Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Embrace the Weirdness

"Mom, I'm weird." I cringed when I heard my son say these words.

"Don't say that!"

"Oh no, Mom, I'm okay with being weird. It means I'm not just like everyone else."

Wow. What insight for a ten year old! And the more I think about it, the more I agree. Who wants to be a carbon copy of everyone else? Okay, a lot of people do. It's what we spend hours doing every day, isn't it? Trying to conform, to be like our friends when we're young.  Sometimes even when we're not-so-young.

What a bold statement, a brave one. I'm pretty sure he won't always feel that way. But I hope it doesn't take him as long as it has me to truly embrace being "different", "odd", "peculiar", "not like us"; all words I've heard used to describe me.

In the words of Dr Seuss:

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." (From "Happy Birthday to YOU")

 


Sunday, June 15, 2014

Phone Call From Heaven

A few months after my dad passed away, I was home alone; the hubby had gone to work and the kids were at school. I was having a hard time adjusting to Dad's death and it was having an effect on my sleep. On that particular day, I decided to take a nap. 

The phone rang and I answered it, half asleep. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't function well when I first wake up. 

The man on the other end of the line said, "Hi! How're you doing?"

I looked at the caller ID and saw my dad's name and number. I was surprised, to say the least!  

I asked, "What phone are you calling from?"

"My cell."

"Do they let you have cell phones there?"
I asked. 

"Yes...are you okay?" he asked. 

"Well, no! I miss you!"

"I'll be home soon!" he said. 

"Okay, Dad, you're dead!  You can't come home!" I said. 

There was a long pause. Then he said,"Honey, it's me. Your husband."

I never found out why the number showed up incorrectly, but maybe, just maybe it was my dad's last practical joke.  :-) 





Saturday, June 14, 2014

Ants In My Bra

I had my photograph taken today, since I'm in dire need of a headshot. I normally avoid cameras like the plague, but...
I'd posted on my personal page that I was looking for someone to take my picture and a good friend was kind enough to offer to take it. 

We agreed on the details and met at the location. Unfortunately, there was a wedding scheduled at the gardens we'd planned to use. We improvised, because as moms that's what we do. 

We walked around the state Capitol and took a few shots. The longer we walked around, the more amusing it became. We were looking for the perfect spot. 

My eyes are really sensitive to the sun, so I squint quite a bit. That proved to be a problem since today is sunny and hot. I'm also very sensitive to camera flashes. (Are you feeling the photographer's pain yet?) Luckily, she's a mom of four, so...

We got quite a few good pictures. One of the best was of me peering through tree limbs. I had to kind of hug the tree and put my face through a split in the trunk. (Why can't I describe this?) We checked the tree first to be sure there were no ants. Or at least, we thought we did. 

As I was posing, I looked down and saw ants on the tree. After the shot, I jumped back. We decided we needed a couple more by the tree. That time the ants were really starting to move. We finished up in that spot and I joked about ants in my shirt. 

We took a few more shots, chatted a while, then went our separate ways. As I was driving home, I looked down and saw an ant on my shirt. I grabbed it and threw it out the window. When I got home, I found another one in my bra. 

Having your photograph taken can be quite interesting.