Random Thoughts

I wrote a couple of years ago about being a person who STOPS. Stops for lemonade stands.   Stops for mariachi bands practicing unexpectedly in parking lots.   Stops for wicker love seats left on the side of the road that just need a little tender loving care and a new home. I am happy to be a person who stops.   It feels like who I AM.   It is an integral part of what makes me me . And look, I am not staying that ME is any better than anyone else .   It is just that I have been reminded all day today how the rest of the world, at least the people who pass the Big Yellow House, are not like me.   And I find it so strange. It has been months since I did a “front gate project” – a term I coined for “events” I plan and put up on our front gate.   (And it is literally now GATE and not gate S , because we still only have one front gate since the unfortunate “car runs into house” episode that happened last October…) Anyway, I h...

Sometimes when I get into a funk, things repeat over and over in my head. Usually negative things. But I am not the only one, right?   I mean, that’s happens to you, too, doesn’t it?   Oh man, please tell me it’s not just me… Anyway, I probably should have talked through this with a therapist years ago.   Doing so might have gotten this god awful (pun intended) ear worm out of my head. Here’s a little ditty I was taught in Sunday school or summer Daily Vacation Bible School when I was a kid: “Jesus and others and you, What a wonder way to spell J O Y Jesus and others and you, What fun for a girl and a boy** (can that line have been that ridiculous?   I know it rhymed with joy…) J is for Jesus ‘cuz he has first place O is for others you meet face to face Y is for YOU in whatever you do – Put yourself THIRD and spell joy.” What.   The.   Actual.   F.   Seriously, it has taken me 53 years to wash that B.S....

This is the story of a couch. A couch that came in 3 boxes. We popped into Ikea in Jacksonville, Florida to pick up some NAPKINS.   Napkins. We left with a couch.   A couch in 3 boxes. But, only 1 box would fit in our Prius.   Try as we might to squeeze the other 2, or even 1 more, in, only 1 would fit. The family next to us took pity.   They had planned ahead.   They did NOT go to Ikea for napkins and come out with a couch (in 3 boxes).   They came to Ikea with a list, and stuck to it.   And before beginning their shopping, they rented a flat bed to haul their boxes home.   Unlike us. But they smiled at us.   Giggled at our attempts to mash oversize boxes in an undersize car. And in the end, for $25 they hauled 2 of our boxes to their home, which was a wee bit closer to ours, and held them until we could go home.   And drop off box #1.   Then head back… We had driven 90 minutes to get to Ikea...

Many people find inspiration and life lessons in songs.   I guess I would say that lots of mine would come from BROADWAY MUSICALS.   I grew up listening to albums of musicals that my mom would play on our furniture-sized living room record player   – Hello Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof… My most recent inspiration from a musical is from Avenue Q – specifically the song “There Is Life Outside Your Apartment…”.   If you haven’t seen Avenue Q, it’s quite funny (don’t let the fact that it has puppets in it scare you away).   David and I went years ago and got last minute rush tickets.   We couldn’t sit together, but at intermission we found one another and gushed over how amazing the show was.   And, like many musicals, when it was over I “needed” the cast recording and I have listened to the CD over and over. Passion flower - I took this photo at the event described below.  Isn't it amazing? Anyway, THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE YOUR APARTMENT. ...