So Proud

There are times when you feel so proud of a child's accomplishments. It may be getting good grades or doing well at a sport. I feel very lucky to have two wonderful smart and accomplished daughters who are really just starting to realize their potential. They're ahead of me because I was sort of a late bloomer but eventually life began to make sense and developing a sense of purpose. I think when we discover motherhood it alters the way we view life.It can be very rewarding and at the same time humbling. You don't know how it's all going to turn out. There are many challenges to raising children especially daughters. I never realized how my mother may have felt during some of my more "difficult" years.Now I think I have better insight and I wish I knew then what I know now. I definitely think I would have been nicer to her but I thank her belatedly for her patience. You can't really predict sometimes how they are going to turn out. I think my mother was very proud of me, and I have grown very proud of my own daughters for different reasons. One daughter seemed a bit more easy to raise and reason with where the other one was very assertive about her own individuality and everything was a "test". Now that they are both young adult women I can step back into the role of advisor and only try to give my opinion when asked. I'm still working on that one so they tell me.
What influenced me to write this present commentary has to do with my youngest daughter and two recent experiences she had. She had a few rough weeks trying to reset her path after a bad work experience. When she was able to be placed in a temp job she did not know how it would turn out. On her first day of work she was called upon to render emergency medical assistance to a man suddenly stricken with cardiac arrest. She remained calm and confident of her EMT training and helped save this man's life. She said she did not feel she needed anyone's praise because to her it just seemed like the natural thing to do. Well, it was a very emotional experience for her and we were so very proud of her. Then this other thing happened. Her boss was also stricken by a heart attack at work this week and again she was placed in the role of assisting a victim to help save his life.This shook her up a bit because this time she actually knew the person she was doing CPR on and shocking him with the paddles.She does not see herself as a hero but co-workers have said she is. She started this temp job and who knew that her presence would be important at saving two people's lives. I'm not sure she realizes yet that she is not only a hero to those two people who needed her assistance but also a hero to her mother (and father). I don't think I will ever see her the same way as I have maybe in the past as my difficult child to raise. She has grown up so much and I think she is beginning to understand how precious life is . I think she may have a different way of looking at life now. Life can be humbling and rewarding.

Canine Worship

The rule about not discussing politics and religion is no longer applicable. Debating and discussing leads to more open ways of looking at things. Right? There are so many paths to the belief in a higher being (thank-you AA) anything goes these days. So why not worship our pets.
There are many childless couples who dote on their dog or cat and they are often treated like privileged "beings". They get only the best and are showered with attention. Dogs in particular seem to have this uncanny ability to read our moods. When someone is sad or upset our pet will often come over to where we are sitting and attempt to console us. Many a time when I had a bad day and would come home in a not so great mood my dog would trot on over wag her tail and rest her chin on my knee. She would gaze at me soulfully with her liquid brown eyes .Actually she was a Husky with "watcheye",one blue and one brown.....sort of spooky. She would patiently wait for me to pet her and not give up till I did. Somehow that action of petting her soft fur and her wiggling with delight made everything in the world seem all right again. In a way it tended to bring about calmness and a sense of being in the moment forgetting what it was that made me sad or upset in the first place. Dogs only want our affection and attention,they bring out the best in us. When I have not felt well my dog would sense that and stay by my side. She would curl up and sit on my foot. Not at my feet,on my feet. So why do I wax on so about my dog? You see I have this rather novel theory and probably either crazy or blasfamos that maybe dogs were put on this earth for a reason. They are very loyal and loving and they do bring out the best in us. Our love of a dog has a spiritual component. After all, we know what dog is spelled backwards don't we? Yeah , so call me weird and crazy. All I know is that when my dog and I were connecting with eachother there was nothing else in my mind and the world felt a lot less scary. What else could it be.......

Top Ten Pet Peeves About Driving

1. Right now the price of gas makes people consider first if the trip is necessary.
2. People who speed up and then slow down. (They speed up when you try to pass them)
3. Drivers who tailgate.Do they know they are doing it or they just anal orifices?

4. People who park too close to your car in the parking lot.Either they have given you a door job or you might give them one.

5. Drivers who are distracted by something along the side of the road.
6.Old people who shouldn't be driving anymore. We'll all be there someday and our relatives will either have to hide the keys or disable the car.
7. Teen age males racing around with loud souped up engines with the stereo blaring. Hey,you are not that cool, really
8. People who talk on their cell phones. I tend to snigger when they get pulled over by the cops. (It's against the law in N.Y.)
9. People who are late for work and then drive like maniacs and try to pass everyone.
10. Drivers who wait too long after the traffic light has turned green. People who have to beep at you to get going.

Going grey

At a different age I thought it was important to cover my grey because it was a sign of getting old.The years tend to go by and the experiences I have had in my life accumulate into found wisdom. At the time you only know you are living your life one day at a time somewhat in denial of one's own mortality. I think that may be why I felt the need to add color to my hair. It helped stop the clicking time of the clock which is life, for awhile to be in denial of the aging process or trying to slow it down. Youth eventually passes but not without a fight. Is it wrong to want to hang on to that for awhile longer? When my hairdresser suggested I might consider letting the color grow out of my hair at first I was aghast. When I began to explore my thoughts and feelings further I had to ask myself why I had felt it necessary all those years to cover my grey. I had to acknowledge you cannot hold on to your youth no matter how hard you might try. Eventually age catches up with all of us even Dick Clark. It's okay now I have accepted the inevitability that there is a life cycle and I have ridden many miles and hopefully have a way yet to go. It is not necessary to be morbid only accept. Maybe as each one of us starts to age we go through a different passage of acceptance. I now let my age be what it is,what it needs to be.

ODE TO CHOCOLATE

The truth is out there...
Whether it is M&M's,Hershey Kisses,Chocolate Cake,Brownies,Oreo's,just to name a few. I wish they had chocolate pizza or chocolate bagels. What about chocolate bread? They already have chocolate cereal.Do Reeces Peanut Butter Cups count because they are a combination of peanut butter and chocolate? Some people don't like their chocolate mixed with peanut butter. It's all the same to me.
My brother in-law had a rather whacky experience with chocolate. A long time ago he worked for a "drug store chain" and it was Easter so they were selling chocolate Easter bunnies. Mistakenly when they were closing the store for the night someone accidentally turned the thermostat up instead of down. Apparently it grew very hot in the store overnight and when he came in the next morning the Easter bunnies had melted into rather grotesque shapes. I think soon after that he "moved on to other employment". I think I would have eaten them anyway because it's still chocolate,right?
Some people allude to women craving chocolate especially during that certain time of the month. Do we really need an excuse to eat chocolate? Anytime is good for me. Of course you have to be really careful with your chocolate if you happen to have canines. The caffeine in chocolate can be harmful to dogs.I'm not sure though how much a dog might ingest before it's a problem.
Now they have confectionery stores at the mall and it is hard to resist not going in for a little taste. Those truffles with the gooey chocolate in the middle are to die for! Sometimes you buy these but end up eating some of them before you get home and then there are hardly any left and your husband will look at you funny,is this all you bought? Then you can either lie or tell the truth but he knows anyway because he is already aware that you keep a secret stash.In my house I have to hide the bag of chocolate chips to make Toll House Cookies because he will eat them all before I have a chance to bake.There is competition in my house for the chocolate. Chocolate cannot replace "passion" but it comes pretty close!

Top Ten Reasons Guys Play Golf

1. They like to hang with the guys.
2. It's part of their natural primitive hunting instinct to pursue their prey, hit the ball then look for it in the woods.
3. Walking is good exercise. (What about the golf cart?)
4. Being outside is healthy,getting some vitamin D.
5.An excuse for drinking beer.
6. It helps cultivate business opportunities or to get the inside track with the boss.
7. It's an opportunity to show off if you are a good swinger.
8.A little time needed away from the wife and kids.
9. You can avoid the "honey dew" list.
10. They all fantasize they are Tiger Woods.

If you check off more than three items on the list someone is spending too much time at the golf course. Instead go home and read A Good Walk Spoiled.

About Shoes

Hey, let's face it shoes aren't just for walking are they? Does it really matter how many either? I'd say now at this point in my life I look for comfort before fashion.It is more important to be able to walk without falling down which used to not be a problem unless I was under the influence. Those days I suppose are over too. Growing older doesn't necessarily mean you have to retire your dancing shoes unless you couldn't dance in the first place which my family will point out when given the opportunity.
It isn't necessary to have shoes to match every outfit but there are definite rules that if you are dressing up then your shoes should also be dressed up,but flats are okay if they are not ugly.
Sometimes it is okay to wear sneakers with a nice outfit if you are walking to work and then plan on changing when you get there.In some urban areas this is apparently acceptable.
There are times when I wear a certain pair of shoes to work and they might match my outfit but I will bring a second pair in my tote bag to change into if my feet start to hurt.When you wear cute shoes female co-workers will often notice and gather around to discuss your shoes and talk about theirs.They will ask where you purchased your shoes and certain brand names are often met with positive approval. Of course it then depends on what social/work group you affiliate yourself with. It some circles it is okay to mention you bought them on sale or shop at a discount but if you mention certain low end stores whose names I will not mention the shoes then lose their cachet.
If you are part of a family where there are multiple women that wear the same size shoe sometimes you can borrow back and forth however asking first will avoid conflict especially if they are favorites. There is an exception between mother's and daughters that exists. If a Mom has a really cute pair of shoes it is an unspoken likelihood that the daughter will steal your shoes and not even tell you till you see them on her feet when she is prancing out the door to some social occasion.As Tony Soprano would say, "what ya gonna do?"