Amazing Children

A long time ago when my children were born I was amazed by them. As they were placed in my arms for the very first time I couldn't believe that this tiny being was "MY CHILD". This little thing came from my body. I looked at them and knew the true meaning of love.
Then, as they grew, there were constantly moments when they would stop my world. Rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, speaking . . . All these things made me look at them in wonder. How incredible these little children were! And they continued to grow and amaze me through the years. Going to school for the first time, making friends, playing sports, excelling academically, learning to drive, getting their first job, going off to college, bringing home their first loves.
With each step they took I looked at them with new eyes that were always wide with wonderment. Seeing them grow into adults that I am so proud of is the absolute best part of being a parent. I have seen my children trying to find themselves and figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. I have seen them find their place in the world and do an exceptional job in their chosen fields. I have seen them marry the perfect person for them. They have each found that one person in the world who brings out the very best in them. I am seeing them bring their children into the world and become truly wonderful parents. I watch them as parents and am in awe of their love for these beautiful children. My children are AMAZING and they continue to find ways to stop my world. Just when I think I know where they are headed in their lives they surprise me again and again in the most wonderful ways.
I love you all with all my heart and I am so very proud of all of you.

The Art of Sleep

As you all know . . . I LIKE TO SLEEP ! . . . For as long as I can remember I have liked to sleep. As a kid I know my room was my castle and my bed was my safe haven, my serenity cave, my security blanket. Now I realize all this leads you to put on your Freudian scowl, stroke your chin and mutter "HUMMMMMMMMMM". Yes, yes I get it, I was hiding from the world and still am when I crawl into my bed and close my eyes. But there is a lot more to it. (And don't try to tell me you don't cower under the covers at times just trying to make the world go away.) There is something about the ritual of sleep that is like washing the chalk board and starting on a fresh new surface. That's part of what sleep does. And for me the idea of "starting over" each day is acknowledged as well as much appreciated.
But there is a ritual as well as an art to all this. You can't just stand up from the couch, drag yourself into the bedroom, toss clothes on the floor and flop into the bed. UGH ! That is disgusting !!! Because I enjoy sleep so very much my BED is sacred ground. My ideal sleeping experience would involve a room of my own with a king size bed and about 6 pillows all covered in satin. The sheets have been hung out doors so they smell of fresh air. Color and sound are not factors because if you are sleeping your eyes are shut and I am usually not aware of sound unless someone points it out to me prior to going to sleep. (Husbands are wonderful for this . . . "Do you hear that drip? ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz" as I lay there listening to the drip and he is sound asleep.) So now we have our bed all set, ready and waiting. I now HAVE to shower before I can climb into my bed. I CAN NOT GO TO BED DIRTY! That is like the major, #1 rule in my sleep book. I can't bring the "dirt" of the world into my bed. And that includes any TV news station. I don't like to watch TV in bed but will on occasion turn on a movie or watch the end of some show but NEVER NEVER NEVER is the news allowed in the bedroom. But before I can settle into my cocoon I have to slather on lotions and creams, brush my teeth, take my meds, find my glasses and my book, arrange all the pillows, check the AC to make sure the temperature in the house is best for sleeping, turn on (or off) the ceiling fan, get a tissue, have a glass of water handy, check to see if all the doors are locked, turn off the computer, and then I can climb into bed. It is usually after 11 by the time this ridiculous ritual is concluded but now I get to snuggle and read. The day falls away, I stop thinking about all that I didn't get done and all I have yet to do when I get up the next day and the chalk board is washed clean so I can say my prayers and drift off to sleep to dream all sorts of wonderful crazy things. My dreams are so vivid and entertaining I usually have trouble getting up in the morning because I don't want to leave them. But I know that after a crazy day of living I can start all over again and look forward to a night of blissful rest. Not that I don't appreciate life but I DO love my sleep!

A Good Book

There is nothing like finding a good book and being able to share it with others. Having some one tell you they loved the book you recommended is almost as good as enjoying the book yourself.
So here's a book for you to check out . . . it's called "THREE CUPS OF TEA" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. The Big surprise to me is that it is a true story!
I don't normally read non fiction. I do love a good STORY. Steven King is "THE KING" to me. How that man comes up with his ideas and how he spins his ideas into such fantastic tales is beyond me.
But here is a book, lent to me by my neighbor, that is just amazing in a totally different way. It is a wonderful story of a young man who goes from attempting to climb one of the highest mountains in the world, K2, to devoting his life to building schools for children in Pakistan.
This is a book for all of us who wonder "How can I make a difference? I'm only one person." Greg Mortenson has done amazing things with his life. His book is a great read. CHECK IT OUT !!!

It's Not About the Toilet Seat

Some one just sent me an email "from a mans point of view""IT'S ABOUT TIME!" I often wonder why guys put up with our bitching about silly things. I mean really ladies, if the seat is UP just put it DOWN. The actual position of the toilet seat is not the REAL problem and we women know it. The bottom (pun intended) line here has to do with LOVE.

Now stay with me guys, this is important.

Women ask things of their husbands, lovers, soul mates, pain in the asses in order to find out just how much you love us. Do we really care that your socks are laying in the middle of the kitchen table for a week . . . (well, yes we do because they not only look disgusting but they smell too). . . but the bigger picture is that we look at those socks and they scream to us "I DON'T LOVE YOU ENOUGH TO CARE WHETHER THIS BOTHERS YOU OR NOT". It's really very simple when you think about it. (I realize that is a difficult concept right there, the whole thinking part but I know you can do it if you really try.) Let me make this a little easier for you:

Toilet seat UP translates to I don't care if you fall into the toilet
Toilet seat DOWN = I love you and am aware of your needs

Clothes on the FLOOR = She will pick this up, that's her "job"
Clothes in the hamper = I am responsible for my "stuff" and it will make her life easier.

"WHAT'S FOR DINNER?" = I'm hungry and you are "supposed" to feed me.
You cook dinner = "I know you're tired so I thought I'd help

Are you seeing a pattern here? My therapist has said that if you love some one you WANT to do things for them. Think about it, If you love your hunny you want them to be happy and it it takes moving a toilet seat, so be it. So get picking up your laundry, hang up the towel, put the cap on the tooth brush, bring out the garbage and take in the mail because all the words in the world don't say I LOVE YOU as much as a toilet seat!

Is This Really News ?

Before I get to boring you with where I have been for the past - - - days I have a question. It all started when I got up this morning to the usual drone of the 24 hour news channel on the TV. Ger is addicted to FOX News as many of you well know and as soon as he climbs out of bed the TV goes on and he is ready for his day. (News TV has been banned from the bedroom)
So, I stepped into the TV room to say good morning to my hubby only to catch a glimpse of the HEADLINE NEWS ALERT "BOY THROWS UP ON NATIONAL TV" I kid you not . . . that is EXACTLY what was flashing across the TV screen as the reporter was going into the story of how the kid who was supposedly swept away in the weather balloon on 10/15 (which was the extent of the EXCITING news for yesterday and which husband was glued to the TV for hours following the story.) So now today there is apparently nothing more interesting than the fact that this kid threw up on TV while being interviewed.
H E L L OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO out there. Is this not seeming totally ridiculous to anyone but me? I mean, seriously, W.T.F. ??????????
People, people, people wake up and take a good look at what we are spending more than half our lives getting involved in. We used to joke when we traveled to small towns across the U.S. and would pick up a local paper to read. There were always the reports of "Mrs. X's cow gave birth last Thursday" or "An empty can was found on Silly Creek Road last Tuesday". We would chuckle at "small town living" and pat ourselves the back at how "worldly" we were. And yet here we are in the year 2009 glued to a TV set watching a ridiculous story that anyone with half a brain saw as being manufactured by the family. And yet we follow it up the next day watching the poor child get sick. I don't like watching people get sick in real life, why would I want to watch that on TV? And IS IT REALLY NEWS ?
I think we have all gone insane and if every TV blew up today it would be for the best. Even if it meant that I couldn't watch Nip/Tuck or Seinfeld reruns.

Sometimes You've Just Got To Go With The "Finger"

So here you have the classic "nice little old lady" who often has the need and desire to flash people the "bird". Most often it is the husband but it does not exclude other idiots who walk the earth.
I know this is not something to be proud of but it is part of who I am and who I have always been. ONE ANGRY BITCH. Thanks to the gene pool I come from I have a natural predisposition to exploding when others would remain calm. My mother came from good German stock and knew she was always right. (no offense to you Germans out there but you know damn well what I'm talking about.) Then there was my dad who had a very slooooooooooooooooow fuse but when he did get angry he GOT MAD ! Brought up on the West side of NYC in the early 1900's he had to be "scrappy" to survive. Those of you who knew "Papa Danny" can't imagine his wrath when angered but as a kid riding in the car with him I saw that rage. (You haven't seen road rage until you drove with my dad.) There was nothing like an "idiot" in a car that could set Papa Dan off. He gave me my very first lessons in the "other side" of the English language. There was the time that my dad tried to teach my mother to drive with me sitting quietly in the back seat observing. The driving lesson lasted all of about 10 minutes before the eruption from both of them and the demise of a neighbors fence. This was quite amusing to me because on a day to day basis my parents never fought.
So here I am, the product of Margaret and Daniel and an only child to boot. (Don't know if that factors in but what the hell . . .) I have always been ANGRY . . . (I can't say that without thinking of Richard Gere's line in the movie Pretty Woman) and that anger has unfortunately been passed on to my children, poor things. Each of us deals with it differently. I finally figured out that therapy and drugs are a very effective way of controlling this anger but every so often I just have to let it go ! Because screaming does nothing in my marriage I have learned to curse and swear under my breath, to write a blog and keep a journal. BUT, and here is the point I started with, every so often I just need to FLIP SOMEONE THE BIRD. Husband is usually the recipient because he is ALWAYS here and thus ALWAYS doing something to light my fuse. Some days the fuse is much shorter than others and he gets "THE FINGER". NEVER NEVER NEVER to his face, (that is wrong and cruel and mean) but the motion is so cathartic that I can't help myself. I would like to waggle my finger in his face while screaming "you #$%&*&$%@!@@
idiot" but a subtle little FLIP is all I do.
So the next time you are in the car, at the store or work and some idiot is really bugging you just calmly walk or drive away, take a deep breath and very calmly raise that middle finger oh so high and yell "HERE'S TO YOU, IDIOTS OF THE WORLD". You really will feel so much better and can then go on with your day. But don't forget to always look back because chances are some one is doing the same thing to you.