I recently had a conversation with a woman we’ll call Barb, who told the story of her son having a sleep over at his friend’s house. When Barb picked up her son the following morning, the friends mother carried on about what a pure joy Barb’s son was to have around. She was baffled, saying he is normally surly and miserable and rarely even talks at home. It got me thinking about how we wear different hats all though our lives, taking one off and donning another to fit whatever environment we find ourselves in. Often, we have one hat for family, one for work, one for our friends, etc. As the years go by, some of us fail to realize it’s okay to pick one hat and stick to it. After all, there comes a point where we know who we are. Once we have that figured out it’s our job to honor ourselves by being true to ourselves. My first job in high school was at a fast food restaurant. The owner of the burger joint was a family friend and he has never once passed on the opportunity to remind me, in the most condescending way,…
Month: October 2013
The Gray
It occurred to me the other day, that I spend most of my life in the gray zone. It’s as though I can never really make up my mind about a million different things. Doesn’t that make me a bit wishy-washy? And if it does, I need to correct the situation because I have a hard time with that myself; people who leave me wondering about their true feeling, beliefs, ideas, points of view. It’s not that we need to agree – not at all. It’s just the desire to know people honestly. I’d rather spend time with people I completely disagree with than with someone I’ve never scratched the surface with. At least we know where we stand in each others eyes and can respect that . And why dance around, why hold back? All we have to lose is a friendship that was never really there to start with. It was just a pretense. I guess it’s an age thing, but by this stage in life I hardly see the purpose of wasting time in the gray. For example; I have been on a half-diet plan for at least fifteen years. It’s a kind-of, sort-of, if it fits…
Second Time Around
Sad to say, but there were many things I was looking forward to not having to do after the kids grew up, such as standing out in the wind and pounding rain watching softball or football, or whatever it was. And as much as we all pretended to love squeezing one more thing into frantic holiday schedules by attending yet another holiday kids concert, we couldn’t wait to put the video camera down and go home. And remember those painful ballet performances and piano recitals? All the nerves we took on because our kids were so nervous? How we were so excited and scared for them we almost thew up ourselves? Oh, and what about the obligatory pumpkin farm that was a must-go-to this time of year. Anybody miss traipsing around with the kids in mud up to our knees with wet frozen fingers and runny snotty noses? Well, I have to admit I miss every last bit of it. It’s what makes grand-parenting so great. We raise our kids, take a good long break, realize we kind of miss it all, and then get to revisit the past through our grandkids. It’s the best! No guilt attached if we…
Rethinking It
It’s that time of year again, the one where the world gets in the way and ruins everything; the ever so revered Holiday Season. It’s no wonder so many have a tough time handling life from the end of October until January 2nd; there is so much pressure from so many directions and the persistent messages are conflicting. Retailers and media hyp join forces and collide with sanity and common sense. After all, what’s the purpose and meaning of it anyway? Given the opportunity, the retailer-media team will psych the entire country into believing there is no excuse for being dressed like a normal person on October 31st., a feast to beat all feasts must be prepared and served to an army on November 28th, and credit cards should be charged up enough to rival the national debt or no one is going to have a happy Christmas. To top it off, New Years Eve is to be celebrated with all that glitters, stretch limos, and champagne that flows flows flows! Yet, we must not drink and drive, so figure that one out. Obviously, we are expected to stay in a nice hotel close by the party and take a…
Once a Baby, Always a Baby
Let’s face it; we’re all just a bunch of babies. This has become apparent as I spend more time with my seventeen month old grandson. He and I want the same things. Come to think of it, it’s possible we all want the same things we did when we were that age. I’m envious he has me to take care of him the way I do. I wish I still had someone following me around, waiting on me hand and foot. It would be great to have a devoted relative insist I’m the cutest thing ever to walk the face of God’s green earth not to mention fixing my favorite foods and filling my bottle all day long. And I’d love having someone see to it that I’m properly entertained and spending my time in a safe, healthy, and stimulating environment every waking moment of my life. And imagine how it would feel to have everyone in the room cheer over the simplest thing you did, like smile. Just think how all that positive energy would make us feel! Not only that, but let’s talk about my favorite thing; naps. Imagine the luxury of a mandatory two hour nap every…