I Digress

This I know to be true, I digress! Ask anyone. Oddly, I do not suffer from ADD (at least I have never been diagnosed) but if I am telling a story I will often get around to the invention of the wheel, roots of trees, dogs shedding profusely in summer and daffodils before I reach the point of the story! I rarely, if ever, say "Squirrel" but speaking of squirrels, there is one in the Monterey Pine dropping pinon seeds in our pool!

My blog has sat idle for a couple of days because I have been way-layed much like my stories! My grandson got his own house and moved out...empty nest again and all my husband can think of is that he can run naked through the house again!  My laptop went kaput....again....don't get me started on Toshiba!  Taking care of Mom and Dad and trying to support a good friend who is going through some pretty miserable health issues (I told him 45 years ago that smoking was bad for him but he thought it was cool).  End of the school year so there are concerts, programs and May is an incredible month for birthdays...remind me to take out a loan next April for May celebrations.

And (never start a sentence with And, But or Therefore) my husband and I started a new photo blog called Humans of Shasta County.  I spent several days proving to myself that my html skills are severely lacking, in fact, lacking enough that the word "skills" is a tremendous stretch of the imagination!  Started the blog but will be fine tuning.

I have also decided to go back to school. Inspired by a friend, who is just a couple of years younger than me, he has returned to college to get his BA or BS, not sure which. I have enough transferable credits but I am 62. Really am not looking forward to owing $48,000 in student loans at the age of 70 (of course, if I die shortly thereafter it would be hard to reposses the knowledge!). I did some digging and found that I can attend Chico State with a program called Elder Education or Senior School or some hokey-pokey kind of name. It is a program designed "just for gaining knowledge" and no degree will be presented to me upon completion, though I don't intend for there to be a completion until I have attended each class that interests me, that would include all of Sociology, Social Sciences, Psychology, Biology, Geography and some History...notice the complete absence of anything mathematical! I can attend any number of classes a semester for a mere fee of $60!

I am going to create some neuro-highways!

So, the reason for my post today, though I have digressed, as promised and unavoidable, is to inform the world that today my wonderful husband and I have been married for 29 years! I love him very much. He is kind, sincere, ethical and a smart-ass which I find very appealing!  We decided to get married because we both don't like mustard, as young people are wont to do, but somehow we have made it work

Symphony of Talent

Several years old but says it all!

My husband and I attended a concert Tuesday evening.  We heard Mozart, an incredible Lady Gaga medley, a medley of famous ballets, some hip hop, some classic, some rock.

The auditorium was full and the music was good. Two of our granddaughters were playing violins. Neither one of them performed all the songs. There were different levels of excellence but they were all very good. Believe me, I have 3 children, over 40 nieces and nephews and 7 grandchildren. I have sat through many concerts, that while filled with sweet faces and precious children, would have been more appropriate for Guantanamo then for proud parents, grandparents and aunties!

The last really good concert we attended for one of our grandchildren was years ago when our grandson played in a drum corp and really rocked the auditorium. In one song, he and the other corp musicians came out wearing coveralls and carrying shiny new garbage cans. Their drumsticks were in their pockets and they played sticks and garbage can lids. Excellent!

Last year we attended a hip-hop jazz concert. One of our granddaughters performed a couple of rocking dance routines. This year she won several awards in Drama.

This year we saw another granddaughter perform a couple of "way cool" dance routines in West Coast Story and even had a line or two. She sings, dances, plays the violin and is going to be in Kids Unlimited this summer.

The other violinist that played last night is also a gymnast extraordinaire. Last weekend she showed me how she can do pushups while in a handstand, yes, she did!

Her little sister is also an up-and-coming gymnast, she rocks a great cartwheel.

Two other granddaughters are outstanding athletes. The oldest granddaughter is only a sophomore and she has already been recruited for the Junior Varsity softball team. She excels in softball and soccer! Word is that she has every chance of being granted a college scholarship for her athletic prowess.

Her little sister is also a champion soccer and softball player. I saw her in a softball game in April and she made a double play from center field, knocking out second base and a quick throw to first.  "The crowd went wild!"  She also batted in two runners during the 4th inning.  She and her big sister can get into a soccer game and run, which seems to me, non-stop, for an hour! Who does that?

Am I a proud grandma? You bet your tush I am!  Not only are my grandchildren totally talented, they are kind, loving, intelligent (oh, I didn't even get to the awards for scholastic achievements or honor society, but the day has only so many hours).

The only thing better than watching your own children grow bigger and better than yourself is to live long enough to see their children leave those over-achievers in the dust!

Live Like You Mean It

"I don't deny that there should be priests to remind men that they will one day die. I only say it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, to remind men that they are not dead yet."
G. K. Chesterton

"Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue it likes, and then placing it in the most convenient niche it has."
Randolph Bourne (the other Bourne)

We people are often on a fast track to being what society or our micro-culture want us to be. We have dreams when we are young about what we "want to be" when we grow up. We are driven by our passion to do or be or effect...something. Then our culture reaches its bony fingers in and points at us every time we stand out. Some of us slink back to the shadows and some, though not enough of us, take another step forward and another and another.

I wanted to be a doctor since I was about 8 or 9 years old. I wanted to research genetics to help prevent birth disorders. Most importantly, I also wanted to be a mother, more than anything in the world, I wanted to have a dozen babies, my own little tribe and I wanted to teach them that they were beautiful.(thank goodness my body drew the line at three). I wanted them to grow up honoring themselves, believing with every breath in their bodies that they were loved and capable and beautiful. I wanted them to grow up being able to make their own decisions, not the choices that I would make, but the choices that were best for them. I wanted them not to be afraid of making decisions that went against the current.

I believe that my children are not waiting for "someday" to live but live now.

I believe that my children have not let society mold them and then crawled into the little box reserved for them to blend and not stand out. I believe my beautiful children live like they mean it. They are impacting this world and changing it for the good.

So on this Mother's Day, I want to put the palms of my hands together in front of my chest and bow to God or All There Is and say "Thank You" from the deepest recesses of my heart and soul for the honor of being a mother.

It is, indeed, a Happy Mother's Day.

 

Some Things Just Don't Go Together.

Tandoori Chicken....yum.
Spinach......yum.
Pizza.....yum.
Naan....yum.

Put it all together...not so yum.

Wish I had...uh....something else.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day, hmm, not sure how I feel about that day at this moment.

Just read a couple of Mother's Day blogs from some pretty self-centered, self-involved, narcissistic step-mothers who have written little manifestos about why they deserve gifts from Dad and kids, and not just any gift but some pretty "good" stuff.

Several of the blogs (please, God, tell me they were written by Teen Moms) describe how much said "step-mothers" have given up.  One mother used the word "sacrificed" to raise "your" kids, so she deserves more than just recognition, she deserves some "stuff", "good stuff"!

I'm a mom, I have a daughter who is a mom, two daughter-in-laws who are moms, and, of course, I have a mom.  I can't imagine any of them thinking that their husbands better make this coming Sunday pretty damn special because of the "sacrifices" they have made by being a mom.

I can't say it wouldn't be wonderful if the kids all got together and send me to Kauai for a week or two, yeah, that would be nice. But I have to tell you that being a mother is the gift. Being blessed with children, to help shape, to teach, to inspire, to gift them unconditional love and help them to see their own strengths and courage and gifts, that is truly a gift of boundless worth.

To be the one who run's shotgun, takes point, reconnoiters, stands by when consequences for poor choices are hard, has their backs and lets them know that she loves them is the biggest blessing. Those quiet moments in the kitchen when a child shares a secret or makes a joke or tells you about something that happened during the day, those are the gifts. those are moments that say "I appreciate you."

If you are tapping your foot, arms folded across your chest, counting the minutes until Sunday morning so that you can to be treated like royalty, gifts, bows from husband and kids as they kneel on the floor repeating,  "We're not worthy!" then shame on you!

If you are expecting there not to be a big "Yahoo" for your "sacrifices" so that you can pout and stomp around and whine about how unappreciated you are, you probably are unappreciated because self-entitled narcissists are really not appreciated, except when you leave the house for a Starbucks or a workout at the gym. If that is you, do your family a favor and take a book with you to Starbucks, sprout them a little peace for Mother's Day!

If all you get is a phone call or a hug, yay for you. If you get mad at your hubby or your kids for not making it a-day-at-mommy-disneyland, you need to look over your priorities. Maybe you shouldn't have had kids, maybe you shouldn't have married someone with kids, but you are in it, DEAL!

Kids, give your mom a hug or call for Mother's Day. Even Moms and Step-Moms like to feel appreciated.

Support Group ~ Membership Drive Press Release

Most of the television shows I watch, I pre-record. Then I can fast forward through the commercials.

I've seen enough commercials to last a a lifetime, but there are times I watch a show "from the hip"!  At those occasions I've noticed hundreds of attorneys who are jumping on the recall bandwagons. They are informing us that we or someone we know are victims and we can make some really big bucks by hiring their firm to get that money for us.

I don't see any fine print at the bottom of the screen that the lawyers and courts and the IRS will get the bulk of the money if there is a judgement in your favor nor, in even finer print, does it state that after depositions, subpoenas, court dates and extensions that you will most likely end up on antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications before the goal is met. The good news is that, eventually, you may be able to file additional lawsuits against the pharmacy, pharmacist and physician for prescribing and providing you the medications mentioned above.

After some serious consideration I have decided to form a support group for many of these victims of our medical system and some of the by-products of our misguided culture.

Now, there must be thousands of victims, so the membership requirements of this support group will have to be pretty specific, my living room can only hold about 15 to 20 people.

Criteria for membership will be restricted to those poor souls who have purchased Sketchers Shape-ups which caused ankle sprains or knee injuries which led to painful replacement surgery of their Depuy Hip Replacement which, on malfunction, have caused painful shifting of their vaginal mesh (no pelvic slings, please) which again leads to painful replacement surgery or painful sex which led to the chronic use of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) such as Celexa which has caused pulmonary hypertension or agitation and anxiety, confusion and memory problems, dizziness, coordination problems or lethargy.

We will have to deny membership if you meet all the criteria above but your use of the SSRI or continued contact with attorneys and court systems has additionally caused chronic irritability or aggressive or violent behavior, as the quarters of our meeting space are quite close. SSRI's have been known to cause nausea, depression or suicidal tendencies.  Those affected with those symptoms will not be admitted either as depression, vomit and inanimate bodies are not conducive to a pleasant and productive group meeting.

If you meet the criteria please feel free to contact your nearest mental health facility. They will have the contact information for our support group.

If you don't meet the criteria but would like to donate to this vital program contact me via email for Pay-Pal information.