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Showing posts from December, 2008

I'm Counting on Less Being More

Ever have a place or time in your life when you realize you are all done with something? Whatever fascination you once had with an object, person or habit...you suddenly find yourself unable to understand what your attraction was and you step away. Fatto, rifinito, nient'altro. Done. It's not like the slow progression of phasing something out. I didn't realize the last time I rode my horse that it would be the last time I would ride. That just happened and it saddens me that I knew it was coming and I couldn't do anything about it. This feeling is almost a repulsion. I am having that sort of feeling about nearly everything in my life. I haven't a clue how this might play out or how long it may last. Hopefully I will be able to get rid of a lot of material and emotional baggage. Lord knows I have enough of it. First step? I am getting rid of all the food items that I have and know I have no intention of eating. Things like Hamburger Helper and other packaged food tha

Buon Natale!

It's Christmas day. I am off of work and find myself unwilling to catch up on chores, at least for now. What I am doing is missing my kids. Earlier this week I sent a priority mailing package to my youngest. She is the mother of my grandson. She is also experiencing some physical problems. Like me, she has carpal tunnel syndrome and that is making work very difficult for her. She has some big decisions to make. Surgery? No surgery? How do you care for a young boy of three (at the end of this month) after having surgery? She is overwhelmed with the situations of adulthood. Growing up is not for cowards. Anyway, we had a recent conversation about how her son wanted to go to Chucky Cheese's for his third birthday. She wanted to invite a couple of his young friends and go but when you are struggling and unable to work because you are injured, even a conservative birthday party at Chucky Cheese's is out of reach. I know. I have been there .... when she and her sister we

Observations on Getting Old

Yesterday I got up with every intention of doing some quick reading on-line and then getting to the chores for which I have fallen woefully behind. Woefully is an understatement. Between work, being poked and prodded by various doctors and being on the cusp of one viral illness or another, I am exhausted. I need to dust, vacuum, iron, do laundry, mop floors... the whole bit. So, when my sister called and asked if I wanted to go to Costco with her, I said yes without hesitation. My sister has been going through it. She is trying to rescue her parents from 2400 miles away, providing them with the most graceful, comfortable and respectful ends to their lives. She had just flown back from California and we were both in need of some sister time. Before I left, I mentioned in my favorite chat channel that I was headed for an adventure and one of my dear cyber-siblings bade me farewell and told me to come home and write on my blog. I have to say that gave me a double blessing. I got to see my

Spiritual Hang Nails

I think I am either going to die from the "galloping consumption" or someone is going to have enough of my crankiness and dispose of me. I guess I shouldn't jokingly use terms like "galloping consumption." There is nothing funny about tuberculosis which is what the archaic term "galloping consumption" refers to. I just have an annoying cough. In fact, I fear I may cough up a lung. Whatever bugs are going around the office see me as a perfectly good breeding host. I am tired of being sick. It is wrecking havoc on my normally sunny disposition. (People who know me well are falling over in their chairs and wondering if employing sarcasm can properly be referred to as having a sunny disposition.) The wonder and the need for close dependence on God that I felt after my NDE (near death experience) has given way to the drudgery and tedium of every day life. I knew it would. I just gave myself more credit for being able to hold it a bay for longer. I a

Dust Bowl Ruminations

I am tired of hearing about the economic crisis as if We the People had nothing to do with it. I am tired of hearing about how Barack Obama is going to save us from the mistakes and mishandling of the prior administration. We are living with the aftermath of our own choices. We over-extended ourselves. We needed more square footage in our homes, more nifty gadgets and widgets for our walls and desks and in our entertainment centers. We needed faster cars with more equipment. We bought the goods at inflated prices. We continue to patronize the companies who make enough profit to send their executives begging for our tax money in corporate jets while staying in posh resorts and pretending they are broke. We bought their stocks and we were happy when we were blissfully ignorant and our portfolio numbers didn't come looking like [this]. I am about sick to death of hearing how President Elect, Barack Obama is going to save us from the evil we created ourselves. We are the ones that

Soul Care

Yesterday I received several advertisements from stores that want to lure me in to purchase their goods. I was offered between 20 and 50 percent off of my favorite item. The variety of goods I could choose from was mind boggling. One thing was very clear, these retailers wanted my money spending experience to be as convenient as possible. I could go on-line and buy their goods. I could call and order their goods over the telephone or fill out the order form, include my billing information and put my order in the mail and credit would be extended to me. I could purchase things not available to me in the first two options if I drove to their store and shopped in the conventional way. I was offered discounts on everything from electronics to food. I can buy a personal Breathalyzer if I want to be certain to drive under the legal limits of blood alcohol in my system. My hair, fingernails, bad breath, and hair as well as the coat, toenails and bad breath of my dogs could be made better