Monday, October 31, 2011

Brave enough to ask the big questions

Do you ever think about your friends?  I do.  I think about how nice or pretty or funny they are.  I think about how they don't have gray hair and probably shave their legs more often than I do.  But I've begun to wonder if I really know them?  Sure, I can spell their names, find their houses, and call their pets by name ... kind of.  But what about the things I don't know?   What if they're famous and I'm missing out?  What if they have an evil clone - will I know my friend enough to pick her out?  These are the things that keep me awake at night and Facebook has been of no help to me whatsoever.

For example, there's Caution.  No.  Not me.  But a friend who shares my first name and last initial.  It caused a mix-up once or twice, but our husbands apparently know who we are and that helps.  Here's what I do know: she is a numbers wizard.  She speaks math as her second language and she doesn't even have an accent! I also know she is a great scout leader and her cooking/baking/entertaining would make Martha cry with jealousy.  She's probably a lot nicer than Martha, too.  So what else could I possibly need to know?  For starters, does she ever cheat and use her fingers to count?  Can she hula hoop?  Plain pretzels or with mustard?

See what I mean?  You think you know someone, but what you DON'T know may be more interesting and valuable.

There's another friend around here.  Another scout leader and capable leader. I KNOW that she's smart and fun and that she thrives on organization and creative ideas.  She is also fond of pirates. So what is it that I don't know?  Does she floss as often as she probably tells the dentist?  Creamy or chunky peanut butter? Christmas music before Thanksgiving or not?  And though she might want to sing karaoke, do WE want her to?

So what is my point here you ask desperately hoping there is one. Rest assured, I am very point driven and today's is this:  Do we know each other beyond names, general continent of residence, and whether or not we have the ability to type withouttt typos?

If you've been curious about who I am, here are the answers:
yes,
sometimes,
strawberry,
over the top of the roll,
as little as I have to,
about $51.86.

Doesn't that feel better??? We are actually getting to really know each other and I couldn't be happier.
Anything else you need to know, just ask.  In the meantime, I'm going to log back into Facebook to find out if my friends have birthdays or not.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

At what point will he understand?

Every time my daughter has a choir concert, the director decides that in addition to the choir uniforms, there will be one special number requiring a different set of clothing.  He assures us that he chooses clothing that all students will already have in their closets.   Of course, my daughter never has the clothing in her closet or dresser or under her bed or even on her floor.  So on Saturday we headed over to Target for the required Converse shoes for this week's concert. 

When we got there, we took a cart because everyone knows you can't walk out of Target with just one thing.

Seventeen hours later while waiting in the check-out line, I noticed the couple in front of us.  The husband seemed to speak civilly to his wife, but each of her responses was curt and then grew to snippy and finally to rude.  The husband, who had at first been gracious to the cashier, appeared to take his frustrations with his wife out on the cashier.  The more the wife snapped at the husband, the more the husband began to snap at the cashier.  That's when karma, justice, or whatever you want to call it happened. 

Each time the husband snapped, criticized, or complained, the cashier began to work slower.  Not only would she painstakingly slowly scan the product, but she then would struggle to get it into a bag, and then would have to decide if she wanted to tie the bag or not, and then would deliberate putting the bag on the counter or not.  That hesitation would cause the husband to snap at her again, and her speed would again slow down.

The decrease in speed happened incrementally, but after twenty or so items, the cashier was working at a rate of near paralysis. 

I enjoyed the cashier's solution and would have thought it was greatly humorous had I not been next in line.

Good things come to those who wait, however.  As we FINALLY prepared to leave the store, the Starbucks barista gave us the cutest little samples of a berries and creme frappe.  The couple in front of me?  Well, they paid $10 for frappes only slightly larger than our FREE samples. 

And my daughter and I lived happily ever after.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Necessity and Invention

This is what happens when one MUST play his video game, but his mother will not turn on the heat.





Friday, October 7, 2011

Yes, I do still consider myself a blogger

It's just a little discouraging to get to Friday and realize that the week-end will be just as busy as the week has been.  But ... it will be sunny and hot, so I'll be fine.

*This week, pettiness in my little social/volunteer circles has been abundant.  Why do people insist on being the center of attention or having things go their way??

*Transitioning away from pettiness now, my niece recently was talking about RON Paul.  I misunderstood and thought she was talking about RUE Paul.  You might imagine my confusion as the conversation continued to move forward and she talked about his children and grandchildren.

*For three years, this typically well-behaved Lab mix has consistently done two things she shouldn't.  She tries to get on our bed and she indulges in anything in the trashcan.  We shoo.  We lock the trashcan.  We holler.  We put the trashcan up on the counter, and still, when we look the other way, Miss Pepper is at it again.  She owns us and she knows it.
P.S. Pepper isn't really a ghost.  That's just the paper camera app on my phone ... AND that is our bed that she is posing on.

*Did you know that early cathedrals were constructed, in part, to show the poor, illiterate peasants a brief glimpse of what Heaven will be like?  I find that fascinating and logical. There is much to be said for a beautiful sanctuary and liturgy.

*If you are not like my youngest boy who says that he is pretty much beyond the reading stage now, I recommend The Language of Flowers.  It's a haunting and beautiful-written story of a girl who turns 18 and emancipates from the foster care program.  A long time ago I had a student who had just emancipated.  She ended up in our state because someone she had just met was moving here.  "Where else would I go?" she asked me.

*Checkered and I have been talking about what careers we would choose if we were doing it all over.  He thinks he might like to work for the Department of Natural Resources.  If I were to choose teaching again, I might work in Special Education.  Then again, maybe I would just drive a train.  I'll have to keep thinking about this one. How about you?  In a do-over, what job would you choose?

Now that I'm thinking about it, I would like to be the car horn czar.  Use your horn a little too liberally?  Bam!  It would be silenced.

Have a wonderful week-end.

Mommy's Idea