Friday, December 19, 2008

Small moments

Everyone has large moments in their lives, births, deaths, marriages, graduations, and numerous others. I believe everyone has small ones as well, both good and bad. I am going to focus on the good ones here, commensurate with the Holiday season we are currently in.

Sometimes, very rarely, I am overwhelmed with a feeling that everything is incredibly good. It is usually a fleeting feeling, lasting mere moments. They are such powerful moments and they are equally difficult to recapture when they are gone. While they are unable to be duplicated at will, they can be recalled, to be wondered at and treasured. I do treasure them.

There are other moments as well, memorable for no obvious reason. One I particularly remember is one golden afternoon on Halloween . The day had been spent fishing on a small lake, surrounded by glorious Autumn foliage. On the drive home we saw children trick-or-treating. And for no reason, this day stays in my memory as a happy time.

Another moment I cherish involves my sister, my mother and my niece. My Mom was in the nursing home but ambulatory and mentally herself. We were baking cookies in Jyme Sue's kitchen, chatting and laughing, when, to put it inelegantly, I farted....long and LOUD. That sent us all into gales of laughter, perpetuated by simply looking at each other. I laughed so hard that I was sobbing. To this day and as of this moment I want to both cry and laugh.

As I write this I have a big lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. It is such a good memory and was such a good time in my life.

If anyone reads this , I wish for you some of those small, wonderful moments.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

When did I become compulsive?

I have noticed for some time now that I have become compulsive. The signs were there when my kids were young, but I was too busy to indulge them. I distinctly remember counting the kids' blocks. There were 100 of them, all shapes and colors. I not only knew how many there were, but how many of each shape and color. I couldn't rest easy until I had found all of them before bedtime. Fortunately, I wasn't so far gone that I also did the same with Legos. The best way to find missing Legos was by walking barefoot nearly anywhere in the house,

The next sign was when I was working at the bank. I had to have all supplies at my fingertips and full to capacity. Of course I was raided often by the less compulsive. Things got out of hand a bit when I was put in charge of ordering supplies for the teller line. Other branches used to ask for things. It was faster than ordering from the main branch.

The 3rd sign was when I retired. Since I had a lot of time on my hands I decided to clean my closets. I knew I was sick when I began to color-code my clothes. Yikes!!! Who does that?

Now I am a full blown sicko. After washing a load of dishes I place the silverware neatly nestled together, all bowls and dishes turned the same way, all coffee cups with the handles facing the same direction. These are just a few of my idiosyncrasies. There are more, believe it or not.

Good thing I have a lot of time on my hands.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I'm finally ready!

OK...here goes, my very first official blog.

First a few notes. I plan to do the Jerry Seinfeld thing or a blog about nothing. According to my mood and experience my thoughts may be light or more serious. My life is a very quiet one and the things I blog about will probably be of limited interest to many, if not all. MMM, that's all I can think of for now. Please forgive any syntax or punctuation errors. I used to be good at both, but have lost some of the skills and, yes, interest.

OK lets go...

I have lived in Arizona for more than eight years now and I have a few observations.

Arizona has rivers with no water. Yup, seems odd to me too.

Arizona has two kinds of vegetation...things that won't grow and things that will not DIE...no matter what you do, think lantana in particular.

Arizona has dry rain, called virga.

Arizona has dust storms called Haboobs, which are actually quite impressive.

Arizona really does have monsoons.

Arizona has LOTS of old people.

Arizona has snowbirds (who ARE old people).

Arizona has lots of beautiful flowers year around, especially bougainvilla.

Arizona has terrible schools.

When parking one doesn't look for the closest space, one looks for the space closest to the trees, shade is of paramount importance. Also, be cautious when touching your steering wheel, you could get a surprise and a burned hand.

Arizona does not send out driver's license renewal forms. Ask me about that one.

Arizona has a lot of dust.

Don't touch cactuses (cacti?), even if they look smooth. They're not any such thing. Trust me on this one.

If you see a sign saying : "Don't cross when flooded", don't. An inch of rain here can be a disaster.

If you come to Arizona and want to hike, take water, people, and lots of it. I'm getting tired of my tax money going to rescue the idiots who think they know everything.

KEEP YOUR CHLDREN AWAY FROM SWIMMING POOLS!!!!

Don't take State Route 88 unless you have an adventurous spirit and a rugged vehicle.

Aizonans go outside in thunderstorms.

And last but not least for today....be kind to your air conditioner....your very best friend.