Sticky Pots

Seduction

My mom used to say she often got a case of the sticky pots.  She would go to a garden center, pick up a potted plant to look at it and could not put it down, it was stuck to her hands.  So, what else could she do?  She had to buy it, bring it home, and plant it in her gardens.






Lorana Dawn

The last couple of trips to the local center resulted in a good case of sticky pots for us.  Two weeks ago when we went looking for, jeez, I don't know what we went there for, I just remember that the didn't have it.  But I did get a couple of new dahlias for the back garden.





This weekend we went to get the veggies for the back garden and we both contracted a case of this terrible disease.  My find was this lovely little lime tree I nicknamed Margarita.

Himself came home with this carnivorous creature. 

I think we did pretty good, didn't we?  Mom would be so proud!

AMDG

Taking names and kicking butt

I had the day off today and Himself and I had an excursion to a place on our Sand Pail List.  It was an excellent day, so enjoyable.  (more about it later)  But the drive home had the potential of ruining it.

As we got off the highway we were stopped on the exit ramp behind a large semi at a red light.  The road we were turning onto has a lot of traffic so I knew we would were going to have to wait until the light changed before we could turn right. 

Apparently, for one person, that wasn't good enough.  Ms. hoity-toity-fancy-limited-edition-big-white-Ford-SUV was too good to wait her turn.  She drove up the brim and tried to turn just as the light changed for us to go.  First she tried to get in front of the semi, but she was about to get smooshed.  So, she decided the next best thing was to cut me off.

And, I'm sad to say, I just wasn't having any of that BS.  I hit the horn loud and long.  I tried to keep going but was rewarded with nearly getting hit and a very prominent display of her middle finger.

Later down the road, while in front of me, she slammed on her brakes and I drove off the side of the road to keep from hitting her.  At that point, all I wanted to do is get out of the car and beat her senseless.  Lucky for the both of us she floored it and took off.

I used a lot of really foul language that probably hurt the ears of my poor husband.  I am ashamed that all I wanted to do is deck her.

I'm trying to figure out if there is a lesson in all of this.

And, my friends, the only thing I can think of is that we have reached critical mass.  The self-centered, the dangerous, the stupid are growing in such numbers they are making day-to-day living trecherous for the rest of us.

I am not a violent person.  My reaction scared me.  Had she done this to someone else the outcome could have been much different. 

I pray to God that there is still hope for us.  And for me.

AMDG

Funny Foto - #6

Apparently I'm still in a number of recruiters' databases from my job hunting days of last year.  I just received an email with these job requirements. 

Huh?  Given the name of the recruiter, I don't think English is his first language.  At least I hope it isn't.

I'm so glad I'm no longer in the market for a new position!


AMDG

At first blush

Does anyone blush anymore? Seriously. Does anyone get embarrassed?

Driving back to the office at lunchtime today I was listening to Rush Limbaugh. He was talking about a recently release book, “The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Intimacy.” Apparently kids these days are “hooking up” just to have something to post or tweet about.

When I finally made it back to my desk, I did what I normally do, and checked the news websites. I was greeted with this headline:

 

I chuckled to myself, but I was also glad no one was around as I work in an office of mostly men. As funny as it is, it is also rather raunchy. 

I got to thinking about something that happened when I was in my teens. Since I was a little girl my family used to go to a camp in Kentucky run by the local Catholic Diocese. At some point we started going the 4th of July week each year. That week the camp was filled by all the “regulars” and we got to know and look forward to seeing the same families year after year. There were a good number of us that were similar in age, with a definite preponderance of the male persuasion.

One summer some of these boys came up with a chant, “Donna, Donna, do you wanna?” that they would repeat frequently when the parents were out of earshot. I was 14, 15, maybe 16 years old.  I would get flustered and embarrassed and blush terribly at the implication. After all, we were Catholic kids at a Catholic camp. None of that would be happening here. I still cringe at the memory.

Where did we lose that innocence? When did private intimacy become something to publicly boast about?

AMDG 

What I missed on Mother’s Day

There was much talk last week about Mother’s Day and what we infertiles are missing out on. It seems that there’s a deep seated longing that, unfulfilled, is felt much more deeply this one day of the year. It honors in a big and obvious way what we want to be.

Perhaps I missed something like this:

Had we had a honeymoon baby, our son (I’ve always pictured our first child as a boy) would be approaching his 14th birthday this summer. He would be the oldest of a brood of rugrats that would messy up my kitchen making me a wonderful, albeit burnt, breakfast in bed. After “cleaning up” the kitchen we would head off to mass and then to the park to run around and burn off some energy. We would then head home, dirty, tired and happy, to cook dogs and burgers on the grill.

It’s a nice daydream. But, as you know, it’s not my life.

Here’s some of what I didn’t miss this Mother’s Day:

A wonderful and relaxing dinner at our house with the lots of family around.

Receiving a beautiful miniature rose plant from my aunt. It was a nice reminder of her sister, my mom, Rose, and all the love with which she showered us. I think she raised us well. She would have so loved her grandbaby!

Watching that grandbaby, my niece and Goddaughter, crawl around the house and be fascinated by half-filled water bottles. Watching her face light up when she sees Uncle Himself. Her giggles and babbling are such a delight!

Watching my sister grow as a mother. She waited a long time to meet the man who was to become her husband. She had a bit of a wait to become a mother as well. It’s such a joy to see the way Sara looks at and for her mommy.  

Knowing how much Himself loves me, regardless of the number of children I was or wasn’t able to give him. He helped make this Mother’s Day special as it was my first as a Godmother. The beautiful ring that adorns my right hand now is a great reminder of that!

Reading your stories and posts. Rejoicing with positive test results, birth announcements, adoption placements. Praying with you when the news isn’t so good. And seeing the wisdom you share that I never knew was possible.  

I suppose I am at an age where I have come to terms with our childlessness. It took a while to get there. I’ve cried through more Mother’s Day masses than I care to admit.

I know there are things I missed this Mother’s Day. But there was certainly a lot I didn’t!


AMDG

What’s in your pail?

I've never seen the movie The Bucket List, but from what I’ve read Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two men who have terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die. It seemed like after that movie it became all the rage to create your own bucket list. 

There is something about that I just don’t like. Which is odd because I love lists. I just seems negative to me. It sounds so final. I’ve done everything on my list, now I can die. It sounds limiting. If it’s not on my list, I’m not going to do it. Or, what if something you want to do just isn’t possible? Like have a baby. 

At the end of last summer we came up with an alternative – the Sand Pail List. It’s good for just one summer and one summer only. It’s not a list of chores or tasks or goals. It’s a list of fun things we’d like to do that maybe we’ve never done or haven’t done in a long time. It’s also a reminder for when we look at each other and say “I’m bored. What are we going to do now?”

A few things on our list for this summer are:

· Visit the local historic Farm and Village. - The last time I was there was in 1987!

· Stop for ice cream at the local stand. – We’ve driven by it on our way to and from church for almost nine years and have never stopped. It’s about time.

· Go to at least one ethnic festival. - One summer, early in our marriage, we went to a bunch. What a great way to try new foods and partake of their entertainment. And they are usually pretty cheap too.

· Try out a new winery. – I have a particular one in mind, but you never know, we might find something else.

· In Amish country go for a buggy ride.– Just because.

· Go to at least one free concert. – Both near home and near my workplace the cities have weekly Friday night concerts. Most are cover bands so it will probably be a trip down memory lane.

· Go for a hike in one of the county or state parks that we haven’t yet been to.

· Plant something new in the veggie garden. – Looks like this year’s new item is going to be peanuts

There’s no prize for doing them all and there’s nothing to say we can’t do them more than once. But, my guess is that we’ll have a grand time this summer!

What’s in your pail?

AMDG