Wildflower Wordless Wednesday

First Day Of Summer

It is official I am in love with summer! We kick off today with it being the first day of summer. Another name is summer solstice.  What I love about today is that it is the longest day of summer and the longest period of daylight.  Of course, it looks like rain instead of blue skies and sunny today!   

I have always loved summer since I have been a little kid. I guess because it meant summer vacation had arrived and sometimes we did go on vacation. We did not take any exotic trips but there were many car trips.  I never liked going anywhere in the car because we never had air conditioning, I was always in the middle of my brothers, and they always had the window seats.  There did come a time when I use to get carsick. I am not sure if it was psychological me being carsick or maybe it was just being in the car with my family. When I was carsick, it usually set the tone for the trip.

We would go to some place in Indiana. I think because of the experiences that I have had I blocked out the location where we stayed. There would always be water and lots of sand and one of my favorite things to do is go swimming. I loved it when it was hot and you would jump into the water and it would be freezing. It was so refreshing!  

We would go swimming and boating which I loved doing.  One trip my brothers scared me with stories of bears being close by our cabin. I envisioned Grizzlies attacking us while we slept. I know I did not sleep at all that week. When I was back in school, I learned bears did not live in Indiana. 

Another time we went to Indianapolis my father took us because he had business there so we made it a work vacation.  My brothers were teaching me how to dive and for the life of me, why my mom allowed them to teach me anything shows she did not have a clue to raising kids. She coated herself in baby oil and lay in the sun being the sun goddess of Indianapolis.  She apparently didn’t think anything could happen until I jumped from the diving board to the side of the pool and clunked my chin several times to help me stop.

I finally stopped my fall with my chin and what a casuality  There was so much blood and this was when people were not afraid of blood.  The crisp blue water now was now the picture of the red sea.

After about 100 stitches, okay so I am exaggerating a bit. There were only about twenty-three stitches my chin looked trussed up and ready for Thanksgiving dinner.   

Before the stitches, it was a free time in my life with no cares and no worries.  Not anymore I still love the water but very careful around diving boards.

I still love summer and it is my favorite season…

Happy summer ~

Father's Day

Hey, it is Fathers Day and that is one more day that we honor the men in our lives. Our own Father or stepfathers or grandfathers and the man who is the father of our children.

It is a day that dad should be appreciated and we should shower him with kindness and love but it is somewhat silly to do that when let’s be serious isn’t that what we always do with our husbands or at least fake it? I mean to make a special meal, isn’t that what we have been doing all our married lives at dinnertime.

I woke up to my husband cooking which he loves to do but I could not tell you what he was making. Then he switched to cooking pancakes and bacon. I told him I would cook but he enjoys cooking so I want him to be happy. Well, two hours later I cleaned the kitchen and really have just had enough of Fathers Day for another year.

My husband is mowing the lawn, which he seems to take great pleasure in, and who am I to take that away from him. My lot in life is to make him happy and so far my job is done for today. For Fathers Day to give him a tie or soap on a rope just will not do. He usually finds contentment in dickering around in the yard and usually does jobs that only require one and to see him that gratified gives me joy! He will come in later shower and sit in front of the TV remote in his hand and he will be a happy man. I love the small pleasures in life, don’t you? Do I know how to treat my man on Fathers Day?

To all of our men in our lives Happy Fathers Day! Here is a special quote,
“Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad.”

Reverence

When I go to church, I want to spend sometime in church, have some quiet time with God and talk, and pray. I might like to tell him Thanks for all the great things in my life. There might be a few issues I might want to ask for some guidance but I just want some alone time to meditate my thoughts.


When I went to church recently what I saw made me stop and just stare. I was sitting in church and there was a blue light coming from down the aisle. I looked down and saw this woman and blue light was coming from where she was sitting. On a closer look, I saw it was coming from the woman’s lap and then an as I peered closer I saw this woman texting in church. It was not only a distraction to me but irritating. I am usually not one to judge so I thought okay maybe an emergency and this could not be helped. On closer inspection, this woman did not stop texting the whole time we were in mass. Now, I understand we are all busy in our lives but if you cannot find one hour not to be on your cell texting and in church than there is something obviously wrong here. Who could she have been texting to....God? What I found even stranger than this was this woman did not see anything wrong with what she was doing. I found this bizarre.


Speaking of bizarre, I went to church for one of the children’s masses and there was a woman who walked in carrying a tall coffee. I realize our church is modern and our church has a lot of open space but it certainly does not look like a Starbucks. I was waiting for the priest to say, “Would you like a Veinte with the Homily”


Don’t you love when people coming back from receiving the Eucharist and they sit down and begin talking instead of saying a prayer as we were taught or when it is the sign of the peace and everybody thinks it is social hour.


It is scary that going inside church has become a social circle. I remember as a child genuflecting when you came in to mass and kneeling saying a prayer, sitting until mass began. You were in a sacred vessel. You did not speak at all unless you were answering the priest.


I went to a communion at another parish recently. The church is set up where you face people across from you. Kind of like a rotunda. After communion, I saw a Eucharistic minister drinking down wine and snacking on the Eucharist. I felt I was at a wine tasting party and Pringles were the entrée. It was ridiculous! I had never seen anything like that.


I love the people who leave after communion. What is the big hurry to leave and not get the blessing from the Priest? Is it they have to be the first ones out of the crowded parking lot?


When did church become a place for the paparazzi? Why do People take pictures in church?


My question for today is what has happened with church today that there is such a lack of reverence?

Dating Again

I have been married so long that I cannot even count the years. At least I can say though I have been married all these years to the same man.  I have a friend who has been married for 20 years and the reason her relationship has lasted so long is that she was involved with more than one person. 

She is now into dating again and I have to say thinking about dating again gives me the heebee geebies. It would be terrifying to me!

I cannot even begin to understand how I would go about dating if I were single.  To actually have to think about flirting again…I mean what would I flirt about the only thing in my vocabulary lately is TV shows my kids watch which are icarly, code lyoko, total drama island. You can see the conversation would be titillating to say the least. To actually carry on a conversation with a male adult for several hours without mentioning my kids would be impossible.

I do not know if I could survive dating all over again. The thought of getting dressed up to impress a man with my fashion sense would be hysterical and to not be able to wear my jeans would be a big step in my life.

When I think of dating, it would be like a job interview you show the date your resume an as many years as I have being married I know right there I am overqualified for this relationship and let’s be honest here, would I be silly enough to want to do the marriage thing again?

What is with online dating?  Who in their right mind would trust talking in a chat room or on the internet talking to perfect strangers?  Like we are that naive to believe we are really talking to the guy who sends his picture of himself and he looks exactly like George Clooney. Yeah, that sounds like fun dating!

What is scary is all that Match.Com out there that you see advertised.  Do you really want a computer to match you up to your soul mate?  Sounds a little whimsical, doesn’t it?

I have heard those speed-dating places where you have 7 minutes of conversation with someone and then a bell is rung, and the man moves on to meet the next date. It is called a flirting version of musical chairs. Would these 7 minutes be for talking?  Do I really need 7 minutes to tell me this guy is a real psycho in 5 minutes? 

The thought of dating keeps me happy that I am married because to have to go out and have to date again would take too much work….

Wild Wordless Wednesday

Sketch by Alexis Kelsch

Rainy Days

Do you like hearing the raindrops striking against your window?  To me it is a calming sound when it is raining so lightly. The melody of the rain is soothing and can put you in a mellow mood or even back to sleep.

Why does the rain make us docile where we do not feel like doing anything not even getting out of bed?  I often think it would be a great day to blow off and do nothing.

My kids say that rainy days make them feel bored and tired. Of course, they would be the first ones outside dancing in the rain doing a happy dance in a downpour. 

When it is raining, I feel like curling up with a good book or a movie preferably a romance.  Why is that? 

I know people who love the rain and love thunderstorms. Rain sometimes makes people blue and no pun intended under the weather.

Why does the rain affect our moods where we feel like slugs?  I usually feel lazy and my mood is more somber than usual. When I see it raining, I think of big tears coming down from the sky.

Not only does rain play with us psychology, but also physically as well where we wake up with a headache or achiness all over and we just feel like doing nothing.

I love when it rains a light drizzles and the sun is still shining.  Those are my favorite rain showers.

I know we need the rain to make things green and grow and I do love how it smells when it rains. I love the next day after it rains everything seems so clean and not to sound cliché but a new beginning. 

I just wish we did not have to have any rainy days….

Kismet

When you think of Kismet, you think of words like fate, luck, fortune, and destiny.  When I think of this word, I think of a friend of mine who is named Susie. She is such a witty, fun loving easygoing kind of gal and I am proud to be her friend.

She and I have met several years ago at a writing convention and we just hit it off immediately.  It is like one of those friendships that just click.  We were on the same agenda in trying to get an agent to love our book.  Needless, to say that dream has kept our friendship alive.

Susie is a writer and she has written a book.  However, she says her book is still mocking her from her shelf.  She has a blog and I am sure you have heard of it and it is called Motherhoot.com.  Her tagline is Moaning, Groaning and Laughing about Family Life. She writes funny and she reminds me a bit of Janet Evanovich whom we both adore. 

Susie keeps telling me that she wants to be like the Blogress, which is one of her favorite blogs. She says this woman is funny and makes her cry.  I want to tell Susie that she already is the Blogress.  After you read Susie’s blog, you will know what I mean.  Susie writes funny and is witty.  She has such a natural and pleasant way about her.

She has already won an award for her Motherhoot blog and very close to being number one best blog very soon.  She has a segment on her blog about writing and she has even reviewed books on her blog.  She is now doing recipes on her blog and I hate to say it but she is putting Rachael Ray to shame.  No wonder she has so many followers on her blog and so many friends.  She is on twitter and on facebook too.

I feel it was kismet that brought us together and serendipity that made us friends.

 

Chain Letters

Are you tired of getting those emails that tell you if you do not send this email on to 12 people that you will die or not have any good fortunate?

I dislike getting those emails immensely, because I don’t want to read them for one and secondly if I read them I feel compelled to send them on because if I don’t, who knows I might have doom and gloom in my life forever. I laugh at the ones that proclaim that if you answer in 12 minutes 12 good things will happen to you.  I get a kick out of the ones that if you send it to one person this will happen and if you send it on to five this will happen.  How ridiculous!  I just want to meet the genius who began this nonsense.

These emails are like the old fashion chain letters that I detested back when.  I remember getting a chain letter back in grammar school and I had a friend who insisted I write the letter ten times and send it on to ten friends.  Even back then, I disliked these kinds of letters and my friend who was very superstitious sent it for me because I was going to be doomed.  Of course, what was funny we kept sending the letter to the same ten friends.

So, why is this new kick in emails today?  Is it because we are truly superstitious or is it that we want to believe in something so badly? Do we want to take the chance to feel lucky and that maybe we will have good fortune? Have we become this gullible that it would be this easy for something good to happen to us?  

I want to know especially since email began why we are led like sheep to feel the need to send these kinds of emails on. Why do we do this so mindlessly as if we are obligated to send these kinds of email to everyone we know?

I would love someone to send me an email to say, Hi, I was thinking about you today and you are wonderful!  Send that on to 12 people you want to make smile today! Wouldn’t that be a nice email to receive and if you chose to you may send it on?

I know if you are superstitious, this is nothing to laugh at. I am not a superstitious person nor have I ever been. I just think these kinds of emails are silly and a waste of my time.

I would love to know how many of you get these emails and send them on or do you do what I do and spam them immediately?

Doctor's Visit

When you go to the doctors, don’t you think they should get us well immediately?

I have been under the notion when I go to the doctor they will make me well.  I have been not feeling that well for about a week.  It began with a headache and then congestion and then a dry cough.  I know it sounds like a cold but it isn’t. I don’t have any other symptoms at all.  I do not usually get sick as a rule.  I cannot tell you the last time I have had the flu probably when I was in grammar school.

I finally bit the bullet and went to my doctor.

My doctor is a giant compared to my petite stature.  He does not wear the familiar white coat to separate him from the patients.  He told me his reasoning was not to scare the patients.  He stands about 6’7 and that is scary in itself.

I must admit he does have a great bedside manner.  He begins with looking on the computer for all the notes the nurse has taken.  This just makes me crazy that he doesn’t ask me what is going on and I can tell him and save him the time of looking up what I just told the nurse.  He talks a few minutes about non-consequential stuff.  Then he gets right to the matter of my visit.  He does check my throat, my ears, and listens to my back. 

He asks all those silly questions doctors ask, like is this productive cough?  I want to answer that my cough thinks it is productive because it not going anywhere and it is very aggressive and it is annoying. The next silly questions he asks, if I have any aches and pains. I want to just give him a look because don’t you think I would have mentioned that to the nurse and then to him. I felt like I was being interrogated and this was the good cop.

Then he sits down and looks at the computer and starts thrumming on his keyboard, which I am sure he is playing Pac-Man because it is not as if I have a serious disease.  If I could get on his computer and with the Web doctors, I could write my own script and diagnosis myself.

He gave me a prescription of three pills that I was hoping were magical.  Well, I took the number one pill and today, took the number two pill and should have just thrown them out the window as Jack’s mother did and would have been better off with a beanstalk.  They are not magical at all.

I don’t know how I could feel worse since taking the medicine but I do.  I know there are side effects to medicine but do I have to experience all of them.

Why do we treat these doctors, as they are Gods instead of the witch doctors they really are?

Feeling Ferocious Today ~ Wordless Wednesday

sketch by Alexis Kelsch

Summertime

We all remember Alice Cooper singing if you want to call it that, “Schools out for summer” I feel like screaming too when I think of school ending.   

I cannot believe school is ending.  This year flew by and isn’t it amazing that the years are flying by quicker. It is somewhat bittersweet though when you think of school ending because you a had a year of making new friends, new teachers that you have pretty much gotten to know. It has been a year of growing up for your child and watching them become more responsible.  It is fun to see your child make new friendships too.

What do they say be careful what you wish for? 

Let’s face it though when you think of summer, it is really not a vacation for us parents, is it?  I mean let’s be serious it is more of a hassle to have our children home 24 hours a day instead of say a couple hours after school and then the evenings. Now we have a new job this summer and that is to entertain our kids.  You know what I mean the whining begins with "take me here" and "take me there."  Then the ranting starts about two weeks in to the summer that they are bored. I love how kids tell you they do not have to go to bed because it is summer vacation as if they have to remind us of that.  With my kids, they think because it is summer that no rules apply and that there are new summer rules.  I am not sure what those rules are but I am sure I will be informed of those soon.

It is a lot different when we were kids or at least I was a kid we left at 8am in the morning and did not show our faces until dinnertime.  We did not have to call in because there were no cells and we did not get to go into anybody else’s house and play video games. Play dates, what were they? We played outside, played baseball, rode bikes, hung out all day in front of somebody’s stoop or even hung out at the park but it was fun.  Sometimes we went swimming at the beach…yes we could take a bus by ourselves and go to the beach in Chicago.

Do you really think I trust my children to do any of those things alone?  My job in the summer is to be warden. I do make the meals and let the children run around the pen for a while.  I do have them do some activity for awhile but I watch them very closely.  When one of my kids starts with whining or fighting they do get a time out, which is solitary confinement and that, is for at least 10 to 20 minutes.  However, when my kids are really acting up I am pleading for solitary confinement.  

I have a top – security complex where I check the doors and all phones and if need be I confiscate contraband like cell phones, play station, psp, computers games, television because you have to admit some of the television they are watching is eating away at their brain cells.

I have to admit I love seeing my stress free children with no homework, no projects and no worries about school for several months.  They turn into calm fun loving kids not those zombies that walk and talk about school stuff.

We do not have any plans except relax, relax and maybe relax some more so it should be a happy summer!

Happy summer to all of you!