True Confessions of an Overthinker

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...

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...

Last Friday evening I witnessed something that made me smile, then made me think. The image is still clear in my mind. I saw a mother letting her two young children out of their car at a playground. There was a boy about age six and a girl about four. The boy ran ahead first. I was able to see the girl's wide eyes and big smile as her mom helped her out of the car.  As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ran toward the swings as fast as her short legs would go! She could barely contain her excitement! I've been contemplating why that scene made such a big impact on me. I absolutely love children! But it was more than that. I really think it was about the timing. That sweet scene distracted me from my pity-party/bad attitude moment. To be honest, I'd been pity-partying with a bad attitude all day.  But when I saw that adorable tot beaming with joyful anticipation, it was contagious! I felt my burdens lifted for a couple of minutes. I'd left my house a few min...

Welcome back to my blog. I am so excited to be sharing my first post by a guest blogger today! I am pleased to introduce my friend Mark. I met him on an "over 50's" social site last year.  I read one of his very funny stories that he'd posted there. I just had to leave a comment about it, to tell him how much I enjoyed his brilliant humor and writing style! The rest is history. We have become good friends. Mark (also known as Merchandiser) is very snooty about his favorite ice cream. Otherwise he is a very nice man! Please read more of his unique and funny work at http://www.blogster.com/merchandiser/#posts                             My Amazing Sea Monkeys It was about 50 years ago when I ordered my sea-monkeys kit from the ad on the back of a comic book.  I was gullible and naive when I saw the picture of these playful creatures. Sea-monkeys were advertised to give their owners hours of fu...

If you folks have read me much at all, you know that I often see something funny in mundane life experiences. I realize that not everyone sees life the way I do, nor shares my sense of humor. I'm finding, though, that it just works for me! Goofy moments can ease stress and help us cope. Who doesn't need a little help to get through some difficult days? Let me tell you about two such occasions... Yesterday I had to have some pre-surgery testing done at my eye clinic, to prepare for a cataract/glaucoma procedure that I'll have on my right eye next week. While I was there, the doc checked my left eye too. I'd had a fairly major procedure done to it about two months ago. Well, I got bad news (again). It seems that the surgery might have failed. It was very disappointing and stressful news, to my husband as well as me! He's been by my side through these chronic glaucoma issues for many years.  When we got out of the clinic, we both reacted- and not in the be...

What is normal, exactly? Well, that's a complicated question because it depends on the season of life a person is in and so many other factors. I've written before about life's seasons and how I think it's important to learn what you can during each one. There's a purpose for each stage of life! I love these lines from one of my favorite old Seals and Crofts songs: " I wanna laugh while the laughing is easy. I wanna cry if it makes it worthwhile." My story today is mostly on the lighter side. It's about this newish season of life that I entered a little over three years ago. Yep, I am now in the hood! Grandmotherhood. I have one granddaughter, whom I've affectionately nicknamed "Baby Girlfriend".  She is getting a new sister this summer!   Baby Girlfriend came over to play with me yesterday afternoon. It was a nice day so we played ball in the backyard for a while. Then we came in and had a snack, followed by making ...

I don't have a deep, dark, life story for you this time. I just want to share what happened to me at the bank a couple of days ago. I went to pick up a printout of my bank transactions since the last statement had come out. So the nice teller took care of it for me. She handed me several pages, which seemed a little unusual to me, since it's an account that we rarely use. But I just let that fleeting thought flit on through, took the copies and went out to my car. I decided to look through the transactions before I left. I'm glad I did! I saw several that I didn't recognize.  I started wondering what my husband had been spending money on! I thought he hadn't used that account in months! Some items listed were from out-of-town places. One was for a cable company that we don't even use!  So I knew someone else had gained access to our account or my husband had been living a secret life! WOAH! So I took my papers and scurried back into the bank lobby...