My husband sometimes surprises me, like today at church. Every Mother's Day, mothers of the congregation are given a carnation by each of their children. When the time came, my daughter went up to the front with all the other adult children to get a flower for me. At the same time, my husband went up (his own mother passed away many years ago.)
I asked him, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get a flower for you," he said.
"Why? I'm not your mother."
"It will be from Brian," he said. He turned and walked up to the front and I just melted into tears. My son, Brian, is away from home, training with the Marine Corps and I had been missing him. My husband sweetly and thoughtfully stood in for him today.
Makes me glad I stuck with him these 21 years.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
30 years!
So I got an invite to my high school class's 30 year reunion. My first thought was, "No! It can't be 30 years already!" But, yeah, it's been 30 years. I'm sure everyone else will be looking gray and fat and old. Not me. LOL. Yeah, right.
Not sure what I think about all this. On one hand I'm excited to catch up with people I haven't seen in three decades. On the other hand, I'm not exactly where I would have wanted to be had someone asked in 1978, "Where do you see yourself in 30 years?" I find myself reviewing my life, trying to find a way to spin the dull details into something at least mildly interesting. Let's see - graduated, got married, had a kid, got divorced, got married to a decent guy this time, had another kid, survived 18 years of an alcoholic spouse, he got sober and we bought a house, celebrated the birth of our first grandson, spouse lost job and can't find a decent replacement, might lose the house, cat had kittens, apple trees are blooming, veggies being planted next weekend..... life is good as long as you're still living it.
My brother recently celebrated one year cancer-free. Yay, Bill! Keep kickin' cancer's ass! It was a rough ride for him, and he still has his down moments. He had to sell his cherished four-wheelers to free up money for bills and was feeling justifiably pissy about it. He still has his dream of running a hotel in the UP (he can't wait to get the hell out of Tennessee) but he's stuck where he is for at least another four years - insurance issues. I don't blame him for getting down, but I reminded him that he can still come home and kiss his woman, play with his dog, snuggle his cat, feed the deer that ghost out of woods behind his house, etc etc etc..... Were it not for modern medicine, he'd be dead right now. (Yes, he asked the doctors.) I'm proud of him. It's brought us closer, even though we live 8 hours away from each other.
I'm trying to learn to become more assertive. There are things that need to be said, but in a straightforward, kind way. It would NEVER do to tell the lady at church, "You know what? You complain too much!" or to tell someone at work, "If you'd stop chit-chatting all damn day, you might actually get something done and not be so stressed out!" That's my internally-focused-self-improvement project at the moment.
Guess that's all for now.
Not sure what I think about all this. On one hand I'm excited to catch up with people I haven't seen in three decades. On the other hand, I'm not exactly where I would have wanted to be had someone asked in 1978, "Where do you see yourself in 30 years?" I find myself reviewing my life, trying to find a way to spin the dull details into something at least mildly interesting. Let's see - graduated, got married, had a kid, got divorced, got married to a decent guy this time, had another kid, survived 18 years of an alcoholic spouse, he got sober and we bought a house, celebrated the birth of our first grandson, spouse lost job and can't find a decent replacement, might lose the house, cat had kittens, apple trees are blooming, veggies being planted next weekend..... life is good as long as you're still living it.
My brother recently celebrated one year cancer-free. Yay, Bill! Keep kickin' cancer's ass! It was a rough ride for him, and he still has his down moments. He had to sell his cherished four-wheelers to free up money for bills and was feeling justifiably pissy about it. He still has his dream of running a hotel in the UP (he can't wait to get the hell out of Tennessee) but he's stuck where he is for at least another four years - insurance issues. I don't blame him for getting down, but I reminded him that he can still come home and kiss his woman, play with his dog, snuggle his cat, feed the deer that ghost out of woods behind his house, etc etc etc..... Were it not for modern medicine, he'd be dead right now. (Yes, he asked the doctors.) I'm proud of him. It's brought us closer, even though we live 8 hours away from each other.
I'm trying to learn to become more assertive. There are things that need to be said, but in a straightforward, kind way. It would NEVER do to tell the lady at church, "You know what? You complain too much!" or to tell someone at work, "If you'd stop chit-chatting all damn day, you might actually get something done and not be so stressed out!" That's my internally-focused-self-improvement project at the moment.
Guess that's all for now.
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