Rain rain go away...

Rain rain go away come again another day (like June or July...August)

It's January!  We had a lovely little blanket of snow until this rainy weirdly warm weather swath has hit us.  Apparently in the still weird weather world, we have cold temps coming again this weekend.  Cold temps I am definitely looking forward to having back.  I love the season changes.  My favorites remain fall and winter.  My favorites have always been fall and winter.  When we lived in the South I still loved fall and winter.  It dipped below 100 then.

I'm listening to the rain now and thinking how perfect this would be if only it were spring or summer with this rain.  I am mentally conjuring up a 3' deep blizzard.  A blizzard worthy of Rudolph. A blizzard worthy of my current stock of toilet paper....I did buy some didn't I?  Hmm must check toilet paper reserves before colder temps hit again!  I also need to pick up some vegetables too...frozen of course (i digress)

I am imagining snow forts, snowmen, snow angels, snowflakes falling fat and lazy to the ground or lofting gently downward.  The hush of a snow blanketed night, that somehow almost magical stillness.  The absolute hush that makes you want to hide the sounds of your breathing lest you disturb it.  That mystical look of a frozen wood.  Icicles, snow cloaked trees standing atop a blanket of white.  Broken candles on a giant's birthday cake.

See how much I love snow???  Snow is amazing.  Rain makes noise, snow muffles it...but both are best suited to a lovely grey day.

It's not a sin

Growing up Southern lots of things were sins.  Fortunately hair dye was NOT a sin.  Neither was Covergirl, Maybelline, Revlon...etc.  Wet n Wild might have been a sin...it sounded like too much fun.  Jeans weren't a sin, high heels were expected, listening to the Commodores, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie..all that was normal.  Most church families hid whiskey away and only had it in hot toddies or delicious recipes calling for rum, despite the fact that every Sunday we were singing a song about wine or learning that Jesus made wine.  We sung the song Come and Dine. (a personal favorite, I was a fat child)

come and dine, the Master calleth, come and dine
you may feast at Jesus' table all the time
he who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine
to the hungry calleth now, come and dine

Yet we were routinely told that drinking was a sin, bars were bad...etc.

It was years (and many cocktails under my belt) before those words in the song sunk in.  Drinking was never a sin.  Drunkenness was.  I don't believe it was one drunken night that was a sin.  I believe the drunkenness sin meant when you put that before all else.  Before children, family, finances...when drinking becomes the only thing in life.  But being raised in the church I was struggling with all those years of sinning (yes I was finally trashy!!!)

I still don't have a healthy relationship with drinking.  I don't do it nearly often enough!  I actually rarely drink.  I am a much better mother after a drink or two.  I am also in less pain after a drink or two.  I had a glass or several of wine this week, my son drove me absofreakinglutely up a wall!  I was ready to mince him for dinner and tell my husband that he had run away for better parents.  My husband would have believe it.  We've been expecting him to take out want ads for better parents for years now. So far he keeps biding his time with us.  He even asks how long he can live at home...as in during college and beyond.  We fear he may not entirely hate us yet.  We may not be punitive enough.  So when darling dearest child of mine was being insolent this week and I had had a very bad day...I lost it (again) but rather than yell too much I had a glass (tumbler) or two (three) of wine....ok about a bottle.  I was in a much more mellow mood.  It was later, while singing Come and dine in the bathtub (I told you I had wine) that I realized that we should have been drinking wine all along!  Jesus made it!  I vowed I would try to drink when I feel like homicide.

I think we should all do our best to keep to the 10 commandments.  Drinking isn't one but murder is. If you see me in the store with several gallons of wine or vodka....I am only doing my part to be a better parent and to keep the 10 commandments.

I'm being lame......(pun intended)

This is a non-event event.  It doesn't require you to go anywhere, buy anything, put yourself out...nothing.  Just simply be yourself, celebrate yourself in all your glory, honor someone else in word or deed.  If you can't commit to that day...then please try to commit to another day.  It really is uplifting, and gives new appreciation for simply feeling, being, doing what you can do.

Who?    You

What?   Come As You Are (nifty cool name of event)

When?   Feb 11 All day

Where?  Your own special spot on the globe

Why?     Because I never knew what I had until I found out I'd lost parts of it (got screwed up)

All of us has some ability we take for granted. Sight, sound, smell, touch, reading, walking, talking, etc.

This is important to me and I would like for you to take this day to revel in your own uniqueness, sameness or ability. Celebrate what you would like to celebrate about yourself and celebrate something you can do that someone else can't do in honor of them. Change can happen in a flash or slowly creep up and you just don't know what you have until it's gone...so celebrate yourself

Ideas;

sing a song and think of a friend

read a story with a blind friend in mind

tie your shoes in honor of a friend who can't

feel the grass on your toes for someone who can't

if you can afford to give something, donate a bag of food to a pantry

leave change in a vending machine

smile at someone

help someone reach something on a shelf

enjoy learning in school in honor of someone who doesn't have that luxury

pet a cat for a friend

bake something

Then do something totally selfish. Enjoy a favorite meal, dessert, movie, manicure, reward yourself for your uniqueness, quirkiness ...etc.

Since someone made fun of my desire to celebrate a life changing event I thought I would skip it this year.  I decided that we should all be grateful at least one day for something very mundane.  I’m doing it a week late, but it doesn’t really matter what day it happens as long we take the time to enjoy what we have.  

Cleanliness is next to what?

I am one of the most difficultly organized people I know.  I try to organize myself, but something happens.  I never am sure what that something is.  For instance I will organize the cabinets in the kitchen.  I expect the guys to keep things organized as they put things away.  I try to put away groceries and before I know it, it looks like the cabinets have thrown up.  I am under a mountain of canned goods resenting the mess I've had to clean up because that one can wasn't in the right spot!  Yet I can walk past the same empty toilet roll for a week on the floor and never see it.

I exaggerate.  It isn't that bad, not now.  It was bad at times in the past.  I was physically unable to put away the groceries or a scene out of Mommy Dearest could end up playing out.  My husband is just as bad.  He feels this need to "put" things places.  My night stand...for one hour only...there was half an allergy pill in the plastic blister from the package.  I left it there to give to the kitty the next morning.  I went to put the pill in my drawer.  It was gone!  My husband "couldn't stand looking at it" so he threw it away!!??  "Plastic makes me angry"  WTH??  Did I marry an insane man?  Yet the stuff on his night stand is perfectly ok.  The "put-er" part would be ok if he were a put-er AND a rememberer.  He is a put-er and a forgeter!  "Honey where is the pack of lightbulbs I left on the counter?   I don't know.  What do you mean you don't know?  It means I don't know.  Why are you asking me?  I am asking you because you moved them.  No I didn't. Well, unless they sprouted wings and flew somewhere you did.  I don't know, look for them."  I could and have literally screamed!  6 months later they turn up in his suitcase or some other odd location.  He wonders how they got there.  I wonder where I will put them.

"How can you live like this? The can labels are all the wrong way!  You don't love me!" ~ actual comment from my husband's insane wife.  (me)  Same wife can ignore a pile of pillows in the corner because I just don't see them until I really stop and look around me.  Until I look for flaws or inconsistencies.  I just don't see them.  Some inconsistencies and mistakes are SO obvious.  Like all the red or all the black knives being in the same row or not being in some sort of pattern.  But a pile of pillows?  What kind of person notices that?  Totally bananas right?

I think all of us is slightly crazy in our own way.  I have to go organize fork tines.  That may actually be a hobo in the corner and not pillows upon second glance.  Oh well, I'll just ask my husband where he put the hobo he's sure to know.