A list of things that have flitted or wended their way through my mind lately:
*Should I trade in my oven for a fully enclosed model?
*In two days I won't have any "children" at home. Everyone in my house will be legal adults.
*Next year, I'll have been a parent for 30 years.
*I feel really cozy and safe when I sleep in the Element.
*30 years is a long time.
*Really hate coffee shops who don't know what real tea is.
*Mystic Chai from Sam's is not good enough for a coffee shop that proudly displays "Barista" Certificates of Training.
*I think I should write a letter about it.
*I think I could really get into the flea market business.
*My grandfather used to take me to Maxwell Street in Chicago.
*People are friendly if you're friendly first, and give them an opportunity to help.
*It's really, really dry in Texas. Even though it rained on me while I was there.
*I wish we had Texas speed limits in Arkansas.
*It's pretty stupid to drive a Texas speed limit on some Arkansas roads.
*That's probably why we don't have Texas speed limits.
*I didn't know there were race riots in Tulsa in 1921. Apparently it was pretty hush-hush for a long time.
*That squeak in the dash of the Element is extremely annoying. Wonder how much that's going to cost to get fixed?
*I forgot Heather's birthday. She understands.
*I wonder how long it would take to get all the bike stuff ready to take to the flea market?
*Most boring blog post ever.
*Could make some of them interesting, though.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
What Else Changed?
Not only am I the mother of three sons (in a row!), I also became, since that last post in 2009, a grandmother to three boys in a row!
I am continually amazed by it. My parents have 3 kids, 6 grandkids, and 6 great-grandkids, all but 3 of whom are boys. My family name was in grave danger of dying out. If not for my eldest brother's only son producing two more boys, that branch on the family tree would have withered and died. Now we repeat the process with his kids, but they're still toddlers. And, the world is changing. Who knows if their future partners would be interested in taking on their last name? Who knows if they'll ever marry? It's not that it is so important to keep a name, but it sure is easier keeping up with the genealogy.
I am particularly attached to the last name I was given at birth, which was my father's last name. In 1962, I don't believe there were too many WASPy folks defying that convention. Part of the reason I am attached to it is because I have willingly and somewhat regretfully changed my last name twice in that same tradition. I like to go along to get along. Sometimes. It just wasn't a hill I wanted to die on. I became more attached to it as I got older because it became obvious it was all riding on that one dear nephew of mine. I gave it to one of my kids, as his first name. He doesn't like it. It's not a horrible first name, actually. He just liked his middle name better, and that was the one we were always going to call him, anyway.
I've asked him once or twice if he would have liked it better if I had just kept my last name when I married my partner, and then he could have been named (Current Middle Name) (My Last Name) (Dad's Last Name). He thinks that is an insane idea. He wouldn't have, had I done it, though. It would have been all he'd ever known. I wish I had.
Back to all those boys: Not only am I amazed at how many boys there are, but also at how much I like it. I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to buy little pink dresses, and deal with the emotional output of an estrogen laden baby girl. Sometimes I see a mom and her daughter with their heads together, whispering, confiding, and I feel a little pang of loneliness. But it could very well be that a girl in this family would be the rough and tumble sort, and my learning curve would just be a speed-bump. I was never in close confidence with my mother, so this may be just be a fantasy I cooked up. For sure it points to a general real-life loneliness that I can't seem to shake.
So ya, there are lots of boys around here. That's old news and new news!
I am continually amazed by it. My parents have 3 kids, 6 grandkids, and 6 great-grandkids, all but 3 of whom are boys. My family name was in grave danger of dying out. If not for my eldest brother's only son producing two more boys, that branch on the family tree would have withered and died. Now we repeat the process with his kids, but they're still toddlers. And, the world is changing. Who knows if their future partners would be interested in taking on their last name? Who knows if they'll ever marry? It's not that it is so important to keep a name, but it sure is easier keeping up with the genealogy.
I am particularly attached to the last name I was given at birth, which was my father's last name. In 1962, I don't believe there were too many WASPy folks defying that convention. Part of the reason I am attached to it is because I have willingly and somewhat regretfully changed my last name twice in that same tradition. I like to go along to get along. Sometimes. It just wasn't a hill I wanted to die on. I became more attached to it as I got older because it became obvious it was all riding on that one dear nephew of mine. I gave it to one of my kids, as his first name. He doesn't like it. It's not a horrible first name, actually. He just liked his middle name better, and that was the one we were always going to call him, anyway.
I've asked him once or twice if he would have liked it better if I had just kept my last name when I married my partner, and then he could have been named (Current Middle Name) (My Last Name) (Dad's Last Name). He thinks that is an insane idea. He wouldn't have, had I done it, though. It would have been all he'd ever known. I wish I had.
Back to all those boys: Not only am I amazed at how many boys there are, but also at how much I like it. I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to buy little pink dresses, and deal with the emotional output of an estrogen laden baby girl. Sometimes I see a mom and her daughter with their heads together, whispering, confiding, and I feel a little pang of loneliness. But it could very well be that a girl in this family would be the rough and tumble sort, and my learning curve would just be a speed-bump. I was never in close confidence with my mother, so this may be just be a fantasy I cooked up. For sure it points to a general real-life loneliness that I can't seem to shake.
So ya, there are lots of boys around here. That's old news and new news!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
When Reticula said she would try to write one blog post every day this month, but didn't think she'd do it, it got me wondering. This old, neglected blog has been just sitting out there on the back burner, while lots of things have changed in the meantime.
First of all, I need to get rid of that old picture of me by my bike. I haven't been on a bike in over a year. Sad, but true. It's not that I don't want to...well, yes it IS because I don't want to, or I want to less than I want to do other things. You see, I became a grown up. Or something. I just don't have time.
I started a business in 2010. No, it's not a mail order business or a work from home scam stuffing envelopes, or WORSE, putting together little crosses made of nails for half a cent each and sending them to be sold at the Jesus Junk Store in Branson for 5 dollars. Nope, it's an actual business. A Limited Liability Company. With equipment, tax returns, and a business license.
That first year was rough. Never mind the fact that I wasn't quite finished with some of my volunteer work that I had been extricating myself from for a while, or that it's pretty hard to stay on track with your business when your partner is having surgery after surgery after surgery all summer long.
Nope, it was the doubt. It was the huge sense of having made a mistake, of having rushed in. It was the extremely steep learning curve, which kept turning out to be a false peak. I'd get to the top and there was that little dip, with the hidden ascent staring down at me. The same kind of thing I encountered riding my bike on the road to Cerrillos, NM. Giant walls of rock on your left and right have a way of obscuring the view. I didn't know what I didn't know.
It scared me to death.
Luckily, I no longer walk around muttering, "I'm not cut out for this." No, I left that behind about 6 months ago. I don't know what the turning point was. Maybe I started making a little money (it doesn't show, yet). Maybe I gained some confidence from having repeat business. Maybe it was that I randomly ran across a video that said to take the bowl scraper out of the mixer about half way through. It makes the dough come out much much smoother, and that has made all the difference.
Money, perseverance, and luck. That's all it takes. Simple.
Tomorrow I'll write about what else has changed since the last blog post.
First of all, I need to get rid of that old picture of me by my bike. I haven't been on a bike in over a year. Sad, but true. It's not that I don't want to...well, yes it IS because I don't want to, or I want to less than I want to do other things. You see, I became a grown up. Or something. I just don't have time.
I started a business in 2010. No, it's not a mail order business or a work from home scam stuffing envelopes, or WORSE, putting together little crosses made of nails for half a cent each and sending them to be sold at the Jesus Junk Store in Branson for 5 dollars. Nope, it's an actual business. A Limited Liability Company. With equipment, tax returns, and a business license.
That first year was rough. Never mind the fact that I wasn't quite finished with some of my volunteer work that I had been extricating myself from for a while, or that it's pretty hard to stay on track with your business when your partner is having surgery after surgery after surgery all summer long.
Nope, it was the doubt. It was the huge sense of having made a mistake, of having rushed in. It was the extremely steep learning curve, which kept turning out to be a false peak. I'd get to the top and there was that little dip, with the hidden ascent staring down at me. The same kind of thing I encountered riding my bike on the road to Cerrillos, NM. Giant walls of rock on your left and right have a way of obscuring the view. I didn't know what I didn't know.
It scared me to death.
Luckily, I no longer walk around muttering, "I'm not cut out for this." No, I left that behind about 6 months ago. I don't know what the turning point was. Maybe I started making a little money (it doesn't show, yet). Maybe I gained some confidence from having repeat business. Maybe it was that I randomly ran across a video that said to take the bowl scraper out of the mixer about half way through. It makes the dough come out much much smoother, and that has made all the difference.
Money, perseverance, and luck. That's all it takes. Simple.
Tomorrow I'll write about what else has changed since the last blog post.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Don't blink--they'll be grown before you know it.
Imagine if you will, a time 16 years hence. You are awakened by the sunlight streaming in the window. You arise, yawn, stretch. The house is quiet. You stumble downstairs, get breakfast, read the paper, check your email. You dress for the gym, go and get in a good long work out, stop by Wal-Mart on your way home, and arrive back at a home where there still appears to be no occupants. But no, the babe that today clings to your shirt and insists on sitting on your lap while you use the toilet is now, magically and instantly, 6 feet tall, and sleeping so soundly at 10 a.m. that he still does not awaken when you arrive with the groceries. He finally awakes, stumbles down the stairs, gets in the shower without a word, then grabs his car keys while he reminds you he has a job interview. You smile, and stop him for a hug from what seems like a grown man. He whispers, "I love you, Mom." You can't help yourself as you say, "I love you, too....and be careful!" Then, as the door slams behind him, you sigh a long, contented sigh, secure in the knowing that you didn't do the easy thing, but you did the right thing. You begin to enjoy the well-deserved peace and quiet.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Our National Anthem
Please, if you audition to sing the Star Spangled Banner at a minor league baseball game, please refrain from all the American Idol runs, and DO NOT take liberties with the melody. It's just not right.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Never underestimate dogs
Even when you can't know where the trail is, and it has been 20 trees since the last green blaze, trust your dog. She knows where the last 20 hikers went by, even if it has been weeks and the trail is covered with freshly fallen leaves. Her nose knows.
I'm in the forest around Bull Shoals Lake. Yes, I'm blogging from the forest and I get the irony. But at least I'm out here!
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel
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