I became so aware of how important it is to be able to adapt during these last power outages.  There we were in the dark, headlamps affixed to our foreheads, a battery-operated lantern providing enough light to keep walk-in areas illuminated and battery packs keeping our phones charged.  All this we learned from previous outages and now were able to create a little more comfortable environment as a result.

It wasn’t enough that we had no power but it was cold, very cold, and our house heat was all provided by electrical heaters. So, we lit our propane stove just enough, opened the door and it warmed us beyond freezing. We were careful to use pantry food or to get things from the fridge as little as possible. We applauded the return of electricity.  It certainly made our 21^st-century mentality function more easily. But we realized that we could adapt to emergencies and come out unscathed.

I have listened to interviews with people living in war-torn environments and marveled at their adaptability for survival. Our power outages seemed a mere trifle to what they were experiencing. Yet, as long as they were alive and able to function, they found ways to do what was necessary.

I believe the opposite of adaptability is resistance and *resistance is, really,  hard on our bodies and psyches. When we embrace our circumstances, we can become creative and creativity leads to new inventions that make our life easier and more creative.

*Errol Strider wrote, “Resistance is what we add to pain to make it hurt more and last longer”
 
Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

It’s February, the month devoted to LOVE. . .everywhere you go you’ll see hearts, candy, flowers, buy something for a loved one etc. In our language, we have only one word for all the kinds of love there are.
The Greeks had three, Filial, Eros, and Agape. Filial love for family, friends, things, and actions. Eros for the romantic and Agape for divine Love. When my children were little and I would proclaim that I loved something, they would reply, “do you want to marry it?” The emotions behind all our love are no less real and sometimes potent. Love propels us to be more caring, harmonious, joyful, creative, and happy no matter which kind of love we are experiencing. Love is awesome, can’t always be rational, but can always be felt. For me as hospitality director of Lupin, love is hospitable, open to truly seeing, hearing, and appreciating those I come into daily contact with. For this I am truly grateful.

Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

A new year is upon us: Time to reflect. Clean house of outdated ideas and images that hold us back from being the incredible beings we are capable of, and choose to find ways to affirm who we truly are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

We, members and visitors of Lupin, are lucky to have an ambiance and so many events and people here to aid in that awareness adventure.

I have a formula that my husband created that has inspired me on my journey and that I lovingly present to you for this New Year, it is called PREP.

• P for being present
• R for being receptive
• E for being enthusiastic
• P for being personal

If we are present we can be aware of what is in front of us, around us, and within us.

When we allow ourselves to receive all that we are present to without judgments, it is easier to act accordingly.

When we act with enthusiasm (which comes from the Greek word, entheos, meaning from God or spirit), our actions are filled with love and are easily met.

And when we are personal, we are being true to our real selves and gifting that to all and anyone willing to receive us.

So let us PREP for the New Year and may it be a truly NEW year.

Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

December, the month of festive lights, gift giving and receiving.

No matter what I receive, the giver of the gift is more precious than the gift itself.

The smile on their face as my eyes alight on their bestowal is the true gift and I realize that material gifts—as fun and ever-lovely, beautiful, or even costly they may be—cannot hold a candle (no pun intended) to the love I receive from the giver.

So, I ask myself, what do I choose to give this month and the many months ahead, more than material gifts?

As I envision what that may be, what comes to mind is kindness, caring, understanding smiles and laughter, appreciation, friendship, heart-to-heartness, empathy, compassion, creativity and whatever true love dictates.

Those gifts already come packaged in my heart through my eyes and truthfulness. And when I receive those gifts I become more than before.

What a wonderful time to be reminded that we have the most wonderful gifts to give and are willing to receive this holiday season and beyond.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Wonderful Kwanzaa.
 
Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

I have said before in words to this effect

The staff at Lupin garners my gratitude every day, for showing up and taking on whatever task they have at hand, for being amenable with each other and our guests.

And they are grateful for so many things personally and professionally.

From the staff at Lupin

And gratitude for their working experience:

We at Lupin are grateful to serve ourselves, each other, and you. 
May your Thanksgiving be a time of true gratitude.

Rochelle
-Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

I do believe that in order to truly nurture others we must first nurture ourselves. How can we give sustenance to another when we are hungry?

So the question is how do we nurture ourselves; our bodies, minds, and spirit?

There is physical nurturing, and we want to have as much of that as possible, and being at Lupin is a big part of that. One hundred and ten acres of mostly woods, a pool, a hot tub, a sauna, and the wonderful gifts of Music, Hiking, Dancing and classes in nutrition and we try to take that into our everyday life, while trying to negate our family baggage with it—and sometimes it stays with us, and sometimes it fades until we return. But we always want more, we want to feel full, and fulfilled. We search out inspiring words but it takes a while to act on those words and once again we may walk away hungry.

What does it take to feel that sense of nourishment, the all rightness of our being?

In my own quest to feel truly nourished, I have needed to find something that does not need anything outside myself to feel replete in fact everything outside myself becomes heightened by nourishing my inner being or spirit. And though I have said this many times because it works so well, I am saying it again, we feel nurtured when we are seen, heard, and appreciated and the best way to feel that way when we are by ourselves is to see ourselves through accepting eyes, to hear ourselves with loving ears and to appreciate ourselves for desiring to be the best we can be at any time and loving ourselves when we lose for we have a lot to learn and loving ourselves when we win for we have a lot to learn.

We are a work in progress, we fall many times before we walk but we learn to walk because we are bi-peds and we will seek nourishment because we are human beings.

Find what nourishes your spirit and practice using it in your life.

Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge
 

On Monday, Labor Day 9/5/2022, my husband of over 46 years, the father of my children and professional theater partner for over 47 years, was about to fulfill the #1 thing on his bucket list: visiting one or more foreign countries before he was too old to make the trip. This trip was his odyssey!

With a mutual friend, a chance to make professional connections, and mileage plus free air travel, the date was set.

Now, a footnote: my husband spends a lot of his waking hours lost in thought solving problems, thinking of ways to create more efficiency in his life and composing humorous one liners that continually make me laugh, and as a result constantly forgets where he puts things. I can attest to the fact that every day of our time together I have heard this phrase in one form or another, at least if not more times, “Rochelle, do you know where… I just put it down. I could have sworn it was right here!”

We went over his itinerary, when and where he would meet our friend, what he would take with him, the most important items being his passport, credit card, etc—check, check, check. We made copies of everything and off we went to the San Francisco International Airport. He confessed to being nervous but excited.

We arrived at 10:30 for his 12:30 flight to London, kissed a long goodbye. “Stay safe, have a wonderful time. I love you.” And though I heard in the back of my mind, maybe you should wait before leaving to go home, I poo pooed the thought and took off from SFO via Highway 101 South, and on Labor Day it was pretty fast sailing.

Someone was calling me, but I couldn’t get to my phone, couldn’t pull over, and finally reached Los Gatos where I could pause our of curiosity to see who was calling. There was a text: “Come back, come back I had the wrong passport”

“That man is so funny,” I said to myself with a chuckle. “Are you serious? Haha!”

Then I listened to the phone calls, he wasn’t leaving, he had taken the wrong passport. He would have to come home and leave the next day (thank you Mileage Plus for more miles). Back I went to the airport laughing all the way. If this had been a Seinfeld episode it couldn’t have been funnier.

A friend said, “Didn’t you want to throttle him? After all, you were in the car for four hours.”

I answered that I was laughing too hard to want to do him in.

We can search for the humor in almost every situation, it’s hidden behind our seriousness!

Rochelle
Hospitality Director at Lupin Lodge

We feel safe and healthy when the world we visit is clean.

No detritus on the roads and lawns, clean bathrooms, pool area, trails easy to access with no heavy twigs, branches or overgrown greenery to impede our way and cause injury.

Plants, art work, places to sit and hang out by the pool make us feel comfortable and therefore safe.

Therefore, I wish to say how much I appreciate those at Lupin who keep it so clean. It is not only I, but so many old timers, long term members (people who have a history with Lupin) have remarked, it’s so much cleaner, nicer now. They feel safer, happier to be here so they can de-stress (my motto for Lupin, come to Lupin to undress and de-stress.)

I once heard this phrase or words to that effect, “CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS.” I don’t know how true that is but I do know that cleanliness makes us feel comfortable. There’s a feeling of health and well-being attached to it which makes us feel safe.

And cleanliness is not just in our surroundings but in what we think and say and act. There is dirty language, coarse behavior, anger and fear that can pollute our atmosphere. But if we express kindness, caring (which is not messy), we feel safe, and healthy and healthy living is clean living.

Lupin Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

Boundaries:
• What are they?
• Why do we need them?
• How do we deal with people who don’t have them?
 
Boundaries keep us safe. Rules act as boundaries; systems act as boundaries; beliefs act as boundaries, as do customs. These boundaries have an emotional gate that keeps us safe. Then there are physical boundaries, that can and should only be crossed through an invitation. We can feel when someone crosses our boundaries. Usually it it someone who does not have any or very few boundaries and they then cannot feel our boundaries. We feel uncomfortable. We may feel as we have been invaded, we feel dissed, discounted, walked over and we become defensive. We may use anger as a weapon.

As we become more mature, we push our boundaries and become more inclusive, letting more things, situations and people in. We test our limits and we grow.

And as we grow we can learn to respect other peoples boundaries.

In a hospitality situation we may encounter many people who do not have good boundaries or any… and when the anger boils up what do we do besides stuffing it.

If I have learned anything in my golden years it is to first and foremost to forgive myself for having negative feelings and then treat the “offender sternly telling them what I need them to do, setting rules. We do not invade each others physical space unless there is a request that is granted. This is what I need from you, be firm and caring and continue to remind that person as if teaching a child. It works when we set boundaries for those who do not have them.

Lupin Rochelle
Hospitality Director Lupin Lodge

Dear folks who actually read this thing,

I will for the most part be stepping back from my role at Lupin. For those of you who might actually miss my face in the office and as Front of the House in the restaurant, I wish you all a fond farewell. I will miss talking to you and providing you libations in my campaign to Liquor up Lupin, as well as seeing your smiling faces at checkin and hearing your stories upon checkout. But fear not—I will remain developing/compiling/editing/ruining the This Weekend at Lupin (TWAL) newsletter.

For those with whom I have been lucky enough to work here, I will miss you too. Though I am leaving in a work capacity only, and will remain here as your friend, I want you all to know that I have been truly blessed to work with all of you, and I have loved being part of your family.

With love (I swear I’m not dying of consumption even though it kind of reads that way),

Sierra R.