The Gratitude Project

A Facebook friend (and someone I've known a really long time) posted that, because Thanksgiving is this month, each day's status update for the month would be about something for which she was thankful. What a great idea! I decided to do the same. The most amazing part about it is how it has snowballed. I see some of my friends picking up the idea, and I'm sure they're passing it along to their friends, and hopefully, on and on it goes. Because really, when you're focusing on the things that you have to be grateful about, it's hard to pout.

I'd like to expound a little bit on my first week's worth of gratitude meditations. A status update can only be so long, after all.

Nov. 1. I am grateful for the end of daylight savings time. I know that seems very frivolous, but to me, it really isn't. For one thing, there's that extra, glorious hour of weekend. I usually spend the Saturday night of the time change looking at the clock and thinking, "it's 10:00. But not really! Really, it's 9:00!" And so on. But the fact is, I just can't stand waking up when it's dark. My body is smarter than that. Just moving the clock around doesn't convince me that it's really earlier than I think it is, or later, or whichever. It's so confusing. I think I miss that lost hour all summer long! People complain about going back to standard time, they don't like it being dark when they come home from work. But I find it cozier somehow. I like it.

Nov. 2. It was a Monday, and my first thought was "yuck, Monday". But then I realized that alot of people I know don't have jobs right now, don't have any place to dread going on Monday. And I realized how very glad and thankful I am for a job, a good job at that. Most of my family has been affected by this economy at one time or another, and many of my friends. It sucks. I am very thankful for my job.

Nov. 3. I am incredibly grateful for my amazing friends. I have found old ones and made new ones on Facebook, I have friends from practically every job I've ever had, and I have friends that are like family to me. They are wise, funny, caring, and generous. I have a friend who dressed me in the hospital once. A friend who helped me throw a baby shower for my daughter in law. A friend who was at the hospital with me when my son was born, and I returned the favor 10 years later. Friends who spent most of a weekend catering my son's wedding. I've rediscovered old friends on Facebook that I hope to reconnect with in person. I could go on and on and on because truly, I am rich in friendship. I don't know how I got so lucky.

Nov. 4 brought news that my precious 5 month old grandson had a confirmed case of swine flu. This was not happy news. However, i was incredibly thankful that he had been taken to the doctor right away, put on Tamiflu, and was having a relatively mild case, it seemed. He continues to improve. In a day and time when many people don't have access to health care, I am so grateful that my grandson does, at least for now.

Nov. 5. I am having a wonderful year, mostly related to the happy expansion of my family. My son got married this year, and I now have a daughter. I don't really think of her as an "in-law", with all those silly negative connotations. She is my family. I love her so much and am so thankful to have another person in this world who loves my son as much as I do. (maybe even more!)

Nov. 6 was a pretty good day. My friend and co-worker brought homemade breakfast to the office. It was Friday. I found myself thinking how much I enjoy cutting up and hanging out with the people I work with. We have some really annoying things happen at work -- doesn't everyone? -- but we have a great time commiserating together. And I enjoy them when we're not being miserable about something, too. I really do have a great bunch of co-workers. It's a good thing, since I spend more time with them than I do my family!

Nov. 7. I have only one child, my son Eric. I know I'm supposed to say these things because I'm his mom, but damn, I hit the jackpot with that kid. He has grown into such a fun, smart, funny, loving and responsible adult. He is very considerate of him mom and dad and we are very close. I couldn't be more proud of the son I've raised.

So far, thinking of my post for each day has been easy. It's funny how just thinking of one thing each day, and writing it down, really focuses me on the positive aspects of my life. It's been said that what you focus on is what you see. I'm going to try to remember that.

WHEW.

If I am not mistaken, (and please, God, I hope I'm not mistaken) I have reached the end of the long list of exciting things happening this year. Moving, grandson, big birthday, son's marriage. I'm exhausted!

I am a person who is happiest with a fairly empty plate. I don't really like to have too much going on at any given time. I think life is what happens in between all the "must do's". OK, so I'm lazy. This year of crazy busyness has whooped my ass. So why, now that it's all over, am I feeling so blue?

There's something to be said for having something to look forward to, I suppose. I'm sure I'm a little down to have crossed all of the landmark events of this year off the list.

The wedding was beautiful. I was honored to be allowed to participate in all the planning and organizing for the big day. I now feel like I have a daughter -- which is kind of cool after living among men for so many years. And my friends, who ROCK by the way, jumped in and helped out with everything from cake making to catering to providing an affordable honeymoon rental, and lots of things in between.

So after weeks and weeks of crazy, this weekend has been, so far, blessedly quiet and uneventful. And I am puzzled to realize that I'm a little bit bored.

What's next? I think I'm ready!

Happy Birthday to Me

I just had a great big birthday. I hit the big "five-oh". I couldn't really get a grip on how I felt about it. I won't go so far as to say I embraced it --I pretty much was down with just trying to ignore it. Didn't work out so well.

For one thing, my family and friends kept asking about my "big plans". When I'd say I really didn't have or want any "big plans", they'd look at me like I had a bugger hanging out of my nose or something. But really, I didn't -- until about 48 hours before my birthday, when I suddenly started pouting because I didn't have any plans.

Now this I should disclose about myself: I am a birthday brat. I have always expected BIG THINGS on my birthday. Not big gifts, necessarily, (although those would be fine) but merely that the world revolve around me for exactly 24 hours (or more in some cases -- I've been known to declare a birthday week). I want lots of fuss. I blame it on being a Leo --most of my Leo friends are the same way I am. I have learned over time that my husband, who loves me very much, is not a big birthday person. He finds my birthday neediness to be perplexing, annoying, and, I believe, more than a little bit scary. When my birthday comes, he is paralyzed with the fear of getting it wrong. He remains so paralyzed that he ends up not buying or doing anything until the last panic-stricken moment.

So really, my best birthdays are the ones I plan myself. My 40th was a great event that I orchestrated and directed like a crazed mad-woman. And then, from the stress of planning it all, I proceeded to get poop-faced drunk about an hour before the guest arrived. I hear I had a great time. I've seen pictures that indicate that I did indeed, but unfortunately, about the time I sobered up from my pre-party nervous cocktails, someone thought tequila shots were in order. So needless to say, I spent the first days of the decade of the 40's 1) puking, and 2) extraordinarily hung over. (Hangovers last several days beginning at age 40, I've learned)

But I just didn't feel up to planning my 50th. I've already moved this year, become a grandmother, and have a wedding to help plan. And really, I was fine with a small celebration, until about 2 days before my birthday. Then my inner spoiled birthday girl reared her head. My husband asked, one final innocent time, "are you sure there's nothing special you want to do for your birthday?" To which, I replied, "YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT? I WANT YOU TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITHOUT ME HAVING TO TELL YOU!" Let's be fair. My husband is a wonderful guy, but he has a long and storied history of mucking up birthdays and special occasions. He knows this about himself, and he would change, I believe, if he could. Well, my outburst elicited a look of fear as if my head had spun around a la' Linda Blair in the Exorcist.

But something amazing happened. First, I had a wonderful dinner with my family, who gave me the most incredibly thoughtful and loving gifts. Most cherished of all, a handmade, heartfelt card from my future daughter-in-law. And accompanying that, tickets to see Bruce Springsteen that my son had won for me (at no small effort, I understand). So, with my heart already full of love and thankfulness for my many blessings, I walked into my home to be greeted by a houseful of dear, wonderful friends. Somehow, my husband came through. He had the good sense to call in help -- first, my son, who, together with his fiancee', and one of my dearest friends, scoured my Facebook friends list, sent out stealth invitations, and lo and behold, in less than 2 days, assembled an evening I'll never forget.

All those birthdays I dreaded? They just keep getting better and better. I can't wait for 60!

Farewell to Miss California

I admit it. I am one of those gazillion baby boomers who has recently discovered the fun of Facebook. I find it a blast, and a great way to waste time (which somehow seems to be my favorite thing to do....) I have reconnected with people I haven't seen or talked to in years, and for the most part, it has been wonderful. Except this one time. And I blame it all on the Former Miss California.
It all started over one of those silly Facebook apps. This one asked you to name 5 people you'd like to "punch in the face". Smart-assed liberal that I am, I picked Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly. Just because I don't like her and think she's SO over-rated, I added Madonna. And my last pick was someone who'd been pissing me off -- Carrie Prejean, Miss California and almost-Miss America.
Now, I could give a rat's patootie about Miss CA's now-famous opinion about gay marriage. I disagree with her, but hey, I realize it's a hot-button issue, and I don't expect everyone in the world to share my opinions. (only the smart people. he he) And I don't care that she posed half naked even though it's against the rules. What's pissed me off about her is that she couldn't shut the F up about how the only reason she wasn't Miss America was because of her opinion about gay marriage. (hello, you lost. get over it. your answer was inarticulate) Every time I turned on the freaking TV for weeks, there she was, all smug and conservative. (all the ultra conservative people I know like to pose half naked. How 'bout you?)
Well, anyway. I posted my silly little "5 people" list, then went to bed. Next day, I spent the whole day defending myself against the railings of some clearly homophobic right wing chick who I was friends with in the 3rd grade. We haven't seen each other since about 1970, but she felt a need to attack the fact that I don't care for this beauty-queen chick. She accused me of everything from being a close-minded liberal to having anger management issues because I made a list of people I'd like to punch. I defriended her ass. But it really kind of bothered me. I mean, it was just a silly little time-wasting Facebook application! Why was this wingnut: a) so offended by it, and b) so determined to spend her entire day harassing me about it?
So every time that Prejean bitch comes on TV, it reminds me of that unpleasant experience. And makes me want to punch her in the face for real. And I don't like having such violent thoughts. So when I heard she was finally geting the boot, I was relieved. And crazy girl from 3rd grade, if you're out there, take THAT.

Happy Talk

I am in a place that feels very unfamiliar to me today. It is quite exhilarating and, like anything unfamiliar, a little bit frightening. This place I'm at? Complete and utter contentment with my life.

I am not accustomed to this place. I dwell in the land of cynicism and self-recrimination. But I think I am, literally, as fat and happy and I've ever been in my life. (The fat part will have to be another post. Fat-talk and happy-talk don't work well together.)

It's been a tough year for a lot of people. I have several friends and family members who are having a pretty crappy year, and I hate that. Boy, have I been there. I am not accustomed to having things fall into place easily. Fortune does NOT often feel very smiley toward me. So I sort of feel guilty, and shocked, that that I am having such an amazing and wonderful year -- my first grandchild on the way, my son's impending marriage, our new home, a job that seems relatively secure (by today's standards, anyway). And yesterday, my hubby and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.

It's kind of a big deal, I think, to be married that long. I have no magic answer for how I managed to do that, but when asked the secret to a long marriage, I can only offer this: Stay married, even when you think you might want out. It might pass. (It did, every time) Now, that's not to say I think people should stay together no matter what, but I do think that it's easy to forget what all those commitments we made at the alter really mean. The "worse" part of "for better or worse" implies that some really shitty stuff will go down, but we tend to have trouble seeing that on the wedding day, what with the standard-issue rose colored wedding-day glasses we're wearing.

But here I am, 25 years later, still married. Who'd have thunk it? Yep, there's been some "worse". But a heck of a lot of "better". We created, out of nothing, a family; a life. Fully textured, fully lived, with tears and laughter and memories. The past 25 years have not always been easy. We've faced really scary health crises, and we've buried cherished family members. We've dealt with financial challenges, disappointments, and job losses. Sometimes, we didn't like each other very much.

But we also built traditions and created memories. We raised a wonderful son who has grown into an amazing young man, and is now starting his own family. We've made rich friendships that feel like family. We've found that hard times really DO make us stronger, and that life is just easier when shared. Along the way, we both realized that we were married to our best friend.

I'm happy that my husband stuck with me all these years. He damn well better be happy I stuck with him! It hasn't always been easy, but it HAS always been worth it. I feel very, very fortunate, and yes, blessed.

Mea Culpa

Moving day is over. We are finally in our new home! Most of the boxes are unpacked, things are functioning at about 90%, the cat and dog have finally figured out that we're not leaving, and I'm back at work. All in all, I couldn't be happier.


However. The process of moving turned me into a raving lunatic bitch and I am sure I owe a few apologies.


To our mortgage guy: You kept telling me everything was going to happen on schedule, and I kept waiting for all hell to break loose. It didn't. I know I drove you crazy calling you to 'check on things' every other day.


To the lady at JC Penneys: I know it wasn't your fault that every single window panel I liked was out of stock. But you were there so who else was I going to get snippy with?


To the customer service guy at the Blinds place: I am sure that you don't get paid enough for me to yell at you because I thought there was no hardware with the blinds. After I hung up on you, I found the hardware. I felt like I should call back and apologize but I was pretty sure you'd see my number on caller ID and not pick up.


To first cable guy: I'm sorry you were at my house for something like 9 hours, but in hindsight, you didn't seem to know what the f*(k you were doing. I know I should apologize over that screaming match about where to put the cable jack in the master bedroom, but I was right and you were wrong, so I don't feel bad about that. Besides, you screwed stuff up which led to me having to spend another day with Cable Guy #2.


To Cable Guy #2: You scratched my new wall with your damn tool belt. Never mind, I don't think I owe you an apology for bitching at you about that.


To the cat: You are 15 and have never been out of our old house except for your once a year vet visit. I know this move literally rocked your world. I'm sorry. But did you really have to piss all over my car?!?


To the dog: It breaks my heart that you try to follow me to the car every time I leave. I know you think I'm going to take you back home! Really, you'll come to love the tiny back yard we have now! I promise!

To my friends: I'm sorry for being missing in action for the past 2 months. This house buying opportunity happened much quicker than expected, so it was all-consuming. And to my friends who I did see, I'm sorry for talking so much about my house hunt. I am sure you are sick of hearing about my travails.

To my family: I know, I was stressed and crazy. I'm sorry. I love you.


There, I think I covered everyone. It has been 18 years since our last move, and I don't plan on doing this again unless and until I can afford to hire someone to take care of everything for me. Which is to say, I won't be moving again!


Oh. I love my new house!

Gave Up Posting for Lent

This is my first post in more than a month. Last year, I gave up the elevator for Lent, and I almost, not by choice, gave up my home computer for Lent this year. (Actually, for this year, I've given up my sanity. So far, I'm doing well at it) Anyway, about a day after my last post, my PC died, for no apparent reason. It just sat there like a big ol' paperweight doing nothing. My immediate panic was about tax records on Microsoft money, and my checking account balances. Then, of course, I couldn't indulge my recent addiction to Facebook. We finally remember that, our son had purchased the extended warranty when he bought us this computer a year or so ago, so I was relieved to think that I'd be back in business after a quick, and free repair. Free, yes. Quick, not so much.

We returned the computer to Best Buy's "Geek Squad" for repairs. Turns out, the Geek Squad doesn't really fix anything. They ship everything to their "repair center", which, I now presume, is in another solar system on the planet Romulus. They tell us it will take 3 weeks or so. "Three weeks!" we exclaim. They give us this look that says, "and you think we don't hear this 9,273 times a day?" So we were excited when they called TWO weeks later and said our computer was back. (See, I think they tell you three weeks so that you think they're wonderful when it's "only" 2 weeks).


We became less excited very quickly. Thank goodness we thought to ask them to test it out in store, because when they did, what happened was.....nothing. Still dead. As dead as they day we dropped it off. So, the friendly-ish "geek" promised to send it back and have it "expedited".


Two more weeks passed. No computer. I called and was told that the "repair que" showed that parts had been ordered. I informed the clerk that two weeks seemed like an awful long time for a returned repair that had supposedly been "expedited". He ever so helpfully offered to have the matter "escalated". Not sure what THAT means, but I was pretty sure it meant I still had no computer, no access to Microsoft Money OR my addictive solitaire games.


A few more days went by, and since our computer had already been "expedited" and "escalated", I wasn't sure what to expect next. Excommunicated? Ex calibrated? Exonerated? Anyway, happily, the "que" showed that it had been shipped.


One month later, the computer is back, all data intact. The checkbook is balanced. Taxes aren't paid, but my excuse is gone. And I can get back to the really important business of working on my Pathwords score on Facebook.