Reflections on Six Months: Part II (more Teri Videos)
We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. - Dr. Seuss (from Teri's Facebook profile)
Hello everyone, I hope you've had a good week!
As I navigate through new routines, particularly on weekends, without Teri by my side, it has proven to be quite a challenge. My ideal scenario would involve having the entire week neatly scheduled on a recurring basis, just like Teri and I always tried to do. Daily, we did a 15 minute walk at 6AM around the neighborhood before her 6:30AM daily standup for her job and I would go to work or work out and needed to be home by 6PM. During the week, we would shoot to visit Costco on Mondays. Every day we made sure that we walked Mayo after dinner. While I've wanted routines to see friends and family more often, I'm also conscious of the need to maintain independence and not become overly reliant on others.
Speaking of routines, a few months ago, a close friend pointed out something interesting about me – they said I was "weird." Naturally, I inquired further, and one of the reasons was my practice of placing strict rules on how often I would meet with people. There were some that I was comfortable seeing once a week. others once a month, and others only once a year. I didn't take offense to my friends observation, partly because I coincidentally stumbled upon a quote on Teri's Facebook profile a few days before. Teri herself would often joke that she was weirder than I was, and she didn't deny it. In fact, those close to us knew we both had our quirks. Occasionally, I even find it a bit peculiar that I invest so much time in writing these posts. Writing seems to be one of the few routines I do since it brings me joy and a deeper connection to Teri. I'm grateful for the opportunity to engage in this way.
Alongside the comments on my posts, I often receive a few text messages in response. The last post, which featured a video of Teri, seemed to resonate with more people than usual. So I spent several hours to revisiting the collection of videos I have of Teri. Some made me laugh, some made me cry. I'm writing this "Part 2" because I have more videos I wanted to share. I'm truly thankful for having so many of these cherished memories and hope all of you take the time to capture them with your your loved ones. What struck me was that I found a video for each of the activities I mentioned in my previous post:
Buy my first plant (obviously from Costco)
Bring down Teri's Halloween decorations from the garage attic
Finish a sprint triathlon (first race since Teri's passing)
Buy plants for your wedding - Bad idea (for Terwin)
** If you skipped the buying my first plant section on my last post since you were sleepy, please read it first before proceeding **
I wrote last time that I got a money tree to replace the plant that we used at the wedding. Not to my surprise, I was wrong. Always pay attention when your significant other is working on stuff like plants. Teri found a better idea. She made something from scratch:
I guess I forgot since it was a long time ago, but thankfully I had a video to remind me of what really happened. I really find it so cute when I indirectly call her out on something and instead of getting defensive or tell me to "turn off the camera," she shares the truth:
Where is this thing today? I don't know. I think I ended up giving the pot of succulents to my neighbor since I can't find them. All good. The video reminds me too of how much I miss Mustard. And Teri.
Halloween Costumes Recap
I didn't really get into wearing costumes during my adult years, until recently, in 2022. That year, I dressed up as a purple crayon, while Teri went as a unicorn. I wasn't a big fan of the unicorn costume because I thought the makeup was a bit over the top. But my favorite costume was Teri's clever idea for Mayo: a cute "Mustard" outfit, even though Mayo didn't seem too thrilled about it:
So, why did I choose to be a purple crayon? Well, it was because everyone else on the IT team was doing it. One of my "quirks" that most people know about (and probably find a bit odd) is that I really like matching. Teri and I would occasionally discuss this, especially when I insisted on buying new clothes or outfits every time I got a new bike. But we'll save those stories and lessons learned for another time.
While Teri didn't mind the crayon costume, she had strong opinions about other costumes. Here's her feedback on what the IT team decided to wear in 2021:
I enjoyed getting Teri's honest reactions to the unusual things I did. Some of them are worth sharing, like the one I mentioned earlier, while others she preferred I kept to myself.
Time for your first triathlon?
A few months ago, a few members of Teri's small group expressed their interest in participating in a Triathlon. Since I recently completed a race, others have approached me for advice on racing. My suggestion is that we all register for the very family/first time friendly Pasadena Sprint Triathlon scheduled for March. This consists of:
5K run
15k bike
150m pool swim
If you have little kids, there are options for them as well. I plan to sign up for it l and would be more than willing to assist anyone in preparing for the event.
I wrote a few months ago that Teri completed two triathlons. Her first one was with her friends in an all-women's event in Acworth, Georgia. I sometimes struggle a lot, before, during, and after the race (unless I hit my time goal), but Teri shines throughout. Check out this short video I made—it might give you some inspiration:
That's all for now. Wishing you all a great rest of the weekend! If anyone needs wants to help me with doing taxes, feel free to reach out.
Blessings,
Erwin
I can see how this blog will help you as you experience “firsts” without Teri. Love the videos and Mayo’s mustard costume-cute and creative just like Teri was💖
Thank you for sharing Erwin!
As a lifelong weirdo: Welcome to the club 😅😅😅
Enjoyed the reading and videos Erwin! Thank you. ♥️. Hope to see you tomorrow at church. Lol at the ”mustard“ costume in Mayo. 😂
I seriously LOLed at the onesie video! I haven’t had a good belly laugh like that in awhile! (Well the coaching for Melody last night came close :D ) oh how I miss Teri!