Boston

It's been almost three weeks since I left for Boston so it's high time that I blog about it, before I forget all that happened.  The Thursday that we left was strictly travelling.  We left Saskatoon at 3:00pm and arrived in Boston via Minneapolis around 11:00 Boston time (9:00pm our time).  By the time we picked up the rental car and drove the hour and a half to where we were staying.  The seminar we were attending was actually taking place in North Hampton, two hours west of Boston, so we stayed in Springfield (all the hotels were booked up in North Hampton).  When we arrived, it was promptly into our rooms and into bed!

Friday morning was seminar day and I couldn't get enough of it.  Emotional Freedom Therapy involves tapping on several acupressure points while repeating an affirmation statement and other types of self talk.  There were only 16 of us at the conference so it was nice and intimate…I thought it was going to be a huge auditorium so I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was just in one of the hotel's little conference rooms with lots of big windows and air conditioning.

When we broke for lunch, we went to the local Stop N Shop to pick out salads and sandwiches then had a little picnic outside of the hotel.  It was about 88 degress out so I couldn't wait to get back inside and keep learning about tapping.  By the end of the day, I knew tapping was going to revolutionize the way I do things.  One example: we were to think of a childhood memory.  I chose the time our family dog attacked with no provoking.  The fear linked to that memory was about an 8 out of 10.  One of the seminar leaders prompted us through a series of tapping with different affirmation statements.  By the time I was done, the emotion connected to the memory was a zero!  I could replay the memory without any fear! I felt nothing…it was just like watching a little movie!  Since Boston, I have used tapping to reduce my anxiety in a variety of situations, like driving on the highway and being afraid I'm going to drive into oncoming traffic.  It didn't take long and the anxiety was gone and I could enjoy a leisurely drive up to our cabin!

Friday night's supper started a trend we didn't know was going to take place…we enjoyed the restaurant so much we ate all three nights there! It was called the Golden Corral and it was a HUGE buffet! I mean HUGE! They had Chinese, Italian, American, a massive salad bar, a steak station, breakfast items…everything you could possibly want!  And the dessert bar…oh my!! I do believe I overdid myself with the chocolate fountain and chocolate covered strawberries!

On Saturday, Mom was taking the training for being able to teach tapping so Dad and I were on our own for sightseeing.  It was too far to drive back to Boston for the day (in order to be back in time to pick up Mom from the seminar) so we looked for local things to do in Springfield.  We lazed around the motel until lunch time and then went back to the Stop N Shop for more salads and sandwiches.  After lunch, we cruised the mall where I picked up some ibuprofen (my knees had been bothering me since the flights) and Dad picked out on anniversary gift for Mom.  After the mall, we went to the tiniest little Titanic museum! It was in the back of jewellery store and it was just two rooms but it was chock full of Titanic memorabilia, including original newspapers of the sinking, buttons from a coat one passenger was wearing the night of the sinking and the original telegram that never made it to the captain warning about ice bergs that night.  By the time we were done going through the museum, it was time to pick up mom and head back to the Golden Corral for supper :)

Sunday was more lazing around, relaxing and napping until we decided to head into North Hampton for some sight seeing.  North Hampton is a groovy little town (yes, I just used the word groovy)…full of street art and granola type people.  Their main street had tons of little shops that were all open, so Dad and I sipped coffee and checked out the local wares, while waiting for Mom to finish up her course.  I was tempted to get a tattoo while we were there, but Dad said he didn't have the stomach to watch :)  We picked Mom up and went back to Golden Corral.

Monday was sight seeing day in Boston, before our flight headed out at 5:00pm.  It was raining, so all the things we did see were mostly seen from the car.  We saw Harvard, Paul Revere's house, where the Boston Massacre took place, Bunker Hill and the Boston Tea Party ships.  Our GPS was taking us in circles so there was some arguing happening between the 'rents.  Well, mostly Mom giving Dad shit for getting turned around and needing to drive through an extra toll booth lol.

We flew from Boston to Cincinnati, only to arrive and discover our next flight was cancelled due to storms.  There were a ton of flights cancelled so people were scrambling for hotel rooms.  We managed to scoop the last two rooms at a Hampton Inn.  As it was, I was put up in the handicap suite.  No complaints here!  By the time hotels and new flights got straightened out and the shuttle picked us up, it was 9:30pm.  We walked over to a nearby restaurant for a late supper.  Then I caught the end of the Stanley Cup final and turned out the lights.  We had a 4:45am wake up call for our 7:00am flight.

We were rerouted to Toronto, then Calgary, then Saskatoon so it was a long day of take offs and landings (which I love!).  We finally got back to PA around 4:30 where I promptly peeled off my travelling clothes and had a nice hot shower!  There was no rest for this chickie though as Mike had to work that night so I was parenting duty for the night.

All in all, the Boston trip was a huge success (in my eyes).  I have been faithfully using tapping to help treat "in the now" symptoms of my OCD and anxiety.  I also use it as a way to meditate (five minutes of tapping is equal to a half hour of meditation).  I tap while I'm sitting in the chair in K's room, waiting for her to fall asleep.  Like I said earlier…it's been a game changer for me.

And that's Boston in a nutshell :)