Yikes

For the first time since I started blogging, I forgot to post something one day. Suddenly yesterday came and went and no blog. Is this a symptom of my advancing age? Or simply a result of an extremely busy time in my life. Between being sick all week and having the family arrive from Pennsylvania, I must have been a bit overwhelmed.  At least...I hope that's what it was.

This is post number 1852 which means I've been writing this blog for nearly six years now. Every once in awhile I think I really have nothing else to say, or I feel as though I'm repeating myself, but the reason I started this blog always comes back to me - its my therapy. It helps me to verbalize my thoughts and work through them. It's easier to vent about traffic than succumb to road rage. And I even keep a private blog so I can rant about personal things that I would never make public in consideration of the people I may mention.....they shall forever remain anonymous!

Well, so yesterday shall forever be a blogless day. Not that it wasn't memorable, because it was, but I have a week ahead to talk about the things I did in retrospect. And so I shall!

Down - but not out

I spent two days on my couch earlier this week. An allergy became a respiratory infection and suddenly I felt as though I'd been run over by a truck. I think it's the worst I've felt since chemotherapy four year ago.

So I took to the couch and rested, intermittently sleeping and paying video games,watching television, and reading when my eyes weren't hurting. It was a boring two days and it reminded me why I am one of those people who likes to stay in motion.

It's the same thing that makes a vacation at the beach uninteresting to me. I could spend a day or two on a good book but after that I'd go stir crazy without something to do. I like to sightsee and shop and get to know any neighborhood I visit.

I have to be pretty sick to stay at home. It's just not in my nature to sit around all day. Not that I'm not a lazy person because I certainly can be guilty of that, but I have my limits. It might be a result of my mothers work ethic - she rarely sat and read a magazine! But whatever the reason, being home made me once again appreciate my health and ability to move. May I never take it for granted!!!

Rain rain rain

I've always loved the sound of the rain. I have no desire to live in Seattle, but occasionally I do love a good soaker.

Last week we had a tropical storm blow through - the first of the new hurricane season - and I found myself dealing with a touch of insomnia at midnight. It was a nice cool night and I was sufficiently tired, but sleep was elusive so the sounds of the passing storm were background for my thoughts as I lay in bed trying to fall back to sleep.

I especially like the sound the water makes as it pours from the gutters onto the deck below my bedroom windows. The constant flow of it, accompanied by the staccato of the heavy raindrops pounding the house, is soothing in its steady rhythm. Don't ask me why I couldn't sleep with such a great, relaxing background - but it was enjoyable to listen to in my sleepless state in any case.

We had 4 inches of rain fall that night and at times the filed across from my house was ore like a lake than a green, but my newly planted pots on the deck were happy and we won't have to water the new privet for a few days either. Eventually the sounds of the night did put me back to sleep but not before I said a little prayer of thanks for the sounds of creation just tipping its hat at the world.

Brides

I have to say if I've learned one thing by watching television its that I'm very glad didn't go into the bridal business. Which is odd because I've always thought I'd like to be a wedding planner or own a bridal shop. After all, I loved planning my own wedding and helping with each of my childrens'. But....

There are a number of shows on television right now that center on the bridal business. There are shows that take place in bridal salons, and show that follow horrific brides in the days leading up to their weddings when stress is high and manners in short supply. And honestly, I don't think I could handle the people.

Which is a life lesson, really.  I may love bridal gowns and weddings and all the trappings of such an exciting occasion. But the people that are attached to them....well...that's another whole issue.

Eyes

I've always liked eyes. I don't know it they are truly the window to the soul as someone has suggested, but they certainly are a magnetic part of a person's face. And I've never been partial to any one color - I find them all beautiful.

Now that I have grandchildren its fun watching their eye colors change as they get older. Some started out bright blue but have mellowed to a softer one. Others are now more hazel, and still others becoming that deep brown that dances in the light. Each is distinctly their own, all different shades and certainly reflecting their personalities as they twinkle and shine with mischief.

My own eyes are a cross between blue and green and my husband's are brown. We had only one of four children with brown eyes - the others all have various shade of blue/green. So now the grandchildren are also displaying the same genetics as the differences are sprinkled throughout each family. Genetics aside, none of them has the same eye color as we do - some have my shape and his color, some their father's shape and my color, but none has them in the same combinations. I love the way our genes get put into a virtual blender and come out in so many interesting ways.

Eyes. Truly one of my favorite facial features.

The sandlot

We've been attending a lot of Little League games lately - with grandsons aged 8 and 10 I guess that's inevitable. But I've found one of the most interesting things at the games is the conversations among the adults about how different baseball is for our grandchildren.

When we were kids the boys spent all their free time playing sandlot ball. In the fall it was football. In the spring it was baseball. They would meet at the local ball field on Saturday mornings, or after school, and play for hours. They learned baseball inside and out, watching it - or more than likely listening to it on the radio - religiously. When we had recess at school, there was always a ball game involved for the boys.

For our children it was becoming less of an obsession. A changing society forced us to keep our children closer to home. Communities became more spread out (few children live in the village anymore where they can walk or bike to a ball field). And more options were presented. They began offering lacrosse and soccer for instance at school.

Now the world of baseball is even more removed from them. They have technology - computers, video games, tablets - to entertain them. Baseball is a slow game - no short attention spans there! Kids today don't know the game the way they used to. They need to be taught the fine points of where the play is and how to catch a grounder. They don't have the instincts that come with familiarity.

I'm not sure where "America's pastime" is headed, but it's certainly no longer in the sandlots and playgrounds of our neighborhoods.

Rewards

I am a sucker for games of chance. It's a wonder I'm not broke.

Fortunately I'm not a "gambler" in the sense that I don't play cards or travel to Atlantic city to play the slots. Those things can be addictive and I know I have an addictive personality. It is rare that we spend money on a lottery ticket or a raffle. I can probably thank you very tight budget for that - a lifetime of watching every penny helps!

No, my biggest weakness is the label on a cereal box or bag of candy that says "Win $10,000....". Just last week I needed to buy a bag of m&ms for my daughter so I stopped in to CVS to pick up the needed item. A I approached the counter I spied the m&ms and immediately realized there was something different about the bag. I grabbed one off the shelf and there it was! If the bag is full of all back m&ms I would win $100,000! Wow! The things I could do with $100,000! Now I had a dilemma - how many bags should I buy? And if I buy multiple bags, what if I give her the one that has all the black m&ms? And mine didn't? Oy vey!

My better judgement prevailed and I bought only two bags. Once home I opened one and naturally, there were multicolored candies in it. So now - the next dilemma - how to keep myself from opening the other bag...just in case!

I  managed to control myself. But if I find out later that the other bag was full of black m&ms there will be hell to pay!