1. I lived in the state of Illinois for something like 30 (non-consecutive) years of my life. Although all those years were in Chicago (which is almost like a state all by itself), I learned to sing the State Song...."By thy rivers gently flowing, Illinois, Illinois...," I know the State Motto is "Land of Lincoln", I know that Abraham Lincoln lived there for most of his early years. What I did NOT know until our recent trip to Chicago, is that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is in Springfield, the State Capital. How could I not have known this? I lived there for 30 years and I never once heard about the Lincoln Library?? So consequently, I never WENT to the Lincoln Library! Lincoln is one of my heroes and I still missed it!! How is that possible?
2. There is a phenomenon of the human body that I don't understand at all. Well, actually there are many phenomenon that I don't understand, and come to think of it, the particular phenomenon I am going to write about (if I ever GET to it!) very probably applies to most species in the animal kingdom as well as humans. So finally to the point, have you ever had a splinter that was rather deep and was impossible to remove without digging around in your rather sensitive epidermis until you bled? But it remains stubbornly embedded in you! Or have you ever had a food particle get stuck "in" a tooth and no matter how much you floss and poke and rinse, you can't remove it. You know that it is still there because it's the size of the Rock of Gibraltar, and it hurts every time you chew in that vicinity. Still, it will not be moved!
In both of those situations, I remember my mother saying to me, "Just leave it alone. It will work itself out." And it generally did, eventually.
What I want to know though is HOW? HOW does this not so little piece of detritus actually "work itself out?" There are no moving parts in those areas that could be pushing out the strange intruder. There is no freely flowing liquid that could swish it along with all the other waste. There is no little teeny, tiny person sent in to do a search and rescue, no Navy Seals who make a daring raid to kidnap and eject said intruder, no handheld laser or phaser, or transporter (if you're into Trekdom) to break it down into molecules and recreate it outside of you!
So how does it WORK ITSELF OUT?? Or is this another of those unexplained mysteries that drive researchers (and ME) crazy??
3. It occurred to me the other day, that M-t-G is now 11 and going into the 6th grade. I believe that I was in the sixth grade when I had my very first "crush" on a real, live....(gulp)....boy! Yowza! If memory serves, at 11, Ratchlet too, began to be aware of boys as something possibly more interesting than dirt! As far as I know M-t-G has not yet shown any interest in the male of the species, but that could (and probably will) turn on a dime any minute! Oh boy! Or rather oh, BOYS!
Of course, our girl has always had her own schedule for when things happen. For instance, she didn't walk until she was 18 mo. old....but then she just stood up and walked like she had been doing it all her life. Sooooo, she may not discover boys until she's 18 YEARS old!! Or it could happen next week!
Either way, I'm pretty sure we'll all have to fasten our seat belts!
4. After 46 years of married life,
5. Summer has already made its presence known this year. We hit 95F one day last week. As the heat looms for the rest of the summer, I am (once again) struck by the idiocy of our HOA (I'll blame them, because I'm not sure who else to blame!) Despite being an upscale development with home values ranging from $250,000 all the way up to $2M+, there is NO community pool!! Oh there is the pool at the Country Club, but it is restricted to use by members only....and membership costs mega-bucks! There are somewhere over 400 homes in the "neighborhood" at least 2/3 of which have multiple children. Some homes have their own pools, but many, many do not (including us.) Most developments, even those at the low end of the economic scale, have a pool, sometimes several! Yet we do not. We pay a reasonable amount in our annual HOA dues, so I think most of us wouldn't mind a sensible increase if it were used to finance a pool for the non-Country Club set! However, one simple phrase keeps running through my head as I think about this. Does "FAT CHANCE" tell you anything??
6. Have I ever mentioned that I love a pretty yard? Lovely landscaping can make your home just sparkle! Unfortunately, I have neither the talent, the money, nor the commitment, for making it happen where I live. Sigh! When we lived in CA, our yard was small, beautifully landscaped by the previous owners, and reasonably managed. We had roses, jasmine, a couple of small fruit trees, and close to the front door, hydrangeas, a gardenia, and a gorgeous hot pink azalea! In the eight years we lived in that house, I managed NOT to kill them! Remarkable!
We have lived in this house for 11 1/2 years and we inherited none of those beautiful flowering plants and my yard, while presentable (mostly), is certainly never going to be a contender for "Yard of the Month!" It's times like this when I really wish I could just wave a wand, or twitch my nose, or do a little hocus-pocus and make the yard gorgeous with lots of beautiful blooming plants....and a pool!
7. Have you noticed that there is a growing trend in blogging for writers "taking a break?" This is a real shame, because most of those who take a break, essentially disappear. Oh there may be a sporadic "update" that will appear, but in fact, they never really come back. And their friends and fans are left wondering what happened and if those MIA are all right!
The sad truth is that blogging is a very draining experience! It drains your free time. It drains your creativity. It drains your stash of "stories." It drains your excitement about having your very own blog!!
And sometimes life just gets in the way! I can understand that....we never know what obstacles will suddenly pop up as we travel the roads we have chosen and some of them are just too overwhelming to write about.
However, as Ross and Rachel (remember them??) found out to our infinite amusement, "taking a break" really means the end of a relationship!
So, even though I can understand why some bloggers feel the need for a break, I will try very very hard never to type those words in relationship to my own blog. For it surely would be the kiss of death!! Even though several days may separate my postings, I remain a committed blogger! I'd never leave my friends just hanging like that!!
Heck, I was raised Catholic, I'd have way too much guilt about unfulfilled promises!! LOL!
And, there you have it, "Bits and Pieces" of life inside my head!!
I enjoyed your bits and pieces of life...but I keep going back to the fact that M-t-G is 11 and going into the sixth grade and that (Gulp) at that age boys can become crushes...yikes...I had never thought of that...My Kristina will be 11 and going into the sixth grade.. double YIKES.
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