The Girl I'm not

Sometimes I wish that I was passionate about issues. That I was so busy standing on my soap box, fighting for a cause, any cause, that I couldn't possibly care about who the Bachelor picks, who will be the next Top Chef, and who wins the Oscars.
But I'm not.

I am embarrassed by my shallow interests. But I pause at the grocery store to read about Jennifer Aniston's love life, Tom and Katie, Brad and Angelina's growing family, and even if Britney can make a comeback.

I do care about the environment, feeding my family healthy food, and raising good kids. I am concerned about the economy, both how it is effecting people I know and the entire world. I am hopeful to see what the new president can do for our country.

But, if I spent all my energy thinking about heavy concerns, I would be exhausted and depressed. The lighter, unimportant things just take some of the weight off my mind.

So, while a part of me would like to be a strong, outspoken woman, I am not willing to give up on the things that make me simple. I like the balance in my life, so that is not who I am going to be.

Bad Hair Day

When you buy a doll, barbie, or a pretty pony, they have perfect hair. It is so perfect that the manufactures tie, staple, and tape it down into the box. They know that once that toy is removed from the box, it will never look as good as it did while it was locked behind the plastic window.

After a few hours of play time, a toy with perfect hair has dread locks. As the weeks pass, it eats a jelly sandwich, gets blue marker highlights, will be tossed into the bath, and eventually a hair cut. Doll hair should never ever be cut!

Sometimes I feel like a toy that has been played with too long. No matter how hard I try, my hair does not want to behave. It will not lie flat, hold a curl, or have body. I can never achieve the perfect color of my dreams. And having children has even changed my hair. I once had straight hair and now it waves and almost curls in places.

Maybe someday I will find a style and color that makes me happy. But until them, Barbie reminds me of an important lesson. Even if your hair is scary, you can face life with a smile.

When I turn off the lights

At my last house, I read the electric meter each month and put out a card for the energy company. As I read the dials, I would watch the wheel spin and see the energy flowing into my house. I would challenge myself to turn off as many thingsr as I could, and see how slow I could get the wheel to spin.
I now live in a bigger house, and I can only imagine how fast that wheel spins. We have a heater or air conditioner, washer, lights, TVs, computers and multiple monitors running almost constantly.
Maybe it's my upbringing, or my hatred for large bills, but I try to conserve energy whenever I can. I keep the house cool in the winter and warm in the summer. We keep lights off until it's gloomy or Wayne complains.
As I walk through the house turning off lights, the TV, the radio, I can just imagine that wheel slowing down and I breath a little easier.

Sand in my purse

Today we were running late, so I tossed Wynn's shoes in my purse as we ran out the door.
This afternoon I was grabbing my phone out of my purse and a handful of sand came out with it.
Good thing I don't buy designer bags!

Green rain boots

William is a shy kid. Whenever I take him someplace new or introduce him to new people, he likes to hide behind my leg and hold on to me. It will take him quite a while to warm up and become comfortable.
However, he likes to wear his green rain boots. He will wear them for several days in row, regardless of the weather.
When a kids walks around town with bright green frog boots, he gets a lot of attention. Nearly everyone who passes comments on his boots. William will blush, but he smiles too.
William is constantly causing me to think about myself. We are similar in many ways. We both are particular, picky and impatient. And we both like to be recognized and noticed, even when we don't want attention.

Ants

Ants! I have hated them for as long as I can remember. I'm not a fan of most bugs, but ants are at the top of the list.

Back when I was about 6, I remember a little girl that I was playing with accidentally standing on an ant mound and getting covered with little black ants. She screamed and I was horrified.

They have always been a pest in my kitchen, refusing to take the ant bait home to the queen and kill the colony or take the hint and move away.

I have tried pepper, borax, cinnamon, Windex! They do not go away.

Here in Georgia the fire ants make new mounts after a rain. A green lawn will be spotted with red mounds of soil, all the little ants working together to push the bright Georgia clay up to the surface. Those little mounds drive me crazy!

When I spot an ant mound, even when it is harmless and far from my yard or children, I have a strong desire to kick it, drive over it, or sprinkle it with a pesticide.

I know that I am a little extreme in my dislike. I just can't seem to help myself.

Winter break

It seems that the tv shows I watch take a winter break. Sometime around Thanksgiving, they stop airing, making room for holiday specials. The lack of good TV in December is barable, there is so much going on.

But here it is the middle of January, and House still isn't back! I think I have another week or two to wait.

And Lost, a show that my husband and I watch toghether, doesn't even start it's season until the end of January.

Just a little iritating!

Simple Things

My mother in law tells the story of a Christmas when she bought my husband a big wheel bike. She spent hours putting it together, excited to see his reaction when he saw it under the tree. He liked the bike, but he spent the majority of the day playing in the box it came in.

Today my kids put rocks down a hole for a good 15 minutes. I often try to think of ways to entertain them, but they are constantly creating and finding new ways to keep busy.

It is really amazing to watch children play. They find joy in simple things. They really remind me to look at life from all angles. They see things that I just walk by.

Children can be great teachers if we slow down and look at the world from their point of view.

Fat days

In my closest, I have jeans in three different sizes.

Before babies jeans are a size 4. They are old and faded and probably a little out of fashion. I am not ceratian why I keep them.

My between babies jeans are a size 6. They are well worn, comfortable, holes in the knees.

And my post baby jeans are a petite 2. I haven't been a size 2 in all of my adult life, so I was proud of loosing the baby weight and then some.

Since Halloween, I have managed to eat a steady stream of cookies, cakes and candies. I don't own a scale, but I have probably gained 5 lbs. My "skinny jeans" hug a little too tight in all the wrong places.

It's a new year, so I am already on the road back to a good diet and a better weight. But, in the mean time I have been wearing my size 6 jeans. The extra room all around makes me feel thinner than I am.

Maybe that's why everyone is wearing extra larges these days. To hide the extra pounds behind clothes that are sizes too big. I also wonder if the entire clothing industry has made things bigger. Maybe the size 2 I feel so proud of, would have been a 4 or even a 6 20 years ago.

I don't want to think about that too much. I like thinking I am thin, simply based on the number on my pants

Owl turns head

This morning William imagined an owl on his bedroom floor.

The owl sat there
over there
and turned his head.
Look mama
Look mama
Owl
Owl turns head
Look mama
Owl
Owl turns head



When I stoop up the owl flew away.

New owl, mama.

New owl came down to breakfast with us.
New owl held William's hand
New owl wanted his own straw to drink a smoothie.
Mama said no.

William learned to share his straw and smoothie with owl.

Eventually new owl flew away.