"Bits and Pieces"

As I am wont (don't you just love that word?) to do from time to time, here are a few Bits of this and a couple of Pieces of that from the hodgepodge of thoughts that run through my mind on any given day....


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, one  make that two grownups accumulate a LOT of stuff.  As I look at several rooms in our house, I realize that we are only one or possibly two Christmases away from Critical Mass!  Purging is desperately needed.....but not today!  I think I feel a headache coming on.




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!!

"Eve of Destruction"

I've read enough different blogs and talked to enough different women to know that at times we all feel like we are on the "Eve of Destruction".  Now I am not talking about Armeggedon, or any such thing.  The feeling comes from a common condition that no one likes to admit, but is extremely widespread.  More so than any of us ever knew.  The condition that makes so many of us feel as though we live in a war zone and are about to explode is the normal, everyday condition of our houses!  I think we all try to ignore it or hide it and we feel inadequate because our Mothers would be appalled that we can't get control of our ...((shudder, shudder))... clutter!

No matter how hard we try, it never goes away, at least not permanently!  There are lots of reasons.... we are busy women with jobs outside the home, little bitty kids, commitments like PTA, volunteering, groceries/cooking, the list goes on.  And who wants to go around everyday picking up after everybody else?  June Cleaver doesn't live here anymore!

It's a slow process of accumulating clutter until we finally snap and take an entire weekend (or longer) to CLEAN UP THIS MESS!  We browbeat and coerce our entire family into getting things put away or thrown out.  Until the next time! 

Sound familiar?

Have you ever noticed that when you get into one of these whirlwind moods, a very large proportion of the clutter you are dealing with belongs either to your children or your husband!  (I don't know what happens in non-traditional families, so for purposes of this post, I'll stick with the model of  mom, dad, 2 1/2 kids, and assorted creatures.)  Anyway the point is lots of husbands and kids seem incapable of taking care of their own things!  The leave things whereever they land!  It grows and grows until it builds up to the point that there is not one clear space anywhere you look and YOU CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!

I came across an article the other day that finally explains this phenomenon!  It's an affliction that nearly all children have.  Most of the girls grow out of it, but the boys NEVER seem to get over it.  A full grown adult male has had the condition for his whole life and probably isn't even aware of it.  This condition is similar to "tunnel vision" in that it relates to what the eye sees....or in this case, does NOT see!  It's called "Clutter Blindness" and it means that those who have it literally cannot see the mess!  I don't know how this is possible.  They should be walking into the things if they can't see them, but like drunks and fools, someone is watching over them and steering them around safely!  I'm the only one tripping over his junk stuff!   How can they not see the clutter???  Its everywhere!  And it belongs (mostly) to them!!  It's not invisible....I can see it!

If you accept this theory (and I by no means expect it of you!) then you have to take an enormously deep breath, count to 10 (or a hundred), and get over being angry about it.  Let it go.....it's not their faults, the poor dears!  They have clutter blindness.  We might even have to forgive them, after all they are disabled!

If, however, you don't buy this hogwash ....uhhh.... I mean, are skeptical of its validity, as I am, I don't think anyone would blame us, if at some point, we reach Clutter Overload!  The only real cure for Clutter Overload is to grab all of the
"invisible" male-generated clutter and toss it out the front door on to the lawn.  Let it look like the "Eve of Destruction" OUTSIDE, NOT IN MY HOUSE!

Thank you.  I feel better now.

"My Cup Runneth Over"

Some people see a glass as half full; others see it as half empty.  Not me!  "My cup runneth over!"  Basically, there is no more room for anything more.  I do not have an empty closet, shelf, cabinet, bookcase, pantry, or storage space anywhere!  My house is full. 

In truth, its more than full.  I still have things in boxes that are unpacked because there is no place to put the things that are inside!  And we've lived in this house for nine years!  Does that mean it was full the day we moved in???  How depressing!

This has happened before in our house.  After all, we've been together for almost 44 years.  You accumulate a LOT of stuff in 44 years!  LOTS of stuff.  We have owned four different houses in that time; each one bigger (or at least equal in size) than the one before.  Usually when we first moved in and got settled, we had space left over!  It was a great feeling to look around and have a lovely, spacious, uncluttered home, with room for expansion.

I seem to remember (vaguely) that there is some law of Physics that is something about gas expanding to fill the available space.  I never knew that law extended to belongings too!  That open spacious feeling quickly disappears as more and more things become part of our "must haves." 

Yes, I admit it.  We are "Accumulators"!  Both of us!  The Big Guy keeps everything he ever owned.  Clothes, gadgets, pens, watches, electronics, notebooks, exercise equipment, former hobby  things, and papers....lots and lots of papers....all related to the different jobs he's had for the last 40 years.  I'm not kidding.  There is one whole room in my house;  99.9% of its contents are his things.  And 99.8% of that, is stuff he hasn't used or ever will use ever again.  Now I don't mean a few things discreetly hidden in a cabinet or closet.  Nope, I mean wall-to-wall, practically floor to ceiling!  No joke.  This is his "office".  (In our house "office" really means junk room!)  If he should have the poor taste to die before me and leave me with this mess, I shall hang his body in effigy in front of my house with a big sign that says, "He never threw anything away!!"

It really pains me to say this, but I am very nearly as bad as he.  The difference being that I keep things that I love, or I use, or has an important memory attached to it AND I put it all away!  Ergo, my full house!  I am a sentimental fool and so is the Big Guy.  This only makes things worse.  He is a charter member of the "But I might need it someday" club.  I am a charter member of the "Awwww, I remember this" club.  How do you throw away a memory?

Nevertheless, there comes a time when reality comes a-knockin' and you are simply forced to accept as fact that there is no room for even one more thing!   When you attempt to put things away and discover all of the "away" space is gone, there's no avoiding the truth any longer.  You either must purge and discard (gasp....hyperventilating), or move!  We can't afford to move, besides who wants to pack up all that stuff anyway!

Maybe I should look into one of those storage places.  Nope, same problem.  Another expenditure on our already tight budget and that dreaded packing thing. 

So there is no choice but to face up to it and make some room...somehow....somewhere....get rid of something.  Oh help!

Now all I have to do is convince the Big Guy that his cup runneth over too!  Wish me luck with that!

I must go lie down, maybe the feeling will go away.....