Showing posts with label profound thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label profound thoughts. Show all posts

Friday, December 9, 2016

Invisibly Ill





To Those Who Don't Believe in Invisible Illnesses,

 
Forgive me if these thoughts are too raw, too painful, or too forceful to be let out now.  I am usually one who waits patiently for hurts to dissipate throughout my body.

Not this time.

Not this time, for you have reduced me to a pile of rubble.  A walking panic attack.  An indignant, yet defeated, individual.

Did God create you without a heart?  I have not heard you squeak like the tin man.  Likewise, you have never heard me roar like a lion; for I have no courage left to fight you.  Perhaps we were both born without brains.

I have internalized each hurt endured by your attitude of omission, but I now have a few things to say to you.  Depression is REAL.  Sjogren's Disease is REAL.  And anxiety, for me - right now - is VERY, VERY REAL.  How is it that you have decided to hurt me most when I needed you?  When I reached out for help? I used to have a name for you but it no longer applies.  I know not what to call you now.


Friday, July 15, 2016

A Word New to Me

Diminish.

I believe the word itself is a verb meant to convey the idea of something shrinking or decreasing.  By tagging four simple letters to the end (able) we have an adjective; another four (ment) will give us a noun.  An "ly", as usual, transforms the word to an adverb.  A few short words ending with "return" will even give us a law.  I, however,  provide you with the embodiment; the state of being.

I may have had many parts of speech attached to my life before: complex, exuberant,  intelligent, competent - perhaps even ubiquitous.  Yet another word now runs through my mind unimpeded.  I am diminished.  My life is diminishing.  I am diminishment itself.  My star has dimmed.  I have no need of diminutives. I have become dimwitted.



Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Dear Life



Dear Life,

We persevered despite your setbacks.
 
Are you surprised? Did we foil your plans? Were you astonished to find that we danced over your hot coals and came through on the other side? (Or thought we did???)

Oh yes, we were a little battle-scarred and a whole lot wiser, but we thought we had you beat.  Besides, we had much bigger fish to fry in our household.  My daughters had entered their teenage years.

Talk about battles!  Do you remember what you were like before the word “unlimited” was used in conjunction with cell phone plans?  Do you remember Megan’s 4,032 texts messages in one month at ten cents a text? Do you remember underage drinking?  Unauthorized use of credit cards?   Curfews, concerts, and college applications?
 
And how about the introduction of “adhesive breast forms” (or “sticky boobs” as I used to refer to them?)  Was it the dog’s fault that she happens to be a retriever and loved to store them away in the back of her crate, leaving them filled with pet fur when my daughters wanted them?  I applauded her efforts – at least I wasn’t the only one who wanted those girls to dress modestly from time to time.   If the outfit wasn’t big enough to accommodate a regular bra, it plainly shouldn’t be worn!

Do you remember the first time I found a leopard print thong in the household laundry; knowing with certainty it hadn’t been spawned from my old lady granny panties overnight?  Or the time when I determined an astute laundress could hang a whopping 26 thongs from her pinkie?

Yes, those were the days, my friend. And my daughters lived them to their fullest.

Signed,
a very tired and grateful,

 

Monday, September 13, 2010

I Hate that Cat Messing with My Ch'i

Some might call this a random thought.

Others might call it pathetic drivel.

Yet I prefer to think of it as. . .oh, I don't know. . .  a profound pondering of the universe.

_____________________


If bamboo plants are traditionally supposed to bring their owners luck . . .

But the owners' cat eats your plant from top to bottom . . .



Does that mean that the owner is out of luck?

And what - pray tell - would it portend if the same cat were to get diarrhea after eating the plant?

I thought so. . .

Monday, September 6, 2010

Who's That Talking?

So have you ever been in an empty gymnasium after a big game?

A vacant church after a funeral?

If you have, you know that you can still feel the essence of people long after they've gone.   It's like the raw emotion and energy is somehow still reverberating off of the walls with no where to go.

Welcome to my house, ladies and gentlemen. . .

Because it seems that the quietness of my (semi) empty nest is still not sitting right.  It's as if the walls themselves cannot believe that a home which once held such life, laughter, mayhem and madness has been suddenly asked to settle into a state of nothingness.

And if the walls could talk, my friends, they just might ask. . .

What happened to those girls?  The ones who used to run and play and squeal and stomp?  The ones who learned to toddle, walk and run in these very rooms?  Who used to giggle as they sang their ABC's. .  .  clear the living room of furniture to practice their jigs and reels . . . trip over each other in a mad dash each morning as they ran to catch the school bus?  Where are those kids who stayed up through all hours of the night doing homework?  What happened to those girls who took half-hour showers and snuck into each others rooms to steal clothing?  The very ones who used to come home late and tiptoe past their sentry-of-a-father asleep in the living room? What kind of a house do we live in when a whole day can go by without a constant BUZZ announcing incoming texts?


Give me a second here.

Could it be that I miss them???

Let me take a trip to their car and see what it has to say . . . 






  

Monday, August 16, 2010

A Post in Which I Lament No Longer Lurking in Parking Lots

I am no longer a young mother.

Now I realize that when you read this most of you will say . . . I thought that lady has been ancient forever!  She has daughters who drive, go to college, and drink vodka for God's sake!

It may surprise you to know that, although I may have been ancient in your eyes now for quite a while, I  had my personal aha! moment just last week as I watched young mothers hanging out in the church parking lot after having dropped their offspring off at vacation bible school.

I suddenly realized what I no longer have. 

Let me just state for the record that - as crappy a mother as I am now - I  made an excellent young one.  I did everything a mother was supposed to do. . . toted my kids to soccer practice, Irish dancing competitions, ballet lessons, and basketball games.  I headed every school and church committee ever dreamed of and spent two years serving as president of the P.T.A.  In those days, I even made doctor's appointments for my daughters when required.

And, not for nothing. . .  but I didn't work back then - which allowed me the luxury of spending time with my children and doing laundry.  And not for nothing again . . .  but my daughters were little and the lifeblood that flowed through my veins had not yet been sucked out and left as depleted as my bank account.

But all of that was an aside.

The only little morsel of the last paragraph that matters for the purpose of today's post, is that I also had the time to connect with other mothers.  And I hung out in parking lots with them.  Everywhere. We dropped our kids off at pre-school, and we talked in the school parking lot.  We dropped our kids at choir practice and we gabbed in the church parking lot again.  We ran into each other in the grocery store parking lot and couldn't get enough of each other.

What did we talk about?

We talked about the minutia of our lives - like ear infections and strep throats.  We talked about our children's teachers and science projects.  We talked about P.T.A. committees and yoga classes. And I would be lying if I tried to say say that we didn't talk about other mothers too.  I'm ashamed to say that I did.  And I would also be lying if I tried to tell you that there wasn't a bit of one-up-man-ship or false bravado in some of those conversations.

And so it is with a real mixture of relief and regret that I have come to the realization that I have graduated to drive-by parenting.  I no longer have the time. . . the patience . .  .or the interest in the parking lot relationships that used to play a major role in my life.  Oh, I still run into those other mothers every once in a while, and we politely inquire about each other's children, but our paths don't cross nearly as often as they used to, and - when they do - we don't linger like the old days.

 Is this because we are more mature?  Less critical?  More private?  Less friendly? More stressed? Less caring?


I dare say it just may be that we have moved on.

Most of us are working now.  Most have discovered that we can no longer micro-manage our children's lives.  Some of us have had major upheavals come crashing down to teach us what it's like to live in glass houses.  Some have decided just to live life for themselves.  And some of us may just worry that if we told the truth about our lives, the other person would run the other way.

Or, then again, some of us may just be running home to blog . . .

Sunday, August 23, 2009

I Just May Be the Cat's Mother. . .


Beserk.

You may just think I'm going berserk. . .

But ever since my little foray into the occult (a.k.a. my psychic reading) I've been thinking about souls, and spirits, and previous lives. . . and - okay I'll admit it here - the possibility of reincarnation.

And I think my cat was/is/may-yet-be something special.

In fact, I'm convinced she may be my child.

I know what you're thinking . . . but forget - for the moment - that she's a member of the feline race . . and look at the uncanny similarities. . .

  • She's a cat.
  • I like cats.
  • She has green eyes.
  • I have hazel eyes.
  • She was found in a storm drain.
  • I cry alot.
  • She has whiskers
  • Need I remind you that my husband once found a whisker on my chin?
  • She's a tuxedo cat
  • My husband wore a tuxedo at our wedding
  • Her name is Mayzie.
  • I have been accused - at times - of being a wee-bit Crazy.
Besides. . .there's something undeniably eerie about the way that she runs away from every other member of the household and yet is fixated on me. There's something spooky about the way she comes out of hiding whenever I sit down. . . and something almost supernatural about the way she looks me in the eye, extends her paw, and tries to tell me something!!!!!!

That black and white furball scares me!

Now, don't get me wrong. . . the dog loves me too. . . and I know all about silly, oaf-like, will-you-just-let-me-lick-your-feet-cause-you're-the-greatest-thing-since-sliced-bread kind of pet-love stuff. . . This - my friends - is not like that. . .

This cat definitely thinks I'm her mother.

The big question is. . . could she really be my child??????

Friday, July 31, 2009

Toasters of the World, UNITE!!!


I think I may be a minimalist.

For some, vacation may be about excesses - an overabundance of sun. . . food. . . family . . . drinks. . . games. . . loud and raucous laughter. . .

Not for me.

I search for order out of chaos. . . solitude from the swarm . . . and silence over shouting. A stray coffee cup has me itching to clean it. A sloppily-hung beach towel affronts my eyes. A blaring television, an insult to my ears. (Good thing Mr. Drip Dry's favorite past-time down here is watching the Golf Channel - gotta love those broadcasters. . . they all whisper. . .) And although my favorite word is akimbo, that's not really how I want my world to be.

And so it is that each time I'm here, I can't keep myself from purging unneeded/unwanted/ outdated/outlandish stuff from my parents' beach house.

Every once in a while we have to ask ourselves. . . do we really need a napkin holder that says Hold 'em Here, Mate? Sample pieces of carpeting under trash bins? Bookends crafted to resemble Abraham Lincoln? Are toasters so ugly that we need to design elaborate covers for them? And would no one ever guess that it's actually a toaster hiding under that lighthouse???

Toasters of the world, Unite! Do not be afraid to show yourselves! Shed those silly garments that housewives of the world have been dressing you in since the 1950's! Let's hear you! Say it loud! I Toast. . . and I'm Proud!!!

And into the garbage that toaster cover went. . .


Sunday, July 19, 2009

Seatbelts on Wheelchairs and Words that I've Written


Dear Dad,

Welcome home.

I can honestly say that the neighborhood has not been the same without you for these past three weeks.

For there has been no 85-year-old sun worshiper perched on his front lawn. . . no noisy early riser rifling through the recycling bin next-door. . . . and no well-read copies of Business Week carefully maneuvered into our overstuffed mailbox.

Oh yeah - and even though Mom told everyone she was doing fine without you, I think she was scared to admit that she missed you too.

We've all known that you've had early stage Alzheimer's now for quite a few years, but I guess we've been crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. I - for one - could not imagine that anything could get the better of your giant-sized intellect. The disease may bring down others - I thought - but clearly it had never encountered an individual with your brain power.

And yet somehow these past few years have ushered in more than a few unwelcome and unforeseen changes. And you - my father - have faced each one of these challenges with untold grace and dignity.

For suddenly the man who taught his seven children how to drive, could no longer sit behind the steering wheel himself.

The permanent deacon who - at each Sunday dinner - asked us to discuss the homily, could no longer preach . . . or baptize. . . or assist in liturgies.

The father who used to pay his children a quarter to search for his missing glasses had grown poor in spirit - losing his wallet. . . keys. . . Yankees cap. . . and beloved Magnificat on a daily basis.

The Wall Street banker who misplaced his ATM card one-too-many times, could no longer carry it with him.

And - perhaps the most unsettling of all - a few short weeks ago, the first mortal born with an inboard GPS system, misdirected me while riding shotgun.

And now we have this.

The aftermath of The Fall.

And we silently watched as the forward thinking consumer who demanded seat belts be installed in our 1966 Chrysler station wagon, was alarmed and belted into his wheelchair at the rehab center. . . and the fitness enthusiast who used to rise at 5:00 a.m. to do his calisthenics and run laps (quite literally) around our dining room table each morning, came home with a walker.

Tough. . . all of it.

So excuse us if we hover.

Pardon us if we don't give you the independence which you so rightly deserve.

And be patient with us if we choose cheery conversational topics instead of asking you how you really feel about this new normal in your life.

For we know that one thing remains unchanged - your capacity to see the best in all of us.


Love always,



Oh. . . and one more thing. . . if you know what's good for you. . . . never - and I mean NEVER- call Mom Nursie again. . . for she doesn't always share your sense of humor about such things. . .


Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A Mom on Spin's Theory on Grumpy Old Ladies


I have recently developed a theory on why some old ladies are grumpy.

Think of it. . . we all know that these ladies weren't born that way. Sometime - when they were younger - they must have smiled. . . and danced. . . and loved. . . and laughed. They must have cooed over newborns and puppies and mini-muffins and pink baby booties. They must have been awed by a spider's web . . . a sunrise. . . a dust bunny.

Let's face it, something must have happened to morph these ladies from happy and productive individuals into the Granny you see trying to hit someone with her cane in the produce aisle! And I think that perhaps I have discovered what it is.

Perhaps she raised a teenage daughter or two.

Perhaps her daughters were vegetarians and her husband, a carnivore.

Perhaps sometimes she felt like the dog was the only one with any manners.

And Perhaps - long ago - those daughters lied to her . . . and stayed out past their curfews . . . and went to concerts. . . and unauthorized parties. . . and cut school. . . and stole her vodka. . . and lied about detention.

Perhaps those daughters treated her as nothing more than a human ATM machine - draining every dollar out of her bank account and every bit of energy out of her soul.

Perhaps they lived on choka-broka-macho-facho-lattes and mani/peds and iTune downloads.

Perhaps they were always needing money for gas.

Perhaps - even though her mother told one daughter that she was the only one authorized to drive the car - she repeatedly let her boyf with the right arm in the sling drive instead.

Perhaps dealing with the Auto Mechanic, Division of Motor Vehicles, and the local parking authority began to unravel her.

Perhaps she even kept a list of her daughters' misdeeds under her pillow.

Perhaps once they embarrassed her by getting caught drinking beer on a church trip. Her church. I mean her place of employment!!!

Perhaps, before she knew of their misdeeds on the church trip, she had shopped for them at the conclusion of Her Perfect Week - vowing to stock all of their favorite things in the house . . . nuts, berries, tampons, yogurt, coffee, energy bars, bottled water, razors . . . you name it, she purchased it . . . and after one of them searched through the kitchen, she snidely quipped How come you didn't get vanilla yogurt? You know I don't like white chocolate raspberry anymore!

Perhaps little things like that made her cry from time to time.

Okay. . . perhaps they made her cry quite often.

Or perhaps those daughters racked up a $430 cell phone bill one month and a $520 bill the next. But perhaps neither of those bills won the prize for most expensive month ever, 'cause nothing beats the one that rolled in at Seven Nundred and Nifty Blue Scholars!
Perhaps things like that phone bill made her drink sometimes.
Okay. . . perhaps they made her drink . . . quite often.
And Perhaps - before she even finished dealing with her mid-life crisis - this same mother found herself tired.

And cynical.

And overwrought.

And overwhelmed.

And - yes - a little bit cranky. . . and irritable. . . and cross. . . and grouchy. . .

And perhaps one day she woke up, looked around, and thought. . . Whose kids are these anyway????

And then, Perhaps, she even started her own blog. . . .you know. . . . kind of like a Public Service Annoucement to warn young parents to eat their offspring while they still could. . .

But by then. . . perhaps . . . it was too late for the poor mother, and she was destined to live Grumpily Ever After. . .
So that's my theory, and I'm sticking to it. . .


Friday, May 22, 2009

Adam, Eve, Witchy, and the Dentist


My trip to the dentist the other day got me thinking. . .

If Eve had never taken that first bite of that apple, would we still get cavities? Maybe - just maybe - the Garden of Eden wouldn't include dentists in their list of neighborhood residents.

But then I realized that if Eve didn't take that first bite, Adam probably would have come home early one night before Eve got home from work, all wondering-what-was-for-dinner-like. And he would have been like, Oh these shiny red things look good. . . wonder why Eve never serves them to me. . . probably holding back on me on purpose. . . she always does that. . . . and that big dummy would have forgotten all about God's warning and eaten the apple anyway.

And even - if by some stretch of the imagination - both Adam and Eve had refrained from eating those apples, they would have been doomed as soon as their daughter (Oh yes, they had a daughter. . .never heard of her? Well besides their sons Cain and Abel they had a daughter named Witchy. . . I swear!) hit puberty, cause if you tell a teenage girl not to do something, you are pretty-much guaranteed that she's gonna run right off and do it the minute she's out of your sight!

So I guess I need to come to terms with the fact that we were always destined to sit in a dentist chair with some guy with a big mask staring down at you while another assistant holds this big sucky thing in your mouth that every once in a while gets stuck on your tongue and makes this whoosh sound.

But then I got to wonderin' . . what if they had thrown either the daughter or the dentist (or both!) off the side of Noah's Ark? Now that, my friends, just might have done the trick!


Monday, May 18, 2009

A Letter to Veggie Upon Her Graduation from College. . . well, to be exact, two days later. . .



Dear Veg,

What with all the tears, and the dancing, and the eating, and the missed rides, and the accusations of drunkenness, I didn't get to talk to you upon this great and momentous occasion in your life.

And I have some words wisdom I wanted to impart.

And I would have written them to you sooner had your hand-me-down laptop not crapped out on me last night . . . and the other two p.c.'s in the house been gummed up by your sister, Trigger . . . and Ponzi not even letting me near her MacBook and all. . .


But here I am.

And I want to tell you how proud I am of you and the woman you have become. I love your free-spirited-pseudo-flower-child-carefree-coffeeshop approach to life. I love your big and generous heart. And I am delighted with all you have achieved.

I guess if someone asked me to sum up a lifetime of advice in three words (which you haven't) I would say, Don't be afraid.


  • Don't be afraid to be assertive. You know what you want. Make sure others know it too.
  • Don't be afraid to be proactive. You have a good heart and should trust it.
  • Don't be afraid to be smart, skinny, and beautiful all at the same time. . . cause you are. . .
  • Don't be afraid to wear perfect coats. . . .even if women like me stalk you.
  • Don't be afraid to laugh; your laughter is contagious.
  • I already know you're not afraid to cry . . . but I'll say it anyway. I have found tears to be a very effective cleanser.
  • Don't be afraid to love - even though it may get you in a teensie, weensie bit of trouble from time to time.
  • Don't be afraid to forgive when you feel the time is right.
  • Don't be afraid to use funny words cause they make you sound interesting. I - for one - am currently enthralled by the word akimbo and use it at every opportunity.

  • Don't be afraid to be original. Find your own word and flaunt it.
  • Don't be afraid of silence. Solitude does not equal loneliness.
  • Don't be afraid to listen when God talks.
  • Don't be afraid to be picky. Call it discerning if you will. . .
  • Don't ever be afraid to be grateful. . . or joyful . . . or thoughtful . . . or thankful. . . or just plain-old full!
  • Even though you're a free spirit, don't forget to put the grocery cart back in its rightful place after you use it. Some things should just be set right at the end and not left all akimbo. . . .
  • And never. . . ever. . . under any circumstances. . . should you be afraid to be a mother. . . of BOYS!
posted today at 5:58 p.m. on my trusty crap-top. . . .

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

How a Mom on Spin meditates




The Gayatri Mantra


Throughout all realms of experience,
‘That’essential nature illuminating existence,
is the adorable One.
May all beings perceive through subtle and meditative intellect,
the magnificent brilliance of enlightened awareness.




So yesterday I told you all about the new, meditative and spiritual me. . .

So how did Day Two go? you might ask. . .



Well for all who are dying to know, I now present to you. . . How a Mom on Spin Meditates - otherwise known as - How a Mom on Spin Empties Her Head in Order to Achieve Interior Silence.




~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



Hey, I like those chimes. . . gotta get me some . . . I wonder where you buy them. . . like in a yoga store or something. . . do they have yoga stores. . . definitely not in Walmart. . . I looked there today when I was buying the new vacuum cleaner. . . word. . . I'm supposed to have a word. . . mantra is what I think it is. . . but the priest on You Tube called it a word . . . so word it is . . . yesterday I used shepherd. . . but I don't like that word anymore. . . as a matter of fact I'm bored with it. . . when my mind starts wandering I'm supposed to gently return to my word. . . and I don't even like my word . . I've got it. . . light. . . what an original beauty. . . God is light. . . love is light. . . love is God. . . the light of the world and all that. . . and bad things are dark. . . those who live in the light have nothing to hide . . . don't hide your light under a bushel. . . there are endless possibilities. . . light it is. . . light. . . if I'm not mistaken my neck is starting to hurt a bit. . . I suppose there's no harm in a doing a few neck excercises while I'm at it. . . you know . . . stretching like. . . stretching is good for the body. . . light. . . sitting on this futon was a great idea. . . yoga blanket under my feet. . . Brilliant!. . . I'm brilliant. . . God is going to speak to me through my interior silence. . . light. . . maybe I should look at the candle. . . what kind of dummy chooses light as a mantra and doesn't stare at the candle flame. . . no use being so hard on myself. . .didn't I just call myself brilliant for the choice of seating. . . thank God I gave up reading Ulysses. . . self-preservation is what that stoppage was. . . this little light of mine. . . I'm gonna let it shine. . . how come this centering thing worked last night. . . I was into it. . . all shepherd-y and such . . . feeling happy and fulfilled. . . forgt about my troubles. . . carried on the shepherd's shoulders. . . I was in the presence. . . yes, I repeat. . . I was in the presence. . . don't know what's wrong with me tonight. . . maybe it was the wine. . . I'm sure it's not my word choice . . . light is a good and faithful word. . . would it hurt to go and get myself a glass of wine. . . fruit of the vine . . . work of human hands and all that stuff. . . light . . . then I'd just be an empty-headed drunk. . . that is definitely not what I am searching for. . . what - again - am I searching for . . . . inner peace and tranquility. . . en-light-en-ment. . . . I want to be the one who controls my state of mind. . . I 'm tired of letting others' energy get in the way of mine. . . bringing me down. . . for now I live in the light. . . speaking of energy. . . that new vacuum cleaner sucked like a mother. . . who would have known all of that dog hair was residing in the recesses of the living room carpet. . . the box said it even gets dust mites. . . I might just do the bed when I'm finished. . . how many dust mites did I read live in a mattress . . . . light. . . light. . . light. . . talk to me. . . talk to me God. . . speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. . .



Mom? Mom?

Yes?


I'm really bored! Can I go get ice cream with Johnny?

No! You're sick! You might have the swine flu!

Well can he come over then?

No!

Why not???? I'm bored! You're the one who said I couldn't go to school today, not me!

Didn't I tell you I was meditating up here? Why are you bothering me in the middle of this???

Well, if you would give me the right answer, I wouldn't bother you anymore. . .




Here's hoping I have better luck tomorrow. . .






Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Since when did I. . .


Someone please tell me, since when did I. . .

Stop buckling my daughters in their car seats and start crossing my fingers as they drive away?

Stop getting up with my children during the night and start waiting for them to come home?

Stop bringing them to "Gymboree" and get them their own memberships to the health club???

Stop sniffing their diapers and start smelling their breath?

Stop holding their hands and begin holding my heart???

Stop teaching them their A.B.C.'s and start paying for S.A.T. tutors????

Stop begging them to eat their vegetables and begin cooking for vegetarians?

Stop attending pre-school graduations, and have a daughter graduating from college instead?????

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A letter to the lady I sat behind at lunch


Dear Lady I sat behind at lunch,



First of all I want to apologize for intentionally listening to your private conversation with your 87-year-old mother, but - hey - I was all alone and ours were the only two tables occupied in the entire restaurant, and I really wasn't getting the hype about Sudoku puzzles and all. . .

Assuming that you will accept my apology, I also want to say Thank You.

Thank you for demonstrating to me what being a good daughter is all about, as you took your Alzheimer's-ridden mother to lunch.

Thank you for showing me the meaning of patience, as you answered her three questions no less than 45 times each.

Thanks to you, I now know what compassion is, because I witnessed you put your arm around your mother to comfort her as she wept.

I also know what love is because I felt it oozing from you.

And I understand faith because you answered her most poignant question with. . . I'm not sure, Mom, but I know God must have a plan for you.

And there sat I . . . feeling all proud of myself for simply spending a few short days with my parents. . . having experienced just the littlest snippet of how you must feel . . . trying to compensate for my father's failing memory . . . allowing my mother to serve me on a tray table for dinner. . .

Yes, I'm afraid I have a lot to learn before I can be considered a good daughter.

Thank you, dear lady who sat in front of me. Thank you!




p.s. . . . And to the lady who gave me a $14 haircut??? In the spirit of generosity I say, Thank you for showing me what a $14 haircut looks like. . .

Need I say more?




Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Low Tide


Being psychic and all, I knew these few days away from my family and job might present a problem.

I never want to leave this place.

And can you imagine how I might feel if the fog had lifted, the sun was shining, and I did not feel it necessary to carry around a space heater to act as my personal shadow???

But, being the eternal optimist (No people, that was not a joke. . . ) I have made the most of it.

I have awakened bright and early this morning (the unintended consequence – I might add – of actually sleeping through the night for a change) made myself a pot of coffee, plugged in my string of scalloped lights, lit a Yankee candle which claims to smell like Sun and Sand and another which calls itself Ocean Water (if I could add Low Tide, I’d have the perfect troika. . . ) and perched myself in the only spot in the house where – if/when the fog lifts – I will have an unobstructed six-inch view of the ocean.

I ask you. . . does it get any better than that? (Well, maybe if they weren’t currently building that monster of an oceanfront house which very clearly intends to cut my six-inch ocean view down to four. . . )

Okay, so here’s a very profound thought I just had. . .

Perhaps – just perhaps – my tired soul is like that candle (oh, I don’t care which one it is . . . let’s just call me Low Tide. . . ) waiting patiently through a long, cold, and isolated winter for some sort of energy to come and reclaim the house, stir up some molecules, dust off the memories of inertia, and quite literally breathe some life back into it.

Yikes!
That’s some deep thinking!
I’m not quite sure what it means, but if I thunk it. . . it must be quite insightful. . .







p.s. I cannot tell a lie (well, I can tell one, but I usually have to set the record straight later. . . ) I had the aforementioned profound thought while in the bathroom staring at the hand soap that reads Tropical Escape. . .

Monday, January 26, 2009

This stinks!


Quite honestly,


I don't care how "challenging" being the mother of Trigger can be . . . no teenager deserves the arthritis that has descended upon her hips - causing her to hobble around the house like she has today - while the familiar threat of Lupus looms above.


I know it's easy to throw the blame her way. . . to accuse her of not taking proper care of herself. . . of refusing to take her medicine until she needs it. . . of eating wrong. . . of not sleeping enough. . .of burning the candle at both ends. . .


Until she starts to hobble.


And then I remember that she's just a kid. . .


And what's worse - when I go to the kitchen to retrieve her medicine for her, I discover that her younger sister has taken the last of Trigger's medication because her knees and ankles are killing her too!!


At that point, even the most disoriented of mothers can stop and focus long enough to raise a fist in anger and cry out to all who may hear her, This stinks!


It stinks that all three of my daughters (no matter how wacky, cranky, and assertive they may be) all have to live within the limitations of some little-understood arthritis. It further stinks that Trigger has to lie in wait for Lupus to rear its ugly head from remission. It also stinks that two of my daughters are on the same medicine and I can't keep enough in the house . . . and it stinks because . . . well . . . . It just stinks!!!


So, God, can you hear me now????


Can you open the window back up to let the stink out???? Please????


Thursday, January 15, 2009

"Spin" is practically my middle name!


I came across a really neat thing the other day. Jen at Sprite's Keeper http://www.spriteskeeper.com/ does a weekly Spin Cycle thing where she gives you a topic and bloggers Spin away. . . and so, because Spin is practically my middle name, I'll give this week's topic a try. . .


What if . . .



  • No one ever invented the hair straightener?
  • Water bottles came with vodka detectors built in?
  • Teenagers were reduced to using the house phone???
  • Makeup wasn't sold at "The" mall?
  • Parents really fell for that game night crap???
  • Victoria's Secret got out?
  • Cars came without GPS systems?
  • They made teenagers clean toilets?
  • The money tree was hit by lightning?
  • Parents were able to view certain photos on their daughters' facebook pages?
  • Purple nails go out of style?
  • Sushi had never been invented?
  • Mothers learned how to operate iPods?
  • The salons run out of eyebrow wax?
  • Uggs only came in two flavors?


Tell me, dear readers, what are your What if's. . . .

Friday, January 2, 2009

The things my teenage daughters taught me in 2008




A New Year is a good time for a Lessons Learned List - don't you think? Here is a month-by-month description of some of the things my daughters taught me last year.



  • January: Just because your daughter tells you she has detention doesn't mean she isn't lying to you - using her "detention" time to go tanning in the next town instead.
  • February: If your college-aged daughter gets into an accident with campus security, the rest of her semester will be miserable - and no, her father cannot put that bumper back on with superglue.
  • March: It is best to just throw the bathmat in your daughters' bathroom away, for you haven't met a daughter yet who seems to know that it's meant to go outside of the tub, not in it.
  • April: Just because your daughter passed her behind-the-wheel drivers' test, doesn't mean she knows how to operate the windshield wipers.
  • May: 28 pairs of flip-flops can reside together in one daughter's closet.
  • June: If you take a "vacation" with a daughter, she will prefer to stay in separate quarters and pretend she doesn't know you.
  • July: When daughters go on "service" trips to Appalachia, it costs over $200 to purchase the "not good" clothing they need to bring.
  • August: Letting daughters go to concerts in New York City via the Vodka Express will lead both daughters straight to the emergency room, and drive you to drink yourself.
  • September: Even if a grounded daughter calls from the karate studio and the caller I.D. verifies it, it doesn't mean she did run in, ask to use the phone, and head straight for the movie theater across the street.
  • October: A husband's home renovation project can be stopped in its tracks by the sight of a teenage daughter on the couch with a boy-who-is-a-friend.
  • November: If you pester your daughter to fill out her college applications, she will suddenly like your husband better than she likes you.
  • December: You cannot attempt to save three daughters seats in a crowded church on Christmas Day, for they will always be 15 minutes late - even if the service begins at noon.

Let's hope I am able to remain blissfully un-aware of their misdeeds in 2009!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Conversations with Santa . . .and no, that's not a beer




Christmas Eve

Santa: What are you doing up in the middle of the night? Santa only comes to homes where everyone is sleeping.

Me: Well you see, that's almost a physical impossibility. I suffer from a nomadic sleep disorder - you, know the kind where you get up and wander around in the middle of the night trying every couch and extra bed to find the one that's just right?

Santa: But my dear, why don't you sleep?

Me: I have three teenage girls. . .

Santa: Don't you think I know that already? I'm Santa remember. . . I have them on my list.

Me: Which list are they on? The Naughty or Nice list?

Santa: Well that, my dear, is a tough one.

Me again: You see, I think that's one of the reasons I don't sleep . . . I don't know which list to put them on myself. Sometimes I think they're terribly naughty. . . they fight. . . they lie . . . they're mean to me. . . they accuse me of freaking out! when I'm only asking a question . . . they're self absorbed, self-centered, and self. . . well, they're plain old selfish!

Santa: But they're teenagers. What did you expect?

Me: I honestly don't know what I expected. I held them as tiny newborns in my arms. . . I fed them in the middle of the night. . . I kissed them . . . I loved them . . . I tucked them into bed. . . drove them to their dancing lessons . . . helped them with their homework . . . took them to the mall. . . threw them birthday parties . . . rushed them to the emergency room with their broken bones. . . .stayed by their side when they were sick . . . You name it, I did it!

Santa: And now?

Me: Well now they no longer need me.

Santa: Not at all?

Me: I guess I should correct that. They no longer need me as long as they have my debit card. As a matter of fact, I now know what I feel like . . . a human ATM machine. . . dispensing twenties and fifties . . . and permission slips. . . and tanks of gas. . . and tampons, twizzlers, and tofu . . . but yet I've never once seen them make a deposit. And if by chance they approach the machine and it doesn't behave quite the way they want it to, I get kicked and screamed at and banged on until I give in and spit out what it is they want.

Me again: Some days I just want to post a big OUT OF ORDER sign and just walk away. Or better yet - a sign that reads DEPOSITS ONLY!

Santa: Well, my dear, I wish I could give you some magical words of advice. I've never had teenage girls before. I think the best advice I can give you is just to sit tight and wait for them to come around. You've raised them to be good people, you know. . . just keep loving them and those deposits will roll in sooner or later . . .

Me: Are you sure?

Santa: I'm not a psychic, you know, but it's a pretty good guess. Now speaking of deposits. . . let's get these stockings filled. . .

Me: Okay. . . I guess you're right. . .

Me again: And just one more thing. . .

Santa: Yes?

Me: Thanks for not sleeping through the present thing this year. I'm sorry for calling you a Good for Nothing Elf. . . .I know I don't say it often enough, but I really do love you. Even if you snore a lot!

Santa: I love you too. Now let's get back to bed and try to get some sleep! We've got a big day tomorrow.