Saturday, May 29, 2010

Pack Rat Am I

I have watched The Hoarders Show on TV once, no, twice, but it was the same episode, so I guess that would be once. Although I am not one of these people, I could have been if my husband weren't here to remind me that I don't need all those bandaids or all those nails or all those books or all those fill in the blank. Right now, I am cleaning, organizing, sorting and making throw-away/giveaway/keep piles in what was my Mom's basement apartment in our house. I did not get the Pack Rat gene from Mother. Before she came to live with us in 2003, she downsized most of her stuff by garagesaling, donating or throwing away. She did this with seemingly no sentimental attachments. Ah, there the key word~sentimental. If you are born with this tendency, watch out because stuff will accumulate. When I taught, I had a teacher's assistant for most of my teaching career. I don't know how anyone worked with me because my "I may need that" was always growing. I kept old magazines so the children could cut out pictures to enhance science, social studies or art units. I needed lots of yarn for making tactile letters for phonics or yes, art projects. Of course many, many books to look at and to expand their young minds. One of my assistants, who is still my friend, helped me by saying,"Throw this out." I guess I needed someone to tell me I didn't really need the quantity of stuff to educate.
Now, I am once again going through tons of pictures, both photographs and paintings and you name it items and having a hard time getting rid of anything. You will be pleased to know that today, I emptied the entire contents of one drawer and kept only one item. This one thing was for my husband's motorcycle and I asked him if he needed it before throwing it out and lo and behold he wanted it. I am making progress. I have taken countless bags, bulging and heavy, to the dump. I have taken several bags to Goodwill. On Friday, AmVets will have a myriad of items that will find new homes. So, slowly but surely, I am making headway. Will I ever be totally cured from the ailment of packratitis? Probably not. There is something cleansing and cool about giving up stuff. Isn't that what Jesus wanted the rich young ruler to do? I wonder if he was a packrat too.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Help the Spotsy Y

Wednesday, when my friend and I went to the Y to workout and to try to stay in the best shape we can be in at our age, we talked with a fellow Y-er as we three exited at the same time. She is in AMAZING shape. My friend and I want to look like her. She chatted about how she had emailed Ellen Degeneres and pleaded our case for new equipment. Our local Y needs help in repairing, replacing, getting new equipment, etc. I think she even took some pictures of missing piece parts on the equipment that is. Don't get me wrong, I love (well not love, really don't look forward to) going to the Y each day. The people are great, the place is bright and inviting, the atmosphere is family-friendly. However, when it is time to do triceps with the chair-bench, there is only one!! This could lead to a problem of a too much muscle power demonstration as others want to use that same chair-bench. Granted, there is another highback chair bench, but it is difficult to do triceps on that one. We need bands to help we females do pull-ups or maybe an assist pull-up machine. The other Y has one of those beauties. Anyway, with a little coaxing from our totally in shape friend, I too wrote to Ellen. I said something like she could dance her way into our Y and do what you wanna do. Let's call it Ellen Helps the Y Day!! She has some fun games on her show, so doing a few of those could draw a crowd, don't you think?
I have written to many people over the course of my life and most of those people have written back. I wrote to the first heart transplant recipient, Louis Washkansky and received a letter from his wife. I called Senator Daniel Inouye and got an answer on their home phone when I wanted his wife's recipe for a dessert. Can't remember what the dessert was right now; I think it was a lemon cake. It was sent to me in the mail. I wrote to Charles Colson when he was in prison and he wrote back and sent me a copy of the book that he had read in becoming a Christian. I wrote to my husband before I ever met him and look what happened!! So hey, I think Ellen may be among this illustrious list and just might respond. We shall see.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

And Then We Had Cake!


As I mentioned in the last post, my birthday was this past Saturday. We had a scrumptious cake made by a downtown bakery. They specialize in specialty cakes. My husband asked me to check the cake I wanted and so I did. However, I didn't get it. When he placed the order, the lady said, "Why don't you get her this one? It's even better than the one she ordered." With this helpful hint, the other cake was ordered. It was a chocolate-orange cake. I have always liked those two flavors together. The candle was lit, I made my wish and didn't blow out the candle on the first try. No, it's not that I was short of breath, as my nephew surmised, it was because my chair was at an awkward angle for the task. That's my story and I'm sticking with it! I reckon that means I don't get my wish. We shall see. I think the idea is that the wish has the whole year to come true.
The day after my birthday was Mother's Day and since I'm a mother, I got more cake! No,not a different cake, just more of my birthday cake. I do love having birthday/Mother's Day celebrations. When I was a teacher,it was always Teacher Appreciation Week the week of my birthday. Then, it seemed the festivities never ended.
Next year, my birthday and Mother's Day fall on the same day. I think this will make it even easier for my family! You're welcome:)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

My Fifty-ninth Year

On Saturday I will begin my fifty-ninth year. I could be like my dad and say that I am turning 29 one more time, but that was his line. I have never been one to fudge on my age. Age is a state of mind, right? I do believe it is. I think back to when I was 18 and that really doesn't seem that long ago. Although when I went to my 40th High School reunion last August, I did wonder who all those old people were. When I look in the mirror, I see a face with a few more lines and a little more sagging here and there. My husband calls it pudding, which is a cute name for these signs of aging. Thanks to my daddy's genes, I do not have any gray hair. Thanks, Daddy!! At least hair color wise, the aging process has not been that traumatic. What will I do during this last year of this fifties' decade? I will run my first 5K in a couple weeks. Yes, I do plan to run the whole way. My friend and I have been running several days a week to prepare for this event. I will visit Seattle for the first time later in the summer. I will continue to "buffet my body and make it my slave" as I use the torture machines at the Y. I will be a mentor mom again for our local MOPS group. These are just a few of the things I hope to do. I must say "hope" because with God in control, He doesn't always give me a heads-up about what may happen tomorrow. I will laugh at funny jokes and even not-so-funny ones. I will walk my little dog or rather watch her run around in circles which is her version of going for a walk. I will continue to write cards, letters, emails, journals and blogs. I will smile and enjoy all of the days God has blessed me with.
On Saturday, when I blow out those 59 candles (or the equivalent of depending on what my husband chooses to put on the cake), I will make my wish and eat a BIG OLE piece of cake! As they say, "It's all good, man!"