Bonding creatively — Lung Story Short...

It's been a whole year, well actually a few days shy of a whole year that I've been on this journey with Rima. Technically you could say it began last January but that's getting into the semantics game, which I do love. This is the longest amount of time I've spent with Rima since my senior year of high school. Actually, maybe even before. I moved away from home freshmen year of college and kept moving further and further away, till I hit the Pacific and bounced back to the Atlantic several years later. Rima has visited me in all the cities I've resided in. Every time she came to visit planning would commence weeks and even months before. I always wanted her to have the best time visiting me, to see all that my current city had to offer. From Chicago deep-dish pizza, to camping in Santa Barbra, to cheese and prosecco in Dolores Park in San Francisco.

She would come visit me for a week or two and get immersed in my new life. It was always one of my favorite parts of a new city, having her come. Being able to share this new place with my sister. Being able to spoil her, take her out and show her places she had never been, seen or heard of before. I always tried to talk her into staying longer or even moving out to live with me. When I moved to NYC, we had talked about her coming and staying with me in Brooklyn for a few months at a time to see how she would like living there, but unfortunately with all the germs that proved to be impossible. Every time Rima came to visit me in NYC, which was a lot, she would almost always get sick after. Even with all the hand washing and precautions we took, the germy city won.

After about ten years of wishing Rima and I could live in the same city and share all these new experiences together, I finally got my wish. Maybe it's not exactly how I hoped it would occur but I guess I was never tight on the specifics of the wish. The universe really heard me because we get to live in two cities together, double whammy! When I lived in LA I hung out with my two cousins quite often, they're sisters who have a similar age difference between them like Rima and I do. I was always so jealous of their relationship. They lived near each other, shared the same friend group, went on epic vacations and trips together. They always did things together and always seemed to make each other better, pushing the other to be the best they could be. I always wished and hoped that one day soon Rima and I could have that sort of relationship. Well, I'm living the dream now folks and it's pretty magical.

Rima and I have had to get pretty creative with how we occupy our time lately. Back in Colorado even on Rima's tough breathing and moving days she still managed to get herself in the car and will herself to enjoy whatever little mountain town or park we explored that day. Here in Minneapolis with the weather still not being on the side that allows for much outdoor adventures, we've had to think outside the box. We're not big on just hanging out at home more than two days in a row. We get antsy and want to see and experience new things on the daily. We might be doing a lot but when Rima get's her new lungs the pause button will be pushed down on all these adventures. You might say we are stocking up on the fun and activities.

To occupy our time over the last couple weeks we have open Pandora's box in reference to museums. We were holding out on museums till this time of year. We decided to start a weekly art day. Once a week we go to one of the art museums in Minneapolis and breathe in some culture. We started with the MIA a few weeks ago and only saw about a third of it. Good thing it's free and large, multiple trips will ensue to this massive museum. Last week we went to the Walker museum. It was pretty trippy; a lot of the art installations were very out there and strange. But, Rima and I really enjoyed turning a corner and walking into some pretty crazy artistic scenes. This week we went back to the MIA and explored another third of the museum. We probably have at least one to two more trips there before we are done with it.

Back at the home we've picked up a new hobby that lets us harness our creativity. We've recently gotten into creating our own greeting cards. It's evolved quite a bit from when we first attempted to create a few thank you cars about a month ago. We have now set the bar high for ourselves. DIY watercolor greeting cards and post card sized pictures, from the funny vegetable pun to a mountain landscape. We strive to complete at least two cards each a day. Our goal is to have a reserve of cards for when we reach the "I need to take a break from this obsession" point. Till then at least once a day you can find Rima or I at the kitchen table listening to jazz trying to perfect a hummingbird or cactus.

Last Friday we took a little drive down to a nearby waterfall. Vermillion Falls, in Hastings Minnesota. The Waterfall is in a pretty cool location; the backdrop is some sort of old mill or factory. We brought some smoke fountains that our friends over at Sparkle Rock Pop sent us. We wanted to have a little fun with these new toys we had. Using the waterfall as a backdrop we played around with the flowing colors of smoke. We learned a little, as in even the slightest wind can disassemble the color saturation within half a second. Next time we know have a better idea of what to do or not to do.

Keeping busy during this time we feel is very important especially with not going stir crazy or getting frustrated while waiting for the call. I'm sure anyone who has waited on the list for any amount of time can agree to that. Creativity in any form has really come to our rescue. Allowing our minds to drift off into a different spectrum or space even for a short time I believe has allowed us to be quite chill during this whole process. Being able to have the ability to create new art and experience it with Rima has been a trip in itself. Every day is a new adventure with her, especially going to an art museum and getting her take on a piece. I can't tell you how many times I've walked away from her laughing at her comments or reactions.