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Showing posts from 2016

Orphaned at Christmas

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I felt as if my chest was being compressed and my throat was closing as I stood at my kitchen counter. It was physically painful to hold in the desperate sobs that so needed to be free. I remember parts of that Christmas day clearly, even though it was eighteen years ago. My children were ages eleven and eight. They had been through enough sadness and stress since the previous April. That was when their grandmother (my mom) had died from complications of cardiac arrest. It was important to me that they have a joyful Christmas. We had already opened presents that morning and I was trying to get the food ready for dinner. But I felt that I couldn't breathe. The grief was so very heavy! It was tangible, almost like a large brick on my chest. I had received a CD for Christmas that I'd requested. The artist wrote and performed a song about losing her mother. I escaped to another room to listen to my very emotional song. As the music started,it felt as if that bri

Dental Assistant or Dental Annoyance?

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Who loves going to the dentist?? Please, there is no need for everyone to yell "I do!" at the same time. Like most folks, I don't enjoy having dental work done. But I do like my dentist! I've been going to Dr. R for about twenty-five years. He does excellent work! He also has a calm demeanor and soothing voice. Those qualities are so helpful to nervous dental patients like me. However, I remember a dental assistant he had about ten years ago who was anything but soothing. I'll call her Cathy for this story. Cathy had a habit of conversing with the dentist about her personal life while he was working on patients. Well, maybe she only did it when he worked on me, but it happened more than once. If she had just wanted to tattle on herself, that would've been one thing. (I do it all the time, except in this story, I'm tattling on her.) But she would mention people by their full name! I'll give you an example. "Hey Doctor, I finally got an

How to Make a Turnip Beautiful

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I believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So is turnipness. I'll explain. I finally visited the big beauty store in our mall a few weeks ago. It opened about a year ago I think. They offer a wide variety of cosmetics, hair care products, fragrances, etc, and a full service salon too. I usually shop discount chain stores for personal care items.  I use name brands but not anything very expensive. But I decided that it would be worth it to invest in some high-quality concealer. This is because I use a glaucoma medication (eye drops) daily and I have for eighteen years. One of the side effects is that it darkens the skin pigment around the eyes. I've always worked hard to conceal my purplish-red lids and under-eye circles. Other than glaucoma, I'm generally a healthy person! But believe me, without makeup, I look very tired and ill, maybe even like I'm on drugs. Well, I'm not on drugs but my eyes have been for many years! I had eye surgeries l

Things that go Bump in the Night

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Hey! Who enjoys watching funny sitcoms? I sure do. I have another question. Who will admit to having moments in life   that are scenes from   funny sitcoms? I sure will! Laughter is great medicine. It can relieve stress and help you forget your troubles temporarily. My life has been in transition. Not only did my husband and I move three months ago, but we've been tackling some stressful marriage issues, among other things. My last post here was seven weeks ago. I can't continue calling myself a blogger if I don't post stories regularly. So now I'm back after a long break- this time with one of my titillating tattling stories. Okay, at least tattling.  About a month ago, Hubby and I were awakened by a horrid, piercing, siren-type sound in the wee hours of the morning. It was a smoke detector!  But we hadn't put any up yet (bad, I know). We were running around in a panicky daze, looking and smelling for smoke. None. Then I knew we had to find the b

It Could Have Been Me

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"WHAT?  We can't use the air conditioner? Oh great. What a day for this to happen!" I left it at that. I knew that whining wouldn't help the situation.  It was getting hotter by the hour on that mid-August day. And humid. My husband and I were on a road trip, two hours away from home. Besides, my chauffeur was already getting stressed. No need for me to add to it.  Turning the air conditioner off and sweating a little had to be better than the vehicle breaking down on the highway...  We spent much of our time in nice cool places: restaurant, clothing stores, doctor's office. We didn't get too miserable while traveling to those destinations. Not only did we survive, but we even managed to enjoy ourselves a little.  I was napping in my passenger seat while en route to the medical clinic. I was jolted awake when the car swerved sharply and suddenly. I opened my eyes to see a red truck almost on top of us, crossing the line into our lane

Jump in the Puddles

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Carpe' Diem. Dance in the Rain. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Yeah, yeah...whatevah.  I often refer to myself as a realistic optimist. I love positive quotes too! But I admit I'm a hypocrite at times. I say I believe all the "life's too short" stuff. The truth is: I don't always live it.  But once in a while, I get a reminder to "Enjoy the little things, because one  day  you'll look back and realize they were the big things."  We recently moved. Yep, in July. Hot, humid and hectic days! And somewhat emotional. The move symbolized the end of a very bittersweet chapter of our lives.  My daughter and her two little girls came over for a visit one afternoon when we were almost finished. I welcomed the break from packing boxes. I'd been feeling overwhelmed.  It was cloudy and much cooler than usual that day. It had been raining on and off.  We enjoyed sitting on the back patio.  My daughter went to pick up

Coffee Talks and Little White Lies

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Is it ever justifiable to lie? I am a truthful person. Honestly I am! I've been remembering a few little white lies I've told in my life and I still don't feel guilty.  Actually, I think I did the right thing! A few years ago, I went to visit my brother.  He lived only thirty minutes away from me, and we managed to get together about once a month. He offered me coffee when I arrived. He told me to just rest on the couch, while he fixed it up for me. He asked "You still drink it with sugar, right?" Yep. "And cream?"  Yes. My gracious host brought my coffee, but started apologizing as he handed it to me. "I just used the last of the sugar. I don't think yours has enough in it."  I said "Oh, I'm sure it will be fine." As I took my first sip, he was watching my face intently. He was sort of wincing as he waited for my reaction. I tasted and said  "Oh it's fine. Don't worry."  But he was worried. &q

I Love Lucy Moments

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This is another true confessions story. Well, it's two-in-one really. They are not suggestive nor inappropriate. However, they do involve a bathroom situation and taking my clothes off... Lucy Ricardo got herself into all kinds of bumbling scenarios, as you know. Well, I happened to get myself into two such dilemmas in the last two days. Yesterday, I was visiting my mother-in-law at the nursing home. It just so happened that we had a power outage on that end of town while I was there. So the nursing home was using emergency generators only for necessary medical equipment. So of course, while I was there, I needed to use the restroom. No, I could not wait. It was extremely dark in there when I closed the door. I managed to take care of my business, including hand washing, just by knowing the basic layout of the bathroom, and feeling my way around. I had only used that bathroom a couple of times previously.  I was feeling quite disoriented. To make matters worse, when

Beating the Air

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The text message I received triggered my outburst of  angry words and frustrated ramblings, then defeated sobs. All this because a friend simply asked "How's your mom doing?" No, I am not a drama queen by nature nor do I indulge in tantrums on a regular basis. Being the overthinker, and part-time junior psychologist that I am, I think I understand what happened now. This was about an unknown storm that had been brewing inside of me that apparently needed to escape. I do tend to hold things in and I've known for years that I am a delayed reaction person. Right or wrong, it's just how I deal with my stuff. My life has been in transition for a few months. I'd been caregiver to my mother-in-law for several years, but she recently moved into a nursing home. It was something we hoped would never happen, but her medical problems made it necessary.  It was very difficult and sad. I am very close to my Mom-in-law. For thirty years, she has called me the daugh

The Price of Curious Rebellion

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I have another life lesson story to share with you.   This one is on the lighter side. Perhaps I'll reveal my darker secrets in that lurid expose' I plan to write someday... This true story happened when I was about eight. I was staying at my Grandma's house, as I often did.     I had taken one of her old-fashioned metal ice trays from the freezer. I loved popping ice out of it, even though my little hands could barely pull the lever back.  I am not sure what I was doing or what I said, but I do remember my grandmother's warning "Now be careful! Don't ever put your tongue or lips on that, because you will stick to it!!" How did she know that I really wanted to lick that white frost off the side of the tray? Was she a mind reader? You can predict what happened. I just had to find out for myself! Of course I waited until Grandma was on the other side of the house. The next thing I knew, my tongue was stuck and I was stifling panick

Second Pants-Chance

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I was walking into the grocery story the other day, and happened to get right behind the cart-pusher guy doing his job. He had just wrangled a chain of carts from their metal cage. You know, many carts linked together are very heavy! He was getting his OOOMPH going, for the needed momentum to push them the distance to the store entrance. Just as he puuussshhed them with all his might, his baggy saggy jeans fell down to his knees! It was hard for him to stop the rolling carts with his pants restricting his movement. But stopped them he did, and then turned around to see if anyone was watching as he pulled his jeans up. I was standing right behind him.  He turned red and laughed sheepishly, "Oh, sorry." I said "Well, It's okay. I have a son who is a few years older than you. He went through the baggy jeans phase, but I don't think his ever actually fell off. Oh, and nice boxers." He just laughed again. I did too. I added "You might remember

Seniors Rebel!

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It's that time of year again...graduation!     When you read my title, I'll bet you thought I was talking about us older folks being naughty. I am over fifty now so I am considered a senior citizen in some places. No. I'm talking about high school Seniors, and I have a memory to share. One morning in May of 1981 (my graduation year), the faculty and staff were having a meeting in the library before school started. The library was situated in the middle of the building, the halls and classrooms formed a big square around it.  It had double doors, the kind with big, open handles that pull open outwards. The entire front entrance was glass. A few seniors realized that ALL the faculty and staff were in the library. Someone found a long board and stuck it through the door handles, which made it impossible to open them from the inside. Totally gnarly!! We had imprisoned our teachers! There was that unforgettable moment when our authorities realized that they

Bleb, Blob and Blib

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Let me tell you about how my friend Blob made me feel better recently. So did Blib! There were other caring angel-friends too. This story is a closure to my last post. It's my final one for now about my eye surgeries and ongoing recovery. Please hang in there with me, because this is about so much more than medical problems. I posted this on Facebook during the first week of April: "Well Friends, I had another "first" yesterday since my eye surgeries. I was paying for my groceries at Walmart. The check-out young lady said "I don't mean to offend you but what is that thing in your eye?"  I explained that it's scar tissue from a recent eye surgery. Yes, my bleb shows. It will probably always show. I'm not too thrilled about that, but at least it has a funny name. Bleb. Things could be so much worse though. " Here are a couple of responses that made me laugh initially, then inspired deeper thoughts... Friend One : " I just had

Pardon Me, but Your Bleb is Showing

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I had an experience in the check-out line at Walmart last week. It brought up conflicting emotions. I should have been able to laugh it off. Well I did laugh a little, but I cried too. I sensed that I was being watched as I got my bank card out of my wallet and swiped it in the little machine. When I looked up, the young cashier said "I don't mean to offend you, but what is that thing in your eye?" I said "Oh, it's okay. That's scar tissue from a recent eye surgery." She asked if it would go away as the eye heals. Nope, it's not likely. The thing she saw in my eye is not really scar tissue. It was just easier to say that than to explain that the raised white patch on the upper part of my iris is a filter for eye fluid. It's called a bleb. Then I would've needed to explain that I have advanced glaucoma in that eye. I'd continue to tell her that I had a tiny valve implanted in that eye (left) on December 17th, because three p

To Post or not to Post

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Hi Friends, This is a "note to my readers" post instead of my typical storytelling. In January of this year, I posted a three part story, which chronicled my vision problems, from early childhood to present. It was entitled "A Guinea Pig's Perspective". Like many writers, I often work through my difficult issues by writing them down. I had just had an eye surgery a month before I wrote that story.  I knew at the time that I had a second surgery scheduled for the next month. I realized a couple of weeks after I shared those posts that I'd missed the purpose of this blog. It was very good for me to write it because it helped me, but I decided it was better to keep for my eyes only. It was more like a personal journal entry. My medical situation is not something that applies to most of my readers or the general public.  And you busy people ain't got time for that! However, I've since discovered a magazine that wants to publish non-fictio

The Versatile Blogger's Award, Part Two- My Recommendations

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Now, last but not least, I'm sharing links to fifteen blogs that I highly recommend. (My list is quite varied in topics and writing styles). Paying it forward is one of the VBA rules, but I'd be proud to share these blogs anyway. These writers deserve more than a pretty green seal of approval- their work deserves to be read! You can find out more about the Versatile Blogger's Award here: https://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/vba-rules/ Jovanhanna is a life strategist and mom with an amazing story. She's the founder of Positive Forward Movement. http://www.jovanhannakristina.com/ Mz G is a writer, artist. musician and more. Her inspiring blog encourages women over fifty to "live an electrifying second half". http://www.itaintover.com/ Harley King's Monday Morning Motivation will be valuable for your life every day, not just on Mondays! http://harleyinspiration.blogspot.com/ Noreen invites her readers to join her and her hubby on th

The Versatile Blogger's Award (Part One)

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Hello! I have news to share! And links to wonderful blogs! And some facts about me that you might not know! The news is that I was honored to receive The Versatile Blogger's Award from  +Robert Fuller . He told me that he found my writing style engaging. Wow, that made my day! Mr. Fuller is a social media marketing strategist. He has an amazing life story and a very thoughtful blog. In fact it's called Thoughtful Talk Blog.  His writing is so motivational and its focus is to help people make positive changes in every aspect of their lives! http://www.thoughtfultalkblog.com/blog/ One of  the VBA rules is that the recipient shares seven things about herself (or himself). Alrighty then, here is some Di trivia for you! 1. I've been married for over 30 years. Yes, I'm kind of old. He's even older! Ha. 2. I grew up in Roswell, New Mexico. Maybe I should get a different award: the Very Bizarre Alien! 3. I have two adult kids, a son and a daughter. (I'm a

My Inner Lion

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I need to get in touch with my inner lion. I think I located my inner owl a few days ago. No, this isn't about animal spirit guides. I've just been lacking courage and even wisdom at times, regarding my writing. The past couple of weeks have been rough for several reasons. During that time, I posted a story that was important to me. A couple of days later, I re-read it. I saw so many mistakes! Not typos. I mean entire paragraphs that were out of order, wrong wording, etc. I realized that I'd foolishly rushed the editing process to stay on my posting-once-a-week schedule. I reworked the story and posted a better version of it, but that didn't stop my confidence from taking a nosedive. I came very close to deleting my entire blog. While I was in the midst of my writer's despair, two people on two different sites praised my stories and writing style. So unexpected and very timely! I used the word despair, not because I'm being a drama queen, but

Moments in Time (Healing from Loss)

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Have you ever been in a potato relay race? The participants have to carry a potato from point A to point B, between their knees. Sounds awkward, doesn't it? Believe me, it looks even more awkward than it sounds...people trying to run with a tater positioned there, without dropping it. HA! That's what makes it soooo funny! The potato relay race became a tradition at our birthday parties when I was growing up. I say "our" parties, I mean my younger brother's and mine. I was born on February 19 and Darrell's birthday was February 28, three years later. Since the dates were so close together, and we had mutual friends, our parents would usually have one party for both of us. Our birth dates just passed recently. I've been thinking about those fun parties, that goofy race we always had, and many other smile-worthy times that we shared. Birthdays are meant to celebrate a person's life, right? So I did that this year for my bub and as a birthd