On the Levee—day 1

I didn’t paint today. When I went out for my meeting and to pick my stretch of the concrete yesterday, I got sick. I thought it was sun poisoning. But maybe it was something I ate. And I had a huge reality check on just how steep that incline is. It looks steep from across the river, but to actually stand right on it and look into the water made it all get very real.

I just saw a social media thing about what did you used to do that most people consider dangerous now? Uh…everything. When I was a kid, I rode in the back of trucks, never wore a seatbelt, or a helmet. I played on the roof of the house and the roof of the school on the corner. I climbed and jumped on everything. I rode my bike all over town without GPS or a cell phone. Once my brother and I combined our paper route money and bought a raft and floated down the hydraulic ditch. Someone asked us if our parents knew were we where. Why would they? We were home in time for lunch. My point is that back in the day this incline wouldn’t have bothered me. At all. But I am old now and honestly a little freaked out.

I have a climbing lesson tomorrow. So today, I just walked around on the surface to see what it felt like, to see what kind of shoes I want out there. I scooted without a rope all the way to the water and came back up. It wasn’t so bad, but I’d feel better with a rope for sure. I met one of the muralists. She is around 20 and climbing around, barefoot, rocking her mural. Then I went to pick up the primer and some rollers. I met a professional painter who was kind of flirty and he offered me a job. I told him I had a job, but now I am wondering if I should have at least explored that idea. House painter? Hmmmm.

A couple of people have asked me if this is worth it. For me, it is. It’s a challenge for sure. But I have never wanted to do anything more. Looking forward to “learning the ropes,” so I can paint. Thanks to everyone who donated so far. Also sharing my blog would also be helpful.