What's the Deal with Young Women Today?

Man we just never grow up do we? And I think this applies to women more than men. It just seems like so many YOUNG women today and by that I mean late 20's, early to mid-30's, married WITH children are CONSUMED with drama. Everything that happens to them is the absolute WORST and they want to talk and talk and talk about it. And make sure everyone knows. I don't know that it is a sign of immaturity so much as perhaps flat out narcissism. It is all about ME!!! I have a sick child..poor ME! My husband lost his job...poor ME! I have too much to do (that I VOLUNTEERED for) poor ME!! It is this " look at me! look at me!"phenomenon that has me puzzled. Is that what my daughter is going to aspire to when she becomes a young wife and mother? I know that in high school you are SUPPOSED to think it is all about you. But as an adult with responsibilities? And most of their peers enable this by commiserating with them and encouraging their drama and offering their most profound sympathy so that when it is THEIR turn the "victim" will do the same for them. I just see such a different mindset in women today. I know of young women who think the definition of being a STRONG woman today means simply that she is a BITCH!! And let me tell you there is no strength in that. Today we are whiny, needy, insecure, individuals who want the world to know about EVERY DETAIL of our lives. Or we are hateful, demanding, and disloyal. I think of my mom, part of what history calls the "great generation" and her quiet strength and ability to stand up for her and her beliefs and her ability to stand quietly by and let someone make a fool of themselves instead of always having to be "right". I think of her refusing to "air her dirty laundry" and to keep "private" matters just that. I hope she instilled some of that in me. I am far from being the woman my mom is but as I age I see changes in me that are definitely for the better. But when I was a "young woman/mom/housewife" I was most certainly not what I see today. If for no other reason than my mom taught me better. I hope I passed that on to my daughter. And if not, I plan on starting. Perhaps I am just too old to have YOUNG friends?

Into the Wind at 53

Yesterday was my birthday. It was also Thursday which is the day we run. Earlier in the week, on our Tuesday run, I barely made it. Weather was beautiful, low humidity, NO wind. But I finished 4 minutes behind my niece when we usually finish within a minute of each other if that. When she passed me on the way back with a look of concern on her face I shrugged and shouted that I didn't know what my problem was or why I was so slow. By the time I made the turnaround and came back I felt like my legs weighed as much as Apollo Ono's (without the strength) and that I was having a pretty good asthma attack (and I don't have asthma!). That night I self-diagnosed myself with the onset of bronchitis. BUT I didn't want to go to the doctor because they would tell me (like they did last time) NO running for 7-10 days. WELL that is not a possibility as this Saturday is the last run in a SERIES of three. And if you run ALL THREE you receive the shirt that says you have completed the trail run. I have completed one that was in the rain (the entire race) and the other that went straight up the mountain out at the spillway and yes if you are running along with 60 or more people up a rocky incline that is only about 2 feet wide IT IS A MOUNTAIN!!! So there is NO WAY I am not going to FINISH and that is what a doctor's visit would amount to. Well I felt better the next day and not so bad Thursday. BUT, as we were running yesterday afternoon, I felt that old familiar leaden feeling settling in and breathing was a problem. NOT TO MENTION that yesterday the winds were out of the south (which is the direction we run for the first 2.5 miles) at TWENTY MILES an hour. I freaking hate the wind sick or well. But as I decided that I COULDN'T do the full run, I realized that I had turned 53 that day and being out on the road AT ALL was huge and that I needed to finish if for no other reason than it was my birthday. And the best gift I could give myself was to finish the course. And I did. Not as slow as the previous run but not as fast as normal either. Sort of in between. Which is where I feel like I am right now in my life. In between. Not old but certainly not young. And every day I feel as though I am pushing into the wind. But if I learned anything yesterday, it was that no matter how hard the wind of your life is blowing, if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and your eye on the finish line, you can do it. I did!!!

Odors of the Evening

When we were younger we were ALWAYS outside. No matter the time of day, we played. As we got older and were in junior high and high school we were still outside just not playing. Usually sitting in or on our parents cars (not everyone got a car when they got a drivers license) or on the front porch or sometimes out on the curb and just talking. Almost every day, every evening. And as we sat there we could smell the scent of supper in the air. If someone was frying chicken (yeah back then it was NEVER bought) or someone was grilling something, we would sit there and smell and would pretty much know what everyone in the area was eating that night. The aroma was heavenly and prevalent throughout the neighborhood since everyone had screen doors and central heating and air conditioning were unheard of (except for the very "rich"). To this day if I am outside at "evening" time, I will sniff the air and think, "they're barbecuing, or they are frying something, or on a cold day - they have their fireplace lit." It just makes me remember a time when life was simpler, doors were open, kids were outside playing, and mom's were in the kitchen cooking supper that we were all going to eat TOGETHER around the table as we talked about our day. Of course the neighborhoods are not full of evening aromas anymore like they used to be. People stay in their homes with their doors shut, they buy take out or don't eat at home, or mom cooks but everyone eats at different times. But when I catch a whiff of someones supper, it takes me back to those evenings, sitting outside, waiting to be called in to "wash your hands" and sit down to a meal that I had been smelling and anticipating all day. Mom's home cooked meals.....they were a staple of my childhood.....they were delicious........and I miss them.

TOP TEN PEOPLE "TYPES" THAT I PERSONALLY HAVE NO USE FOR

These aren't people who do these things occasionally because we are all probably guilty but these are the people who this is WHO THEY ARE ALL THE TIME!!! In order of most irritating with ten being the least and one being the worst. These are my top ten most irritating people:
10. "close talkers" - (the ones who get RIGHT in your face and no matter how much you back up they continue to lean in)
9. "screamers" aka "loud talkers" (and yes I tend to be loud sometimes but ones who have NO VOLUME control whatsoever)
8. "one-uppers" - no matter what you have done or has happened to you they have done it also or had it happen to them and always bigger or better (even if what has happened to you is bad)
7. "know it alls" - yep, no matter what the subject they know all about it or if it is a person they know them or worse are related (seven times removed)
6. "mature" people- not wise or aged but think they are mature because they have no sense of humor
5. "scaredy cats" - talk a big talk (in private) but won't stand up for others or even themselves
4. "whiners" - constant blather about how "it's not fair"/ "how come so and so doesn't have to/or gets to" (cry babies if you will)
3. "needy" - need to be constantly reassured about EVERYTHING from am I doing okay to are you okay to are we okay? (also known as could you please make me feel good about myself every day all the time)
2. "perfect parents of perfect children" - my child is NEVER wrong (even though they are called into the office EVERY DAY or SET FIRE to something)
AND THE NUMBER ONE "TYPE" THAT I HAVE NO USE FOR?
The one that read this and fits ONE or MORE of the first nine and WILL NOT SEE THEMSELVES!!!

Global Warming, Carbon Footprints, and Plastic

I am a litterbug!! Yes, I am!! Not constantly but sometimes I throw stuff out the window. Okay, I almost ALWAYS throw stuff out of my window. If I remember to get a trashbag at the carwash then I will use it but alas, with my dementia, that hardly ever happens. So, yeah, I throw it out. I mean, hey, my car is clean and I don't want that crap in it. Which leads me to the whole SAVE THE EARTH campaign. I think we are probably supposed to save the SOULS of the earth by telling them about Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour but I don't know about all that other. You see, I believe that God created the world in six days. I believe that. I also believe that God will destroy the earth in HIS time at the appointed hour. I believe this because the Bible tells me so. (I think they wrote a song with that exact line in it!) I DO NOT believe that God is in heaven ON HIS THRONE walking around with His head in His hands shouting "oh the plastic, the plastic!!" I do not believe He is frantic about smog or gas emissions nor do I believe that He is organizing the angels for a benefit concert to raise money to try to fix the a hole in our ozone!!! He created this earth and I believe that He will destroy it just like He said. I DO NOT believe that we, as mere humans, can interrupt His plan in any way shape form or fashion. Yes, litter is ugly (especially so in my car) and smog and air pollution is dangerous to breathe, and yeah the seasons they seem to be changing. BUT, if you read the Bible, HE told us this was going to happen. He told us these would be signs of the end times (not smog or litter but the earthquakes, tsunami's, and weird weather). In fact, the FACT that He doesn't even MENTION plastic or the ozone comforts me even more. I cringe when I hear someone say "we need to save Mother Earth". Really? The Earth is a mother? How do we know that? Was there DNA testing done? And when I go to the grocery store I want plastic bags and no I don't throw them out the window to snag the trees (that is just stupid, they have groceries in them). If you carry your groceries INTO your house how do those bags get outside anyway? I use them to carry my lunch to school where the bag goes into the trash and I stuff a bunch under my sink to put in my bathroom trash cans. HEY that's called RECYCLING!!! Pardon me while I run out and hug a tree!!! Besides, picking up trash gives the criminally inclined a job when they go to jail so I am also helping provide jobs and boosting the economy and I KNOW people are concerned about that!!! Just trying to do my part!!

32 Years Ago Today

I married the man of my dreams. Okay, he probably wasn't EXACTLY the man I had always dreamed of back then but he was close and today I love him even more and he is EXACTLY what I have always wanted and needed. We haven't always had an easy road to travel but we stayed the course and all these years later our journey together continues. NO ONE will ever love me like George does and he is the air I breathe.........I am blest!!!

89 Years Ago Today

A remarkable woman was born. My mom. She was raised to poor parents who worked as tenant farmers. They literally lived on the land (in tents) and ate the fruit of their labor. She and her siblings went to school part of the year but were pulled when the crops came in. Every extra hand was needed as they were paid by the crop they were able to harvest. Her father was a cowboy. The real life "gunsmoke/bonanza" type. No education but could break a horse and rope just about anything. A quiet stern man who believed that his wife should be obedient and that his children should be seen and not heard. Her mother never learned to read or write (having been born in 1900 in a time when women, especially poor ones, had "no need" for such nonsense). She had one brother and two sisters and they lived a simple life. They were very close (due to my grandmother) and even though life was hard, there was love aplenty. My mom never went to school past the 8th grade. She married a dashing young Italian soldier and moved to New York to live with his family and give him four children. They lived the "typical" (as seen in the movies) Italian life, complete with a family compound, controlling matriarch and a husband who had a constant mistress. Ultimately she gathered her strength and as a single mom (back when divorce was RARE) with no education and very little money she came home to Texas and never looked back. She worked double shifts as a waitress and ultimately learned to drive. She raised four kids in a two bedroom/one bath home. In the early years the going was hard and they were poor. So poor that a neighbor offered to adopt her only little girl so that it would ease the financial burden. (not to mention the fact that the child was "adorable") And by the way, she kept the child!!! She eventually got on at General Telephone and worked her way to a middle class job. By that time her older kids were grown and her younger ones were in high school. In time, the house got paid for and she bought herself a new car (first one in her life) and started "fixing" up the house. We were in high cotton (which a tenant farmer knows means good crop and $$$$) She ultimately retired from that company with many friends. Her kids all "made good" and she is proud of them. She is still as sharp as a tack but her body has failed her through crippling osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. She placed HERSELF in a nursing home and is loved by the clients and the staff. She checks on and takes care of what she calls "the little old people" where she lives. She has a strong faith and throughout our growing up I NEVER knew we were poor. I knew we didn't have as much as other kids but it never felt bad to me. Most of her immediate family and close friends are gone. Yet she loves life and cherishes each day. EVERYTHING about me that is good, decent, kind and fair, came from my mom. She taught me so much and continues to do so even now. I respect her. I admire her. AND I love her VERY MUCH. Happy Birthday Mom............you are amazing!!!