Random Thoughts

I was in my bathing suit yesterday, doing my annual Spring/Summer cleaning of our wrap-around porch.  Being in my bathing suit while in DC brings ONE THING to mind – SLIP ‘N’ SLIDE!!!  I got a Slip ‘n’ Slide a few years ago for my birthday, and even though I have only used it a couple of times I really like it.  Both times we set it up, some neighbor kids came over to slide with us. Well, yesterday when I thought of the Slip ‘n’ Slide, I wondered, “Will the little neighbor girl think she is too old this year to play on it?”.  And that got me starting to think about the concept of AGE APPROPRIATENESS.  I realized that I never went though the stage of feeling “too old” for anything.  Here I am just a few weeks shy of age 48 and I can’t think of a darn thing that I am “too old” to play with or do.  Not only that, I don’t need to have a kid by my side to grant me access to anything, either!          Bouncy house? ...

We are not party people.   I am not comfortable AT parties – the socializing and loud talking feel foreign.   What is one supposed to SAY?   Who are you supposed to TALK TO?   Parties just end up as stressors for me.   And double for HOSTING them – we just don’t do it.   Oh sure, once in a while in Florida we will have a couple of neighbors over, and even THAT small affair involves much preparation and hustling about.   But I don’t know if we have ever hosted a party in Virginia.   Our house is never “right”:   there are dust bunnies, there are dirty socks on the floor, the tub is dirty.   But tonight we threw a party in Arlington.   A SLIP ‘n’ SLIDE party.   It was to be a celebration of the heat – of the summer.   It has been over 100 degrees with the heat index the last few days.   I wanted to bust out the Slip ‘n’ Slide the other night, but our houseguests ended up going out that evening and it seemed wrong to...