This week I went back to school after the break. It was three days, but they made me so very tired. Telling people about the new baby was wonderful and cushioned the blow a bit, but one day I became the recipient of a very lovely random act of kindness.
A friend of mine, who I know through blogging and facebook, and I have been corresponding over the past two years a lot. We have children 9 days apart, and have been able to help each other through our parenting journey. We both nursed for a long time, wanted our babies to have the best home-made baby food, and all sorts of other things in common.
ANYWAY, she's been a blessing. And Thursday morning, I walked into my office area and there was a box from 1-800 Flowers on my desk. It was a pail and a kit for growing sunflowers, from my friend! Completely out of nowhere, completely because she just wanted to be a friend and said it would be fun for me and my son to do together.
Picture to come!
Showing posts with label friendships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friendships. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Guilty Pleasures
We all have something silly that it almost like a refuge for us. An old family friend used to run a live-in home for women who were battling extremely serious cases of addiction. When she came home, all she wanted was to watch old M*A*S*H episodes or movies like “Enchanted.” Another family member I know works with children with special needs and she loves her reality TV at home later. Pure, wonderful comedies or just plain fluff.
I very much went through a quarter-life crisis. Wow, it was an awful time of my life in comparison to before and after. I was living in the town wherein I went to college. But I was NOT in college anymore. And none of my friends were there. I had a boyfriend (the reason I moved back), but really, he was pretty useless. He was still in college, and that was hard. 2 years are a world of difference in this case.
I hated my job. Not my career, but my job. I was a massage therapist then, and had a boss who cared not how she worked her staff, but that she was making a lot of money off of us.
My hours were 8-3, no break for lunch unless I had a break between massages. I didn’t get paid for being there, only just under 50% of what they made on each massage. Even after I quit for another job, I still had only one constant in my everyday life when I went home…my refuge. I was deep into it by 3:15. Are you ready for it?
A soap opera.
You’re thinking, “Wow. Did she just admit that?” You have no idea how passionately I am about to talk about Days of our Lives.
I started watching just before college in 1997 because I wanted to know what everyone else was talking about.
And, the rest, as they say, is history. I watched on and off throughout college, but once I was out, I set my VCR timer for the show daily, and looked forward to it EVERY NIGHT. I didn’t want to miss a thing. And when I was back in my college town with no real friends to speak of, I felt like they were my friends.
No, I don’t think it was a problem or anything, it was actually the opposite. I found tremendous happiness EVERY DAY in watching Sami and Lucas, John and Marlena, Bo and Hope. I loved (and still do, though I watch sporadically now) all the complete nonsense that happens in a soap opera. Come back to life after a bloody death? Of course! It was all a plot! Change of actors? Just another day at the set. And would it be a season on Days without a good “Who’s the Daddy” storyline? Nope.
They were my “friends” if the definition is someone or something consistent and always there for you, that brings you joy, and rarely disappoints. Above all, I loved getting lost in the web of distraction that was this show. All I needed then was SOMETHING to bring happiness (almost) every day, and this was it.
It was kinda a life saver. I’ve watched a lot since those days, but now I only do intermittently. It’s just to fun to miss for too long.
What is your refuge? Your guilty pleasure?
I very much went through a quarter-life crisis. Wow, it was an awful time of my life in comparison to before and after. I was living in the town wherein I went to college. But I was NOT in college anymore. And none of my friends were there. I had a boyfriend (the reason I moved back), but really, he was pretty useless. He was still in college, and that was hard. 2 years are a world of difference in this case.
I hated my job. Not my career, but my job. I was a massage therapist then, and had a boss who cared not how she worked her staff, but that she was making a lot of money off of us.
My hours were 8-3, no break for lunch unless I had a break between massages. I didn’t get paid for being there, only just under 50% of what they made on each massage. Even after I quit for another job, I still had only one constant in my everyday life when I went home…my refuge. I was deep into it by 3:15. Are you ready for it?
A soap opera.
You’re thinking, “Wow. Did she just admit that?” You have no idea how passionately I am about to talk about Days of our Lives.
I started watching just before college in 1997 because I wanted to know what everyone else was talking about.
And, the rest, as they say, is history. I watched on and off throughout college, but once I was out, I set my VCR timer for the show daily, and looked forward to it EVERY NIGHT. I didn’t want to miss a thing. And when I was back in my college town with no real friends to speak of, I felt like they were my friends.
No, I don’t think it was a problem or anything, it was actually the opposite. I found tremendous happiness EVERY DAY in watching Sami and Lucas, John and Marlena, Bo and Hope. I loved (and still do, though I watch sporadically now) all the complete nonsense that happens in a soap opera. Come back to life after a bloody death? Of course! It was all a plot! Change of actors? Just another day at the set. And would it be a season on Days without a good “Who’s the Daddy” storyline? Nope.
They were my “friends” if the definition is someone or something consistent and always there for you, that brings you joy, and rarely disappoints. Above all, I loved getting lost in the web of distraction that was this show. All I needed then was SOMETHING to bring happiness (almost) every day, and this was it.
It was kinda a life saver. I’ve watched a lot since those days, but now I only do intermittently. It’s just to fun to miss for too long.
What is your refuge? Your guilty pleasure?
Saturday, July 16, 2011
52 Weeks of Happiness Week 20
Wow! Week 20! It's been another wonderful one.
This week, 6 weeks into the summer, I finally got an afternoon for me. I had a million possibilities...pedicure, pool, movie...?? I had a movie girl night scheduled for Thursday, and Friday hubby and I were planning for Harry Potter 7.2, so three hours at the pool it was.
And it was a PERFECT pool day. I got a little pink, but it turns to tan on me pretty quickly. I took a book, dipped in the pool when it got too hot, and guzzled ice cold water.
Then I met a friend for a happy hour drink and appetizers. She was a little late, so I brought out my book and ordered my wine. I was warm from the sun, and reading and sipping Pinot Grigio, light and cold.
It was an awesome afternoon. Me time. Pool time, girl time. It was really, really wonderful, and the Margherita Pizza appetizer was DIVINE. Thank you, Carrabba's.
This week, 6 weeks into the summer, I finally got an afternoon for me. I had a million possibilities...pedicure, pool, movie...?? I had a movie girl night scheduled for Thursday, and Friday hubby and I were planning for Harry Potter 7.2, so three hours at the pool it was.
And it was a PERFECT pool day. I got a little pink, but it turns to tan on me pretty quickly. I took a book, dipped in the pool when it got too hot, and guzzled ice cold water.
Then I met a friend for a happy hour drink and appetizers. She was a little late, so I brought out my book and ordered my wine. I was warm from the sun, and reading and sipping Pinot Grigio, light and cold.
It was an awesome afternoon. Me time. Pool time, girl time. It was really, really wonderful, and the Margherita Pizza appetizer was DIVINE. Thank you, Carrabba's.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Happiness and Heartbreak
Almost a week ago, I heard of a friend's passing. She was 48. Lost her 5 year battle with cancer. Used to model in Paris, married for 15 years. Had four children, rising 9th, 7th, 5th, and 3rd graders. Model, but also model parent, wife, and friend. She was tremendously amazing.
She is someone I will remember for years to come. I cried when I heard of her passing. Cried a few hours later again. Then again at her memorial service on Saturday. I think what breaks my heart the most is knowing her children as well as I do. I have, in my 5 years, taught three of them, and my husband has taught the eldest. I taught one for one year, another child for 2, and the youngest for FOUR years. So I know this family well, and fell in love with them like so many at my school had.
Paula was nothing short of a beautiful woman. I am SO happy I knew her. I choose to see this as a time for mourning, but a time of pensive thanksgiving. I truly reflect on how grateful I am to have known her, and to have watched her interact with so many people. She blessed so many lives.
There aren't many people I can say who are simply, truly, beautifully GOOD. She was.
In the midst of heartbreak, happiness for being graced with her presence.
Paula was tremendous, and she did a 3-day 60 mile walk for breast cancer awareness (although she herself had another form, her mother had lost her battle with breast cancer many years ago) a year and a half ago. Here is her depiction of her experience, if you are so inclined. I wish I could point our friend out to you, but she is one who has little hair, and is very tall! Often in this video, she is wearing shades and a cowboy hat. Anyway...just a small part of her legacy.
She is someone I will remember for years to come. I cried when I heard of her passing. Cried a few hours later again. Then again at her memorial service on Saturday. I think what breaks my heart the most is knowing her children as well as I do. I have, in my 5 years, taught three of them, and my husband has taught the eldest. I taught one for one year, another child for 2, and the youngest for FOUR years. So I know this family well, and fell in love with them like so many at my school had.
Paula was nothing short of a beautiful woman. I am SO happy I knew her. I choose to see this as a time for mourning, but a time of pensive thanksgiving. I truly reflect on how grateful I am to have known her, and to have watched her interact with so many people. She blessed so many lives.
There aren't many people I can say who are simply, truly, beautifully GOOD. She was.
In the midst of heartbreak, happiness for being graced with her presence.
Paula was tremendous, and she did a 3-day 60 mile walk for breast cancer awareness (although she herself had another form, her mother had lost her battle with breast cancer many years ago) a year and a half ago. Here is her depiction of her experience, if you are so inclined. I wish I could point our friend out to you, but she is one who has little hair, and is very tall! Often in this video, she is wearing shades and a cowboy hat. Anyway...just a small part of her legacy.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
52 Weeks of Happiness Week 16
This week, it's a Girls' Night Out.
I have had many wonderful friends, I consider myself very lucky. I have never really been a part of a GROUP, though. Sure, there was the theatre group in high school, and the sorority girls in college, but I seem to be the type that does best with just one person by my side. But I've always longed to know just what that was like, to be a part of a group. Where everyone calls everyone to hang out, and no one is left out.
I have a small group starting, and I think this could be the start of something wonderful...
Two friends of mine from school (fellow teachers) and I have somehow or another formed a bond. We live within about 5 minutes of each other, and have carpooled places together, and gone out together, and shared our stories of motherhood and wife-hood together too.
We are all theatre people. And being teachers, we have no money and want to see all things fabulous, so we journeyed to downtown Memphis for teacher's night at the grand theatre, The Orpheum. We took our 20 dollar nosebleed seats and enjoyed a showing of Beauty and the Beast, which appeased the little girls inside us who love fairy tales. We had a great dinner before, and as we left, I snapped this picture:
It's nights like this that you remember always. Plain girl fun, with the flair of a trip downtown.
I have had many wonderful friends, I consider myself very lucky. I have never really been a part of a GROUP, though. Sure, there was the theatre group in high school, and the sorority girls in college, but I seem to be the type that does best with just one person by my side. But I've always longed to know just what that was like, to be a part of a group. Where everyone calls everyone to hang out, and no one is left out.
I have a small group starting, and I think this could be the start of something wonderful...
Two friends of mine from school (fellow teachers) and I have somehow or another formed a bond. We live within about 5 minutes of each other, and have carpooled places together, and gone out together, and shared our stories of motherhood and wife-hood together too.
We are all theatre people. And being teachers, we have no money and want to see all things fabulous, so we journeyed to downtown Memphis for teacher's night at the grand theatre, The Orpheum. We took our 20 dollar nosebleed seats and enjoyed a showing of Beauty and the Beast, which appeased the little girls inside us who love fairy tales. We had a great dinner before, and as we left, I snapped this picture:
It's nights like this that you remember always. Plain girl fun, with the flair of a trip downtown.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Reading rules Iphone use
I struggle with addiction.
A facebook addiction. And I'm only halfway kidding. I have always wanted to be in the know, and want to be the first one to know when someone announces an engagement or a baby, or anything of the like. And I love how it's connected me with people I haven't seen in years. It's a tremendous support system for me, actually, as I have some friends who comment on things and it makes my day. Words of encouragement, love, happiness, and oohs and ahhs over my son's pictures make me beam. I happened to glance at my news feed the night Bin Laden was killed, and otherwise I would have missed that and the president's statement. So it's got its really good points.
BUT...
I update my phone many times a night so I don't miss ANYTHING. And I find that the nights I put it down "early" and go to bed to read are the nights I have the most joy.
I don't have a lot of time to myself for exercise without rearranging other people's schedules, and I hate doing that. But I have a good amount of time most nights for eating a quiet meal with my hubby, watching my favorite shows, or the beloved, always enjoyable, reading. As I said, and this is KEY, I find that the nights I DO put the phone down, I'm MUCH happier. I feel like I did something, instead of wasting my time on my phone. Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time, but I don't enjoy wasting it this way.
I am going to make myself stop looking at my phone past, let's say, 8:15. If I miss something, I miss it. Surely that highly important information (which usually ISN'T) can at least wait until morning.
Sure, hubby is on the phone or computer a lot too, but he reads a lot, too. So there just has to be a time for me to stop it. And if I do it, I need to reward myself. So, the teacher in me says I deserve a sticker for each day I do it. And who doesn't want to see a perfectly filled calendar with stickers? :)
So, for now, after 8:15 pm on regular ol' weeknights, this is my rule:
A facebook addiction. And I'm only halfway kidding. I have always wanted to be in the know, and want to be the first one to know when someone announces an engagement or a baby, or anything of the like. And I love how it's connected me with people I haven't seen in years. It's a tremendous support system for me, actually, as I have some friends who comment on things and it makes my day. Words of encouragement, love, happiness, and oohs and ahhs over my son's pictures make me beam. I happened to glance at my news feed the night Bin Laden was killed, and otherwise I would have missed that and the president's statement. So it's got its really good points.
BUT...
I update my phone many times a night so I don't miss ANYTHING. And I find that the nights I put it down "early" and go to bed to read are the nights I have the most joy.
I don't have a lot of time to myself for exercise without rearranging other people's schedules, and I hate doing that. But I have a good amount of time most nights for eating a quiet meal with my hubby, watching my favorite shows, or the beloved, always enjoyable, reading. As I said, and this is KEY, I find that the nights I DO put the phone down, I'm MUCH happier. I feel like I did something, instead of wasting my time on my phone. Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time, but I don't enjoy wasting it this way.
I am going to make myself stop looking at my phone past, let's say, 8:15. If I miss something, I miss it. Surely that highly important information (which usually ISN'T) can at least wait until morning.
Sure, hubby is on the phone or computer a lot too, but he reads a lot, too. So there just has to be a time for me to stop it. And if I do it, I need to reward myself. So, the teacher in me says I deserve a sticker for each day I do it. And who doesn't want to see a perfectly filled calendar with stickers? :)
So, for now, after 8:15 pm on regular ol' weeknights, this is my rule:
Friday, May 6, 2011
52 Weeks of Happiness, Week 10
I hate to say it, but my week was kinda mundane. And usual. And though I find a little happiness in many, many things throughout the week, it's not quite the thing you take a picture of, so my picture only comes from last night.
And this is about things that make you wildly happy, right? That was last night.
A fellow teacher threw a Cinco de Mayo party.
Awesome part #1: It was 4 minutes from my house. SCORE!
Awesome Part #2: I got to bring my 16 month old!
Awesome part #3: Hubby came!
Awesome part #4: Hubby took son home, mama got to stay!
I stayed with good work girlfriends until 10:30. On a Thursday.
Here's a fun pic from the event. The much needed lovely wonderful event!
And this is about things that make you wildly happy, right? That was last night.
A fellow teacher threw a Cinco de Mayo party.
Awesome part #1: It was 4 minutes from my house. SCORE!
Awesome Part #2: I got to bring my 16 month old!
Awesome part #3: Hubby came!
Awesome part #4: Hubby took son home, mama got to stay!
I stayed with good work girlfriends until 10:30. On a Thursday.
Here's a fun pic from the event. The much needed lovely wonderful event!
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