservatory at Madison’s Olbrich Botanical Gardens, I enter a tropical paradise — exotic plants, orchids, koi ponds, meandering paths through thick greenery, rushing waterfalls, birds in flight.

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Walking Tree © 2014 Bo Mackison

A recipe for rejuvenation.

I find a bench. Take in my surroundings. Take in lots and lots of deep breaths. And relax.

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Koi Pond © 2014 Bo Mackison

The Conservatory has over 650 plants from the tropics and sub-tropics found throughout the world.

Once I am inside the 50 foot high glass pyramid, I get a reprieve from December’s cold and snow. Inside it is a balmy 80˚F today and the humidity is high, high enough to repeatedly fog my camera glass.

No worries.

I take a few photos, but mostly I sit and take in the warmth.

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Greenery © 2014 Bo Mackison

I spend most of my time simply absorbing the experience.

Truly, what pleasure there’s to be found in watching drops of moisture fall from wide green umbrella plants, in studying the camouflaged quail as they scuttle from one plant to the next, in noticing how brilliantly the orange koi glide through the rushing waters.

I re-discover the calming effects of studying just a few leaves, letting my eyes trace the pronounced veins on this deep green plant, noticing the puckered textures, droplets of water beading on the waxy surfaces.

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Orchid © 2014 Bo Mackison

What a great threshold to cross, what a great space to pause and rest.

It is mid-day and mid-week, and I am alone in the tropics for much of my visit. The gardens are typically a busy place teeming with visitors of all ages, all looking for a warm place, a break from wintry weather.

I consider myself especially fortunate as I sit amidst the plants and absorb the energy from the tropical space in solitude.

Threshold Two of my Thirty-One Thresholds Project is hugely rewarding.