You know you are a grandparent when......

You cut your finger while visiting and the only band aids in the house are Sponge Bob, and you not only know who Sponge Bob is, but that his best friend is Patrick!

You'd rather read bedtime stories to the little one(s) than watch the news.


Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches seem like a pretty good treat----for you!

You have memorized the channel numbers for Nickelodeon, Disney and the Cartoon network.


Your daily workout includes pushing a fairly heavy child on a swing-over and over    again

You can't remember where you put your glasses, car keys, wallet and other things but can
 remember all the childhood songs you sang as a kid

You actually like all the Pixar movies (hey, they are really good) and insist your grandkids watch them with you so you don't feel like a complete dork

You wish you had your own minions (too cute!)

 You can't imagine life without grandkids!!

Life Lessons from Scarlett O'Hara

One of my all time favorite films is the classic, Gone with the Wind.  My mother took to me see a revival at a local movie theater when I was a young girl and it impressed me immediately.  I loved Scarlett, her grit, spunk and determination were all qualities I had yet to acquire in my young life.

I learned some life lessons from the film and have incorporated several into my own life. These include:

1 -  You can waste a lot of time loving the wrong man.

2. - Men will always be susceptible to a woman's wiles.  I don't care how much things change, this never will.  Ladies - use it wisely, it can be a powerful tool.

3. - You can look good in just about anything. It is all about attitude and carriage. Clothes are only an accessory,

4. - With grit and determination, you can achieve just about anything.  Including finding the man of your dreams, even if you don't know it at the time.

5. Tomorrow is ALWAYS another day.  So when things aren't going your way, just stomp your foot, declare "Fiddle, Dee, Dee" and carry on to tomorrow when you have a chance to start all over!

STORAGE WARS

Given the number of storage facilities cropping up around town, I know I am not alone in needing extra space to store my precious items, ie: 'junk'. Unfortunately, the neat, orderly array of such items has quickly devolved into a huge jumble of boxes, bicycle, tubs of off season clothes, furniture and haphazard items, many of which I wonder why I am keeping at all. The other day I had to go into the storage space to find something and was reminded of the closing scene from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (see above). I climbed over things, on top of  things and dug around under things and still couldn't find what I was looking for.  I began to feel like I was looking for the lost Ark in the huge government warehouse.

I wonder what our propensity is for keeping things we don't really need or use but cannot part with. I have often heard others lament that they "just know if they throw it away, they will need it the next day".  UnfortunatelyI have such items that I have not used in several years, yet am certain I cannot live without.  Some of these include shoes I can no longer wear but have such wonderful memories attached I hang on to them. Sigh, the lost days of the stilleto heels. 

Of course, there is always the chance that I will become so famous the Smithsonian will one day pay my children huge sums for all my old crap to be displayed in their museum. Yeah, right.

But then, if everyone constantly threw away old stuff, where would museums be?

I have been able to pretty much downsize my life and stuff in the past few years, but somehow things still accumulate.  If you haven't seen it, I recommend the wonderful George Carlin's take on "stuff":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac&feature=player_detailpage

We really have to all just remember: "It's just STUFF!!!"

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and grandmothers, past, present and future!  Today is a day full of memories for me.  Memories of my own mother, whom I miss still after all these years she has been gone from my life.  Memories of my daughter; all the special times we spent together as she was growing up and turning into the beautiful woman I am so proud of today. Memories of my grandson (above), and the special times we have.

I remember as a child running to mom with some hurt or casualty, being enveloped in loving arms and, knowing without a doubt that somehow she would make it all right.   Somehow, she always did. I remember my grandmother, my own "Nana" teaching me to bake, something I still enjoy.  I remember being so loved by these women that they were a shining example to me when I became a mother.  They truly gave me their best and I hope that I lived up to their expectations.

I now look back on the days when my daughter was small and I could cuddle her on my lap, of days of bouncing curls and giggles and wide eyes full of new discoveries.  Some days I miss that kid, but of course all children grow up and I love the woman she has become. Now I am a "Nana" myself--having chosen to be called the same name as my wonderful grandmother in her honor. Being a grandmother lets me relive those special times now with my grandson. He is still little enough for cuddle time with nana and I enjoy watching him as he discovers all that is special  in this world.


Being a mother and a grandmother has been one of the most wonderful things in my life.  Having a child and then a grandchild has made my world so much fuller.

Today I honor those wonderful women who used their love to mold me into the woman I became. I honor my daughter and the loving, giving woman she has become.  I can look back on the generations who have gone before and look forward to those generations carrying on into the future, the love of our family, and see that love continue to grow and unfold.  That is the legacy of mothers, we send our love into the future and somehow live on through the generations that follow.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone on this day to celebrate the love of family!

Car keys and the 60 year old

It seems everyone over 60 is complaining that they can't find their car keys.  Billy Crystal recently wrote a biography wherein he opens the book looking for his car keys and ends it when he finds them.  Somehow, this isn't funny.  I know people who spend a good deal of their time looking for their car keys (among other things).  I really don't understand this problem as I always know where my keys are, even though I am quickly approaching that special age where, apparently, you lose keys.

I find keeping track of car keys easy.  For those of you who need some help in this department, here are a few suggestions:

1 - always put them in the same place when you come into the house: a hook by the door, on the foyer table, mantle piece, etc.

2 - keep them with other things that you will always take with you when you leave the house: your wallet, purse, coat, brain.

3 - put the largest key chain you can find on them and they should be easy to find: like this fellow:

I

I bet he can find his keys even after several of those beverages!

So, really, being able to find your car keys isn't that difficult, even for those of us who are "memory challenged".

Now, I just need to find a way, other than setting off the alarm, to find my car in store parking lots.

Planners vs Wingers

In life there are generally two kinds of people. I call them: Planners and Wingers.  Planners are people who like to, well, plan things out. Wingers are people who tend to fly by the seat of their pants.  I am definitely one of the Planners, but then in my family we are all a little OCD and like things neat, tidy and arranged.  But, we all have friends, relatives and even husbands who are Wingers. Marriage between a Planner and a Winger can be an interesting balancing act or a disastrous mismatch.

I firmly believe in the "5 P's Principle" - Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.  I like to know what is going to happen, when, where, how, etc.  For me a good plan helps create success in life.
Planners are people who choose a career and stick with it, set aside money for retirement, and rarely get lost. Planners don't like surprises, good or bad, but particularly not bad. They tend to think that giving up on good surprises is worth the cost of not having to deal with bad surprises.We feel  life will throw you enough curve balls on its own without creating them yourself.

Wingers, on the other hand, tend to enjoy life without the worry of thinking ahead and hope that things just go right for them.  Wingers often chafe at Planners, declaring them stuffy and boring. Wingers are more spontaneous and enjoy the good surprises in life. Unfortunately, they tend to experience more bad surprises and when this happens, run to us Planners asking for help. We use these opportunities to utter the infamous phrase "I told you so".

Most great accomplishments by mankind have been done by Planners.  After all, you can't accidentally get to the moon.  But to give them their due, Wingers have contributed their share of discoveries, after all Columbus was looking for a new route to India when he discovered America. Except that he didn't actually set foot on the North American continent. He actually discovered the Caribbean and we can thank him for all inclusive resorts and rum.

I believe that all great men and women have been Planners. I'm sure our founding fathers were Planners as they developed a great plan for how our country should be run. Unfortunately, the Wingers are running it amok. But let's not go there right now.

Well, I'm off to plan my day.

Fall from grace

 

It finally happened, I fell down. After years of watching the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials and, feeling that I would NEVER be that woman, I have become her.  Recently while negotiating a simple set of three steps, I lost my balance and proceeded to feel my legs crumple under me as I headed for the concrete sidewalk.

Somehow as I was falling, I felt that I was doing it in slow motion.  Overcome by emotions including panic and disbelief, I was extremely conscious that I was going to definitely fall onto the walkway.  First my knee hit, scraping the skin off. Then my shoulder hit followed by my head which actually bounced off the hard surface of the sidewalk. If falls were rated by talent judges, I think I would have received high marks for my three point landing.

The running commentary in my head went something like this:

Oh No! I am going to fall! No, I can't be doing this!The the "other" voice who lives in my head added: get your feet under you, idiot.
I can't!
Come on, don't do this!
I can't help it, I am falling. 
You are such a ditz.

Then I was laying on the ground, feeling like a very old woman, ok I am reaching that age but really I am not THAT old!

Luckily, I didn't break any bones or seriously injure anything, other than my dignity.