Tag: nature

Uwa Mgbede ka nma

MindMuser MD

Uwa mgbede ka nma – Igbo proverb that translates to “ laidback life in the evenings are sweeter”

We had the pleasure to spend sometime on a beautiful island south of Tampa during our recent spring break holidays. This quaint beach town has the allure of towns where time moved slower than the rest of the world. It was whimsical to wake up to the sound of the ocean tides crashing against the shores- a natural rhythm that has been in motion for billions of years. Those waves crash onto those white sandy shores day and night regardless of who is there to watch or marvel at it .

As the morning sun rose, so did the inhabitants of this tiny beautiful island, waking up and making their way to secure their spots along those white sandy beaches with their lounge chairs and sun umbrellas . There , we positioned ourselves to spend majority of the lazy day- some swimming those ocean waves , daring to go all the way to the booie. Sun tanners lying prostrate hoping to get nicely roasted by the sun, others snorkeling to admire schools of fish beneath the surface of those waves while still some sat on the white sandy shores watching for the playful dolphins nearby.

We were gifted the knowledge of this beautiful island from family ; generations earlier than us. Now over the years, we have been blessed to share this beautiful island with grandparents , cousins, aunties and uncles. Memories made here seem to be seared deep and easily conjured up with an amazing freshness- as if you can still taste the sweetness of the ice creams shared together on sunset evenings or the lovely sounds of the daily musicians from the near by beach restaurants.

Living on this island did not require much fuss at all. We walked around barefoot, all day long without a care about where our sandals or Jordan’s were located. It was freeing, to have soft white beach sand between your toes , and that crunching sand sound that your feet makes as it walks towards the water.

This island gifted us idleness and time to appreciate conversations with loved ones, especially with four teenagers. A rare gift these days , given the competition with their new age technology devices. Looking out in the waves, your mind can be busy with wonder or quiet with appreciation- both are very acceptable.

Sunsets on this island are breathtaking! We all gathered on the large porch to witness what beauty the creator wanted to display to us that evening. We hurried to transition from our beach day and get our dinners ready by sunset . Deep conversations such as curiosity about our existence on this earth , our position in the Milky Way etc seemed to be inspired by the awe of the sunsets and we learned truths from our loved ones both young and old.

After spending time on the island, everyone has been sun kissed allowing their beauty to glow . We feel rejuvenated after spending time in nature , hoping we can savor this energy for the work ahead .

It is hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful place, a place that seems to make people more sun tan and beautiful- hopefully not just on the outside but on the inside too.

Spring breaking on this whimsical island definitely felt like “Uwa mgbde “ and I look forward to returning again soon.

You’re welcome to follow us along on more of our travel adventures as we continue our travels.

As always, thank you for reading my blog and of course I welcome your comments and any shared experiences .

Click on the “follow” icon, so you can get notifications on future blog posts via email and not miss out !💕

Exploring Europe🌍: Paragliding in the Mountains of Grindelwald, Switzerland

MindMuser MD

Grindelwald surprised me with its charm . I mean I had expected to be wowed at its majestic mountains Eiger and the Jungfrau , which they absolutely did, with their daunting rocky edges pointing straight to the heavens. Next to them were ofcourse evidence of the ( sadly) melting glaciers.

However it was the subtle quaintness of this sleepy looking town with its’ perfectly naturally manicured acres of green meadows, carpeting the spaces between those beautiful wooden log cabins. This Swiss village was absolutely picturesque! It was the type of village where you imagine a good nap would be so sweet, and it was for me- I managed to get a window to finally talked a daytime nap Aka European siesta🤪on our vacation and I was ALL in!

I also tried to capture the images in pictures but what I see through the screens of my camera did not do justice to all the beauty surrounding us.

We stayed in an Airbnb that faced the Eiger and Jungfrau mountains, whose views greeted us every morning, sometimes covered in clouds and other times brightly glistening in the morning sunlight.

DH has planned a paragliding as our main agenda on our trip to Grindelwald. However the forecast included a “96%” chance of rain during the time we would be there which made paragliding impossible.

The paragliding company has cancelled given the weather predictions, with the only caveat of “ if “ the weather changes.

DH REALLY wanted to be able to paraglide ( he had missed an opportunity 30 yrs ago when he visited with his parents due to weather), so he kept checking the weather praying for a “miracle “.

The kids were mostly disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to do the paraglide, and said things like “ it would have been a lot of fun “.

On the other hand , I was low key relieved that I wouldn’t have to fly in the skies near some giant mountains after all..phew😅

We went to bed that night, each with their own wishful agenda – most of us praying for good weather to fly in the morning and myself relieved the weather has given me a dignified way to chicken out of my paragliding fears .. goodnight 💤😴 and I slept so good up in those mountains, stable and secure and grounded on my Airbnb bed!

I opened my eyes in the morning sun, to hear DH proclaim excitedly “ it looks like we’re flying!”. Somehow the weather prediction for the rain forecast has dropped SIGNIFICANTLY. We were scheduled to fly at 10am and there just happened to now be a clearing of the clouds for about two hours, just enough time for us to fly! DH said it was as if “ there is a donut of storms around us in Switzerland, with the us in the donut hole somehow protected from all the storms… GREAT 😏

I didn’t argue with God about arrangement I thought we had made before bedtime .

DH ** said that “ Chief “ must have been looks out for us. I agreed this may have been another God- WIN moment, as I also woke up to some good family news that same morning too. So I just went with all of it!

I just had to our on my big girl pants and brave it out. So that was exactly what I did!

We rode up the gondolas to the top most station – a little over 7,000 feet.

During the gondola ride up, our family of six discussed what order we wanted to go paragliding etc. I asked if the kids were scared and got a unanimous answer that they were NOT afraid. Well I told them I was nervous and I prayed over all of us. DH tried to reassure me that it could be a peaceful experience, and ofcourse anyone nervous should “ breathe “ through the experience”.

The Gondola stopped and let us out at the top where we met the rest of our guides who give us a quick lesson on what to expect.

In no time , with his guide’s instruction, our first born twin son , Alan was running into the air and poof! Just like that he and his guide were soaring in the air , flying near the Eiger mountains and drifting downward towards that beautiful quaint Swiss village. One by one each of us ran as fast as we could u til our feet stopped touching the ground and soon we were also in the air with our guide making sure we were flying safe.

I could only pick out which paraglide was which kid with their colors, but soon I lost my focus as I had to pay attention room to what I was doing myself .

Once I situated, I heard my guide Viest saying that our take off was one of the smoothest he had experienced in his 15 yrs . Even if this was just his “line “, it helped boast my confidence on the flight. I relaxed more as we flew and I even started to appreciate the sights beneath me, soaring in between clouds, turns out the weather condition that day were infact perfect for our flight!

It was so clam , perfect and yes peaceful, that I found myself singing the “ sky forever “ song from the movie “ Dear Evan Hansen”. My teenage kids later reminded me how corny that was to be singing up there with my guide, who by the way said he enjoyed the singing . My singing calmed my nerve and was a representation of what I was appreciating in the moment- skies and more Skies forever!

Each of us landed smoothly, the kids who landed first filmed the rest of the landing for the rest of us. DH landed last as he had waited for all of us to fly out safely. We all reunited on those wonderful green meadows with excitement and gratitude for yet another family adventure !

Would I do it again? The answer is an absolute YES!

I suppose like most new life experiences , If you aim to leave fear behind you, and open yourself up to an opportunity, it may surprise you positively in ways unexpected.

I am also reminded that courage is not dosed equally.. so my advice is to stick to your level of comfort zone within reason ,when it comes to adventures.

We drove around to see amazing gigantic multiple Trümmelbachfall water falls contributed to by about ten River on top of the mountainous , we also saw people doing BASE jumps off the mountains. Absolutely incredible to see these people who seem to have No fear literally do a nose dive ofd the edge of a mountain into thin air , hopeful that they’re parachutes activate upon demand to break their free fall!

You’re welcome to follow us along on more of our travel adventures as we continue our travels through Europe.

As always, thank you for reading my blog and of course I welcome your comments and any shared experiences .

Click on the “follow” icon, so you can get notifications on future blog posts via email and not miss out !💕

DH** ( darling husband)

Exploring Europe 🌍( part one)

MindMuser MD

At the risk of sounding redundant, I really lucked out in the DH * department for innumerable reasons!

One of which is that my DH* is an excellent travel/ adventure planner!

He typically starts our family travel plans very well in advance , and this saves on cost and ensures that we get great lodging and travel itinerary.

He honestly does such an amazing job at travel plans that I trust him completely and will gladly pack my bags and follow him to the ends of the earth , without asking too many questions. Okay well I may ask a question or two … typically involving how many suitcases I am allowed to bring 😒

Most summers, my sister and I go on a vacation with our families . Last summer we were blessed to have both our parents andy in laws, join us for a glorious trip to Anna Maria Island. Florida. We had so many extended families on that trip and I will forever cherish it , as it became the last vacation we shared with our Dad before he was called home to Jesus later that year🙏🏾

Memories such as that solidifies for me the importance of gathering with loved ones at any given opportunity.

So this summer, DH planned for both families an exquisite European vacation .

We flew Swedish airline into London, England through Stockholm . It was an affordable smooth flight that even give us a chance to meet Gayle King ( yup! Oprah Winfrey’s BFF🥰) and her son during our lay over in Stockholm .They were delightful and we chatted like old friends..,,Okay okay that was once I finally recognized that the famous person I was staring at was Gayle King, and NOT the Olympian Jackie Joiner Kercee. Gayle was right when she joked about this as a situation of “ all black people don’t look alike”. Sorry. I must have been a little star struck and just confusing my stars … I guess lol

Anyways, we landed in London and made it to what was supposed to be our AirBnb on Piccadilly circus around 4pm , only to discover a big glitch in our reservation! 😱Something about the owners changing platforms and it appeared our reservation ( which DH made last winter by the way) was lost in the process!

Yup we started out homeless in London.

Only for about an hour or so while we called to clarify our reservation without sucess. So we quickly pivoted to book a nearby hotel

Strand Palace turned out to be a great accommodation for our family. It was walking distance and with our four kiddos in tow, we were lucky to get rooms available that evening.

We showered and headed out to meet up with our family and friends for a pre planned dinner.

I had arranged to have a central meeting place for as many of our extended families living in UK to have dinner and enjoy company. It was absolutely wonderful to see so many of our dear ones gathered together. At the dinner. I also got to reunite with my sister who flew into London that same day too from Dallas TX.

The travel crew was now united an ready to take on Europe one city at a time!

On our London visit traveling with almost 4 teenagers, I was grateful that we were able to see and do so much in a short time.

DH continued to lead the charge to get to Buckingham Palace in time to catch part of the changing of the guards , then we walked around Hyde park garren( that apparently used to be hunting grounds for King Henry VII). Our kids found a unique umbrella tree to climb, we had water play at Princess Diana’s memorial Fountain- the water felt refreshing on my tired walking feet 😉

Made our way to speakers corner and accordingl to Wikipedia; Speakers’ Corner is an area where free speech open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed.

Then off to Tower of London, with all its incredible history, shared London bridge with our kids and their cousins while enjoying some street foods. We also got a chance to see Big Ben and Westminster.

The day concluded with a yummy Asian customer restaurant , that was across from Trafalgar Square but not before randomly enjoying ( snoozing off our jet lag) during a violin concert at St Paul’s cathedral, and ofcourse lighting a candle in honor of Dad for Father’s day.

We spent two fun packed days in London and it was delightful. The sights are amazing as expected but I have to say the reunions and company of our family and friends were priceless!

The next morning, we’re off to our next European spot- Paris , France!

You’re welcome to follow us along on the journey!

As always, thank you for reading my blog and of course I welcome your comments and any shared experiences .

Click on the “follow” icon, so you can get notifications on future blog posts via email and not miss out !💕

***DH ( Darling husband)

Enchanted Japan💕

MindMuser MD

On our recent trip to Japan , DH described this country as enchanted, and I couldn’t have agreed more. Except for a brief layover in an airport in Osaka many many years ago, while our way to Bali for our honeymoon, we had never visited Japan.

Therefore when our 7 th graders had an opportunity for a spring break Apoogee ** school trip that could include parents, we were beyond excited to sign up to travel with them.

First we had to figure out the affordability for our family of six as well as the logistics of tagging along with our twins boys, but this 15 hrs trip made sense for our family for so many reasons!

We also have our amazing niece/god daughter who has been living in Tokyo whom we’ve talked about wanting to visit for soo long now .In addition, we as a family had also entertained the idea of hiking Mount Fuji.. I mean why stop at just Mount Kilimanjaro right?😉

Upon landing in Haneida airport in Tokyo , we meet up with our lovely family friends who were traveling on a similar itinerary as we were, their young son also traveling with the Ladue School Apogee class trip.

The first things I observed was how efficiently we moved through customs, picked up our luggage and off we were, trying to navigate the JR train system all on our own. Travel instructions were mostly in Japanese writing (Konchi), and while there were signs in English, they seemed to be in the minority, so you had to pay very close attention reading maps /signs or you missed out.

This idea of needing to pay attention is not uncommon when you travel to a new place, but somehow with the very fast pace of Tokyo’s busy metropolitan’s city with its countless trains, bullet trains,subways, buses running so efficiently on a tight time schedule ~we really needed to pay attention or risk getting lost on this huge city of close to 30 million people.

DH and our daughters 💕💕

I literally give my DH, all the travel credit , on this trip as usual , he had done so much research and pre planning to ensure that our ten days of traveling through Japan was smooth as possible. Our daughters and I had the best time exploring foods ( thanks to recs from our niece/god daughter guide extraordinaire who was quiet fluent in Japanese already), there were cousins and friend times, lots of matcha flavored ice cream and drinks, local snacks from seven eleven on every corner, and we even found Starbucks and McDonald’s there too !

We traveled in mid/late March, with a stroke of good fortune and fate , found ourselves right on the middle of the blooming of the beautiful cherry blossom season! Apparently the cherry blossom is only about 2 weeks long annually! Okay, that was just pure lucky as we could not have planned THAT!

Adaeze and others admiring the cherry blossoms
Philosopher’s path in Kyoto

DH , our two daughters and myself travelled together , while our twin sons travelled and explored with their class travel group . There trip was organized by a tour company EFJ, that included a well planned itinerary , lodging and accommodations as well as a local Japanese guide. We would meet up with their travel group every once in a while for dinner or to visit a temple together or just for a hug and a picture! This felt bold,to give our 13 yr old sons’s independence in another country,while being just a text or call away.

The teachers and parents that travelled and stayed with the group were all so wonderful, keeping us in the loop as much as possible , amidst wifi woes at times lol.

Twin A waiting for the bullet train
Early morning bike ride on the Philosopher’s path in Kyoto
Me and our Twins 💕💕

We visited several cities in Japan , mostly following along our sons’ itineraries while improvising our own plans here and there. There was A LOT of walking so make sure to pack comfortable shoes . We stayed at nearby ArNBs and hotels except for one night that we shared the same hotel as our sons in the town of Kawaguchi while visiting Mount Fuji.

Experiencing the beauty of this country is incredible, from the intimidating snow capped mountains of Fuji to the beautiful island of Mayijima with its floating Torrin temple gates, numerous beautiful temples and shrines,and the in between cities of Kyoto with its classy charm, the sophistication of Tokyo with its art museums and sharply dressed women and “salaried men” to the sobering city of Hiroshima – Japan had it all to offer an inquisitive tourist!

Beyond the beautiful landscapes of this country, I believe I was most intrigued by its people and culture. I had SO many questions.. how do they manage to keep the peace around them ? Is this really a NO gun society ?wow! Everyone seemed to simultaneously mind their own business while also showing respect to eachother! How are there hardly any trash cans and yet the streets and the train stations were SO clean?!, where were their homeless population? And how is everyone seem to be so nicely dressed, appearing to have purpose with something to do/ somewhere to go?, how are they so quiet on massively crowded buses and trains? Why do you not even smell people standing so close to you, armpits raised to hold on to poles for stability on those crowed moving trains?

I also wondered a lot about how efficient the Japanese technology appeared to be, warm toilet seats, with bauder( impressive TOTO brand!) , even in public places?!😳, bathroom so compact and efficient , random anti fog mirrors in hotel bathrooms( this was such a champion!, I mean who really wants to get out of shower , only to view their reflection in a cloudy mirror? Yes sometimes those bathroom fans just don’t cut it I’m sorry lol.

I also noticed that while I still needed to pay attention in order not to miss bullet trains which ran so precisely on time, by the seconds even! As the days went on, I became even more and more relaxed .

I was not worried about my safety in Japan. Our brilliant god daughter’s apt explanation that Japan allows for creative thinking because your fight or flight nervous system is not always activated, trying to ensure your safety. This felt absolutely true to me, it was much easier to be in the present in the moments, here in Japan.

Ultimately, this turned out to be a trip of a lifetime. I keep telling my DH that he really has a natural calling to travel planning if he ever gets tired of being a shrink lol

In all seriousness , I would love to return to Japan again very soon, not only for the amazing foods, sights and shopping. I would return for the peace and tranquility of this place. Amidst the bustling cities, visiting beautiful temples tucked in along lovely hikes and trials provided me with much needed quiet.

As always, thank you for reading my blog and of course I welcome your comments and any shared experiences .

Click on the “follow” icon, so you can get notifications on future blog posts via email and not miss out !💕

** DH ( darling husband)

**Apogee ( gifted class name at Ladue Middle School)

Giving thanks in every season💕

MindMuser MD

In every season give thanks – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

This season of my life has been hard.

I have been challenged by loss and grief.

Waking up to my First thanksgiving without my father physically present on earth is TOUGH!

To say I miss you is such an understatement 💔

Arrival hugs the day before thanksgiving day 2021

I no longer have the casual opportunity to physically express my gratitude to him with my words, a hug,a plate of yummy thanksgiving cooking, or jocular conversations shared on a thanksgiving morning family walk on the trail to Stacy Parks.

Arrival hugs the day before thanksgiving day 2021
Thanksgiving day family walk 2021
Thanksgiving day 2021

My thoughts wonder deeply into an existential plane… What does your view from heaven look like now? Are you gathered in heaven with your parents and other family members enjoying great laughs with the communion of saints? Is food even a thing in heaven?

Now your image mostly exists in my mind and my heart. Your eyes always so full of love and I only imagine that this love is intensified from heaven now .

Therefore your love goes on.. even in death.

I am choosing to give thanks to God for this love and all the manifestations of that love in my life .

You see , because my Dad loved so freely, he also accepted and gave so freely this love.

My dad’s love and acceptance of my DH , despite our cultural differences, while some Naija parents would have given a side eye to an interracial marriage and therefore blocked blessings – he did not, and not only welcomed my DH with open arms but supported our union true and true.

Thanksgiving day 2021

This gift of love and acceptance has therefore abounded exponentially in my life in so many angles.

Kids table Thanksgiving Day 2021

Wherever I look I can see the manifestation of love in my life .

I see it in you my DH, I see it in my children, I see in my mother and siblings, I see it in my wonderful Oma and Opa and extended family and in laws, I see it in my Dedes and my Dadas, I see it in my cousins and their children, i see it in my dog Teddy, I see it in my sweet friends , I see it in my HOLLA group, I see it in my WOW group , I see it in my work and the ability to provide mental health services to those in need, I see it in the opportunity to be living in a beautiful country with my roots extended from the great continent of Africa.

Hanging out on thanksgiving day 2021

I see it in you ,my readers and I am grateful.

So yes, it’s a bittersweet thanksgiving , however I can still see so clearly the many reasons to give thanks.

I hope that you can look around you and your own unique circumstances and see reasons to be THANKFUL♥️🙏🏾

❤️

As always, thank you for reading my blog and of course I welcome your comments and any shared experiences .

Click on the “follow” icon, so you can get notifications on future blog posts via email and not miss out !💕

*DH ( darling husband)

*Dedes( Uncles ) Dadas(Aunties)