Tag: travel

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 !💕

Evening Rosary

MindMuser MD

As a young girl growing up in Africa, there are some memories that I will always have so vividly.

One of those memories was that of my father summoning us to gather in prayer nightly.

Rain or shine , at each dusk, my father would began a call to gather our family and our house helps, to the living room in Aba where we all knelt down to begin reciting the rosary.

Come to think of it, his father , my grandfather did the same call whenever we all were together in the village. Grandpa had this giant bell that he would ring across the compound , so you had no excuse that you couldn’t hear the rosary call 🤪

In our home , my father typically began and led us through the decades of the rosary, at times calling each kid to lead the next decade. At times, an enthusiastic non sleepy head may volunteer before they were called out to lead the decade .

It seemed like tucked in at the end of those busy fun play days was the daunting rosary time. That prayer time somehow became the PERFECT lullaby for some of us children.

I don’t know what made the rosary so soporific but it was!. Perhaps it was the sing songy nature that made the repetitions of the rosary more entertaining but also sleep inducing. In any case, kneeling down in that old living room invited sleep like none other.

Later on in my adult life, I heard a friend joke that her mother would warn them not to allow the devil to give them sleeping pills during mass… that’s it! I thought, that ‘s EXACTLY it, the devil sure knew how to pass out sleepy candies during rosary time .

Some days I resisted the sleep and other times I have memories of my father calling out my name, or my sibling nudging me to wake up – especially when it was my turn to lead a decade of the rosary and instead they heard me snoring (?)… okay I never really snore right DH?😉

In any event, the five decade of the holy rosary would eventually come to an end , Ofcourse not before Dad added all the EXTRA prayers to the saints and holy ones.. finally it was done! Phew ( at least for that evening)

We all would have a sigh of relief or a feeling of accomplishment OR sometimes I would find myself fast asleep wayyy past the end of the rosary, lights turned out and all!

Now why would y’all just leave me here in a kneeling rosary position with my head on the couch , and the audacity to turn off lights?!

Plus now instead of sleeping in my tented bed I was now sleeping alone in a rosary kneeling uncomfortable position in the living room floor, at the mercy of those pesky Aba mosquitoes … ugh!

I wonder whether leaving the sleepy heads behind was some sort of punishment for them falling asleep during the holy rosary.

The truth is I have also witnessed how the rosary sleepyhead abandonment happens So I can relate to how the sleepyheads get to be left behind.

First the rosary ends , after multiple efforts to nudge them into compliance. Then the effort to tap and nudge them awake would commence, and then eventually folks just get tired of waking them up and split.

I must say the littler you are, the greater your chances at rosary rescue, since you could easily be carried to your bed. As you grew taller , bigger , heavier to lift … well goodluck!

Our family nightly rosary routine came to my mind as I was appreciating the last week that I spent with my father after his surgery in New Orleans.

Dad and I had a chance to spend the ist week of sept 2022 together in his hospital room. My mother , my sister and my three brothers all got a chance to visit Dad as well . One of the nights right before Dad and I tucked in for the night . Him in his first ever hospital bed that I knew, and me on those uncomfortable guest couches that is a sign hospitals REALLY don’t want folks spending the night . Anyways story for another day .

Dad and I prayed five decade of the holy rosary and yes plus him leading all the EXTRA Catholic prayers at the end – I listened . I marveled at his faith through all these years. I cherished his heart.

This 83 yr old father of mine had made it a daily habit to say his rosary nightly. Some he said with us as a family , and others you found him kneeling quietly at his bed praying , muttering his heart to God in prayers.

That night at the hospital, we muttered our hearts together to God, we prayers for so many things , especially healing. He prayed for others and prayed in thanksgiving for having survived his surgery… or so we thought.

My father died in less than two weeks after our last hospital rosary together. He was called home to God and now is one of my guardian angels from heaven .

Thank you Dad for being a wonderful father to me and for teaching me to rely on the Holy rosary ❤️🙏🏾

What are your early childhood memories

around prayers or other meaningful traditions ?

Please share with us if you care to.

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

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Exploring Europe 🌍 : Paris, France

MindMuser MD

The accommodations in Paris, France were quite modern and yet very charming.

We stayed at the Daunou Opera Hotel which was close enough to walk to the Louvre , which was exactly what ww did as soon as we dropped our bags at the hotel.

It had been twenty years since DH and I have visited Paris as young bright eyed lovers.

Here we are now , returning to Paris with our four (almost) teenagers, my niece and nephews, my sister and her hubby. We were definitely a full house , too loud at times , with cousins chattering with excitement but it was oh so lovely.

Retracing our steps from two decades ago, while sharing Paris with our loved ones, was so much fun!

We made it too many of the iconic sites, marching through this city of love, like eager tourists on a mission.

DH and BIL * navigated us through the complex Parisian train systems, while my sister and I visited with eachother.

We mostly were cracking jokes and laughing our way through the subways while also trying to keep an eye on the kids and ourselves as an intact traveling group. We had eleven human beings to keep track of at all times and that proved challenging at times.

The doors of the trains in Paris were not always “polite”, and in fact, once it forcibly closed on us, despite our attempts to hold it open for straggling family members, with feet and hands that had to give up in retreat, or risk a worse outcome 😏.

Turns out we had inadvertently left my sister behind as the train pulled away while we stared at eachother throughthe windows of the moving train confused.

You see because DH and BIL were the main ones navigating our steps with the help of their Google maps, my sister had no idea where exactly we were all headed most of the times. We just counted our blessing that it was an adult versus one of the kids that was left behind.

We got off at the next train station and waited patiently for her, expecting her to know to just catch the next train.

We at just hoped on hope…

What a sight for sore eyes as we saw her puffy bright pink dress running towards us dramatically as the next train pulled up!

Reunited and it felt so good to have our adventures continued!

Travel Pearl: Discuss a “ just in case” meeting point ahead of time , while traveling in a large group 🤪

We walked a lot of miles in Paris, visiting The Eiffel Tower ( climbed all those how ever many stairs up to the deck)

Travel pearl : book your tickets to the Eiffel Tower EARLY, especially if you don’t want to hike up hundreds of stairs 🤪

We strolled through Champselysees and had dinner at an Italian restaurant with a most friendly waiter who insisted on a group pic and posted it in real time on a trip advisor / google website 😅.

We continued our sight seeing over the next couple of days, visiting the beautiful Sacre Coeur church and wondered around it’s neighborhood looking for the hotel DH and I stayed in 20 yrs ago.

There were lots of French food and wine to drink , and we even had snails .. excuse me ..escargot 🤪

The cousins thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company, and the adults appreciated our leisure times, not having to work , cook and do household chores .

Oh and we couldn’t leave Paris before fulfilling our girl pact to each other , to have all the girls get their second ear piercings done.. well one of us already had her second piercing done., so she pierced something else 😋

Paris will always be one of my favorite places and I can’t wait to be back again with DH, in this romantic city .

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 )

*BIL ( Brother in Law)

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)