Ahhhh…my nourishing right shoulder!

When you’re thirsty for some water, when you’re feeling a little peckish and need some quick calories, where do you turn? I don’t know about you, but I have been a victim of classical conditioning and I turn to my right shoulder.

No, it has nothing to do with the way I was nurtured as an infant, it has a lot more to do with the amount of time spent wearing a pack with a hydration hose over my right shoulder and either a gel flask or a bar in the pocket of my pack there. I have noticed that I get quite disappointed when I am biking on my way home from work or even just walking around and find nothing but a shoulder strap with a gym lock, or even just part of my shirt. I have to get my body to understand that I need to fill a bladder before I can drink from one on my shoulder.

Either that or just wear a hydration pack all the time…hmmmm….

Timeless Mrs. Dryden

I have always known that Mrs. Dryden was a determined lady. I guess I didn’t realize as I was getting older, so was she. She seemed to be frozen in time, never really getting older. The thought never crossed my mind that her way of life was very busy and full considering her age. She was always determined to do what she wanted and was going to stop at nothing to make sure things were done to her satisfaction. It was most unfortunate not to realize these things until her funeral.

One story that came out at the funeral captures this perfectly. Being a snowbird until relatively recently, she always saved her medical problems until she returned to Canada to make things less complicated. When one of her gold caps came out with her lunch one day and she was certain that she swallowed it, the dentist was not considered as an option. To make a long and funny story short, a “generous dosage” of laxatives and some glue from the hardware store was all she and a friend needed to rectify the problem (no pun intended).

She lived a long and happy life and was able to live in the independent way she loved right up until the end.

You will be missed by many Mrs. Dryden!