Tales From A Country Road

     I'm a city girl by nature.  For the greater part of my childhood we lived in a little mexican neighborhood.  On the weekends, the street vendors were abundantly scattered throughout the main roads.  You could find on any given corner someone selling the greatest mexican snacks you could ask for.  There were palletas (mexican popsicles) in every kind of flavor you could think of.   People had little rolling carts with Elotes (corn on the cob) smothered in butter and cheese and chili powder.  I could go on forever.  As a kid, we would hop on the city bus and head to the downtown beach were we hung out all day.  We would be burnt to a crisp while my ma would cake on the noxema....really? noxema?...no sunscreen just stinky white cream after the burn fest...well, it was the 70's.

     Later years moved me into the suburbs, less congested but still close to everything.  My move to the suburbs is where my love for Big Daddy began.  After years of married life, our lives took us further and further from the city limits to the place I now call home.  I have called the country my home for over 10 years now.  I have grown to love it, although I wasn't sure if I ever would.  I love the quietness and the roaming space.  I love my clothesline and watching everything wave in the breeze.  I don't like to actually hang the laundry, but the kids are pretty good at it, so I'll just watch them hang it :)  We've recently got a couple of good rains so I've been watching the same load dry for about 2 days.  The "grannies" blowing around on the line are making me self conscious, thank God only my clan has shared my view out the back window. 

     Here we are, the real reason for this post.  As you have previously read, I would consider myself  a pretty well adjusted country girl.  (Side note.....Big Daddy got a cowboy hat last summer....that awakened feelings in me I didnt know existed....wait did I just write that?  anyhoo,  girls...if your man doesnt already have a cowboy hat, I suggest you run right out and get one).   Ok,  where was I?  So, Im driving down my country road minding my own business and  I run over something in the road.  It wasnt an animal or bird as you might suspect although I have been known to go into a mild depression after hitting birds and once a racoon.  It was small, and  wait.....was that a knife?!   I circle around to check thinking of the new tires I just got in the winter and think "oh great !  then.....oh hey, I'll give it to Big Daddy, he'll love it".   Yup, it was an OPEN pocketknife,  my imagination kicks in.   Why was there a knife in the middle of the road?!  Did someone unknowingly drop it or was it part of a bigger scheme?!  My mind races,  so I did what any illogical person would do who has watched one to many crime dramas....I called the police.  Yes, I know what your'e thinking...My man thought the same thing as he just shook his head in embarrasement.  The dispatcher assured me that someone must have dropped it and its ok to just throw it away...ok, tragedy averted, my mind is again at ease.

     I never did tell you about the box turtle that wanted to fight me on the road.  Yesterday, we're driving down yet another country road and I pass a turtle in the road.  We were excited and then nervous because of impending doom if an unsuspecting car sent this little dude to his maker.  Do I keep driving?  No way!  I pull over, tell the kids to stay in the car, and approach the turtle to pick him up, show the kids then carefully put him in the grass.  Now before you start to worry, be assured that there were no other cars around at the time so all was good.  As I get closer to the turtle he begins to run,  yes, you read right...run.  Then he began to hiss...I should have stopped chasing him but I didnt and I barely could touch him as he escaped my grasp.  How sad that a turtle whooped my rear end in a race.  I hang my head low in defeat as I get back in the car and drive away .  Now, just to find some hand sanitizer........

    

Aging Gracefully...(Subtitled....Embracing Gravity)

     Lately I read a quote from a very admired lady that said something like, " I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls ".  Which thrilled me for about a half a second.  At first I was all, " According to Ms. Hepburn, I am extremely wonderful to look upon ! "  because I'm a pretty happy person as happy goes, well, except when I'm not ....oh yeah, then there's those couple days a month when  I walk the hormonal tightrope.  That delicate balance between tyranny and tears....I'll save that for a later post.

     What does gravity have to do with aging you might wonder to yourself.  I appreciate gravity as much as the next person.  I enjoy not floating away without notice. Gravity is  fantastic, just not when it comes to the aging process.  So how does one age gracefully aside from the obvious fixes like nips, tucks creams, serums and sit ups?  The Good Book tells us that our beauty is not just in our appearance but in our inner beauty that is of great value in God's sight.  That is not to say we let the outside go to pot, we just gotta remember to "groom" the inside.  Let's take time to care for our hearts and our minds. 

     My goal is to nourish my inside and work on my outside.  Being comfortable in my own skin instead of wishing it looked like someone else's.   Being  less critical of the flaws and not resentful of  "gravity".   I have noticed at the times I feel my worst is when I'm most annoyed with other people.  When I feel all is well with my soul, those are the moments I find it easiest to forgive and care for the folks around me.  Anyway, I say all that to say,  I guess I do agree that happy girls are the prettiest girls.......

All Things Potty

     There is a straw that will break the camels back.  That proverbial straw in my case is the public toilet.  I never thought public restrooms would become such an important part of my life.  It seems I barely gave them a second thought until about my 7th month of pregnancy.  This, I think, may be actually my third post about restrooms, I suppose I might be obsessed.  Maybe, obsessed is too strong of a word....I'll leave that up to you.

     Lets go back to the beginning.  When I was huge with baby,  I became very aware of where the closest toilet was in all of my surroundings.  I could tell you without a doubt in which store you may find cleanliness and comfort.  My favorites were the ones where the walls in each stall reached to the ceiling like an impenetrable fortress. One where there was mood lighting and catchy music in which to sing along on a whim.  Later, my next favorites where the ones with the little sinks and changing tables in the big stalls.  I could drive my giant stroller into the spacious room of refuge and take care of my wailing, poopy baby in peace.

     Enough of the "nice" bathrooms, as they were far and few between.  One of my most fond memories was having to nurse my then infant daughter on the floor of the Kmart as she wailed and I clumsily tried to balance her on my knee as I leaned on the toilet, only to then resort to sitting on the floor as far away from the commode as possible.  It wasn't like now where you could pretty much whip out your "unmentionable" in public to feed your baby while people try not to stare.   I'll  never forget the store associate at my nearest department store telling me "You cant do that in here" as I tried to take care of my new son in their cafe.  I did report her but it didn't alter the world or anything.  Flash forward, potty training.  There's nothing quite like your toddler touching the toilet seat then grabbing at your face as you try to help them with their clothes, especially in the summer.

     Potty training is now behind us as we now have 3 graduated conductors of the potty train.  Now, the biggest challenge is the strong, exhortation to put paper on the seats, because they're full of germs and PLEASE, PLEASE  for the love of all that is holy...don't forget to wash your hands !!   You know the paper toilet protector is pretty much worthless in my opinion since it takes about 2 minutes to actually situate them on the seat.   Then, people like to "hover" .....well, great!  "hover" till your hearts content, but can you at least wipe up your sprinkles?!   Oh no.....by all means...make sure you leave them there so I can plop my giant heiny on them....TMI ?  yeah, probably....but wouldn't the world be a nicer place if everyone just sat their caboose down on the seat?.....well, maybe not....   I could go on forever...about the 1 ply toilet paper, the nasty wet sinks.....I will spare you......til next time ;)

    

    

Now, where was I ?

 Wow, I cant even believe I haven't written anything in over a year.  I'm not a person that is given to speechlessness, so I must catch up.  Holy cow, what has happened in the last year?  My mustache is getting thicker and  my feet are getting bigger.  There's only a few more shoes sizes left, I hope this stops soon.  I guess I can keep plucking my mustache, what a price to pay for a smooth lip.

  In the last year, we have gained 2 hamsters, 1 bunny and are still loving our nearly 13 yr. old lab.  As much as he needs, he still warms my heart and brings me back to a place in my mind when we were both a little younger and our joints moved a little freer.  We said goodbye to our dear friend, Birdman after having him in our family for over 19 years. He was our feisty Moluccan Cockatoo with beautiful head feathers and a feather picked body.  He was our bargain pet, due to his nervous nature. Where most cockatoos can be sold for lots of money, ours, including his cage was only $50.  He loved big daddy more than anyone else and was the most loving and calm when around the man he loved.  (sounds like a serious love story, doesnt it?)

 The kids are getting huge and keep me on the edge of my seat on any given day.  We are still homeschooling, 5 yrs. in the making.  Being with the kids is not always Little House on the Prairie, as a matter of fact somedays its more like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  But, its pretty cool when I can get through math without tears....(talking about myself here).   Big Daddy......what can I say?......I love this guy with my entire being (yeah, I know....who likes love stories on public posts) I guess if I had a way to describe us...I would maybe say George Burns and Gracie Allen ( thats an overexaggeration, but, we do like to have fun).  We met at 17 and are sharing 40 something this year. 

  I never did get my basement organized...but it is always in the back of my mind, at least I havent lost complete sight of my goal....maybe when the kids are a little older I'll realize my lofty dream :)  

 

I Almost Forgot There Were Horses

When we first embarked on our country adventure, our spot was just a corn field.   The country offered so much promise.  The house slowly went up brick by brick, window by window.  My husband impressed me with his skill and craftsmanship.  Our neighbors down the way have horses and I noticed at 4: 30 every afternoon they would run, from one end of the fence down to the other.  I couldn't help but think of how fortunate I was.  Time went on and there was work to be done.  The babies came and the draw on my attention was never ending.  Little by little I took less notice of the horses that once caused me to marvel.  Oh sure, I knew they were there, but I was too busy to really remember.  Why did I forget?  After all...wasn't it my responsibility to fix the world?  To send out ultra responsible, productive children into society?  No, not really.  I mean ..yeah, we all need to raise our children to the best of our know how,  but I'm pretty sure there must be some kind of delicate balance.  Lately, I'm becoming slightly more aware of my fleeting youth, it bugs me a little.  At the same time, I feel like a part of my mind is opening to remind me of whats really important.  It's not the immaculate house or the perfect kids or even the perfect marriage.  It's learning to love those that are placed in your life and to embrace the beauty of the journey.  It's looking past yourself and the imperfections of those around you.  Its remembering the horses when you have kids arguing in the background and there's clutter at your feet.  I sat there today and watched those horses being carefree this morning and it just reminded me, that there is greatness, when you choose to find it.

wanna be happy?...lower your standards!

STANDARDS...such a lofty word..presses us onto greatness.  Raise the bar on excellence, set your standards high!  High enough so that you're a miserable mess trying to attain excellence.....hmmm...  How many of us live at that place in life?  Oh my gosh,   house cant ever be a mess,  kids gotta be primped and preened,  meals hafta be perfect, mans gotta be freshly loved( wink, wink).  Good Lord, can we give ourselves a break already?!  What kinda fairy tale existence is the above described scenario?  Is there anyone who can do it all and not need a Tylenol drip at the end of the day?  Not only are we hard on ourselves, we are hard on each other.  Snarky comments made behind the backs of people,  about their homes, their kids, their whatevers....My thought?  Lets lower the bar, lets let go of the vanity, lets have love and support for our fellow girl  and lets love ourselves a little more.  You cant fold clothes today? Who cares?  You cant clear up the counter today? so what?  you wanna dance to the beat farmers with your kid instead of wash the dishes? do it!  you wanna lay on the floor and pet your 11.5 year old dog? do it! cuz you're not gonna be able to when he's gone.  What?  afternoon delight  with messy hair and bad breath?  go for it! That man ain't looking for a playboy model, he wants you!!  Not one single person has it together, but if we can just get real with each other and ourselves, I believe that would be a great place to start!

Of Dry Shaves and Traveling Laundry Piles...

I love Christmas.  What's not to love?  The twinkling lights, the holiday movies (over and over and over again) etc.  Everything is spectacular and pretty.  I liken Christmas to a great meal.  Preparation leading up to a fabulous meal is time consuming yet exciting.  Finally, we serve up this feast or in this case Christmas joy.  We wait for that look...the twinkle in the eye.  You know somehow by that look, you have raised the bar on Christmas (or on meal prep) once again.  Okay...that is all an exaggeration, but I think you get my point.  Here's my issue with Christmas...December 26.  "But that's the day after Christmas..."you say.  Exactly right!  What does this all have to do with dry shaves and laundry piles you ask?   I'm getting to that.  Just like a great meal ends, so does a great event. What you are left with is mess....you know what I'm talking about...dirty plates, pine needles, wrapping paper and the like.  Little pieces that kids leave on the floor inviting you to step on in an oblivious stupor.  This scenario tends to zap my mental motivation, somehow in the recesses of my mind, a sign flashes....you will never get this cleaned up, the counters are filled with hardening Christmas cookies and questionable pies.  I switch gears and get into survival mode...I lower my standards and shoot for keeping the dishes clean, vacuuming and doing the laundry.  If you have read my blog at all you probably know that actually folding the laundry is not my strong point.  Oh sure, it eventually gets folded, but this is actually a process that involves me laying on said pile, daydreaming and eventually having kids run through any progress.  Somehow,  in the midst of all this, you must find time to shave, lest your husband think he has resorted to nesting with a porcupine.  I resort to dry shaving....sure, it burns for about a day and a half and you might get a couple of nicks but it will suffice....oh well ....I'm beginning to think the true meaning of  Spring cleaning is for people like me that don't actually finish winter cleaning 'til Spring......