Bursting A Bubble

When I hire my part time receptionists, I am always clear that there is no room for advancement. The job will remain the same, as will the salary. I guess that they are nervous during the interview and do not always remember that part where I tell them that there will be no raises. I mainly hire college students, so I know that this is only a job for extra money and not one to support oneself with. Yesterday my newest employee came to me and asked for a raise. She said that she had been there for six months, was a good worker and very reliable. All of that was true. I felt so bad telling her that I could not offer her even a few cents, as raises are not in the policy. She looked so disappointed, as she probably worried all day about approaching me. The truth is that my receptionists are worth ten times what I pay them, but I am not the owner. The best that I could do was offer to train her to be a biller so that when she left here she would be able to seek a job for better pay.

Restrictions

My granddaughter is two years old. At this age, children like to test the waters. I guess that is why we label it the "terrible two's". She is a very spirited little girl and you see the sparkle in her eyes. She recently added a new question into her vocabulary. Every time she does something that she should not have done and is reprimanded by her parent's she asks them, "Can I do it when I get older"? She understands the concept of having more freedom the older one gets. I never really focused on what my children did when they were this young. I was too busy chasing them around the house. Now I am getting the time to soak in all of the beauty of childhood.

One Last Laugh

Mother Nature has shown us who is in control. After a bad winter, the snow finally melted and the temperatures warmed. We thought we were done with the winter, even though it is technically spring. We were wrong. Even though there is only a light coating of white this morning, it is enough to show us that we have no say in our environment. It is 25 degrees outside, but at least the sun is shining.

Recognition

When my granddaughter was born, we were afraid that she would not know us because she lives 230 miles away and would only see us a few times a year. Other "long distance" grandparents assured us that would not be the case. I was a skeptic. For the first two years, whenever we Skyped with her, her parents prompted her what to say and she repeated it. Yesterday was a different story. As soon as she saw me she said,"Grandma" and when my husband walked behind me into the screen's view she said,"Poppy is in the back". She was speaking to us as if we were in the room with her and I never heard my son tell her what to say. She ran down the hallway as he chased her while holding his laptop, because she wanted to show us her room. She asked us to come over to her house and we said we would, soon. She told us she had pizza for dinner and was going to have ice cream after we talked. I should have believed my friends when they told me that distance doesn't make a big difference in the internet age.

Measurements

Everything in the world has a measurement. Clothes are measured by sizes. Shoes are also. Rooms are measured by feet. Growth is measured by height and weight. Temperature is measured by degrees. Love is measured by our feelings. Today I am going to the doctor to be measured. He will be measuring my eyes. I never realized that in order to have a properly fitting lens to replace a cataract, the measurement needs to be exact. The only body part of a human being that remains the same size from birth to death is the eyeball. It's true, even though it seems incorrect. I will have one more personal statistic this morning that will only be of use to my doctor.

Swift

I had an Aunt Anne who passed away about 16 years ago. She was a very nice woman. Her husband nicknamed her "Swift" because she did everything fast. I feel like I inherited that from her. I do things fast. I am not sloppy or incorrect, just fast. I do not dawdle. I do what I have to and move on. I can do more in a day than other people do in a week. At work, my desk stays empty because when work needs to be done, it is done immediately. I could never be the type of person who drags their feet. This morning, I got up, walked the dog, got dressed, washed, put my make up on, made my breakfast and lunch and wrote this blog. All within 28 minutes.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my sister's anniversary. She is married 37 years. She got the best anniversary gift. A post it note from her husband saying, "Happy Anniversary, buy yourself something purty". She wrote ditto under the words. That is what I call a great gift. I am at the point in my life that a few words and a "buy your own gift" note makes my day. I do not need more clothes or jewelry and if you buy me flowers they had better be from the supermarket. If you made it to 37 years, gifts are not necessary. A quiet day without problems trumps everything.

Seniors and College Kids

I am a child, a parent and a grandparent. I am blessed to have two healthy, elderly parents. The older they get, the more amusing they become. They are, in some ways, like college students. They stay up late at night. They eat at odd times. They have no structure and many decisions are made "on the fly". They hop into a car and take off without buckling their seat belts. When my sister and I lecture them, you see the words going in one ear and out the other. They roll their eyes as if we have no sense in our heads. When we ask them certain questions, we know they answer us with what we want to hear and not what really happened. They have become a sneaky duo that thinks they have gotten the better of us. We try to be stern with them and sometimes have to hide our laughter. I just hope they don't book a trip to New Orleans for spring break. I do not want to see my mom with her shirt up and beads around her neck.

Phase One

Today I am starting phase one of my recreation. I will be going to work with my glasses on and will see the reaction of each person that walks into the office. I look very different with them on as the lenses are 3/4 inches thick. I am curious to see who will comment on them. I will also be beginning my healthy eating phase. I am not dieting, I am just eating healthier. Hopefully one will lead to another. I always felt that dieting is to please someone else but healthy eating is for yourself. It  took me hours to formulate what foods I would eat this week and I have a bag filled high with healthy options. I will eat six times a day and mix and match healthy combinations. They will include teas, plain yogurt mixed with fresh berries, almonds, cranberries, salads, a low calorie muffin and a power bar. That is just the food until dinner. I usually never eat that much but I am trying to have a consistent sugar level in my blood and that helps with digestion. Hopefully this will become a lifestyle,  as that is the only way to stay healthy.

New Qualifications

When I was young and single, I had my list of what the man I would marry would be like. He would be a few years older than me, tall,  dark and handsome, loves walks on the beach and see Broadway shows. He would need to be romantic and make me feel safe and secure. I am now married almost 35 years and have reevaluated my list. First of all, I would never get married again and if I did I think I would want a wife. I would like to have someone who would do for me, what I have done for my husband all these years. Here is my new list for finding "Mr. Right". He would need to be a non snoring, childless orphan who is financially sound, with excellent medical benefits and who also drives at night. If he was a mute, that would just be a plus.

Language

English is my native language. In middle school through high school, I had to choose a second language. I chose to learn French. As much as I tried, I could not learn it. I did not understand the conjugation and tenses. In order to pass the regents, my parents hired a tutor. After that fiasco, I decided to change to Spanish. I did much better learning that language, but if I traveled to a Spanish speaking country, I would have been limited to visiting bathrooms and kitchens.  Donde esta la sala de bano? In college I avoided any language. The reason I am writing about languages is because my small grandchildren have done what I could not. They have mastered a new language in under two years. They understand everything and speak in short sentences. This leads me to believe that the best way to learn language is by listening to it. No one has sat them down with a crayon in their hands to show them past tense, predicates, nouns and verbs. No one has asked then to say,"His, hers, ours and theirs". I spent the afternoon with my grandson yesterday. He knew exactly what I was saying and got his thoughts across to me beautifully. We need to rethink our methods of teaching language to our youth. I bet everyone reading this took at least one language in school and cannot speak it.

Don't Call

I put myself on the do not call list. For some reason I am still getting solicitation calls. Why do these callers feel they have the right to call me and then have an attitude? I got a call yesterday from a man saying that "Jerry" the man who set up my alarm system was going into his own business. I have no idea who Jerry is and did not think that this stranger needed to know whether or not I even had an alarm system. I told him that Jerry never installed my system because my "system" was three German Shepards  with huge teeth that would rip his face off of his body if he ever came on my property. He then sarcastically asked if I had guns. I said, "Who needs guns when you have three vicious animals". With that statement, I hung up. The stupid part of this is that the guy made the call from his landline with caller ID, so I now know who he is. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Last Contact

I have worn contact lenses for 43 years. Today is the last time I will wear them. I have to be without lenses for a week prior to having my eyes measured for my cataract surgery. It will feel weird to go to work in glasses until April 1st. No one at my office has seen me in glasses and to be honest, I look kind of geeky in them. I feel like it is an end to an era.

Not Quite Right

I went to the local pharmacy to pick up a prescription yesterday. As I was walking into the store a lady was walking ahead of me. She was my age and was wearing a hoodie. She looked like she was a bit agitated. Something looked off. She marched straight to the pharmacy counter and was ahead of me on line. When it was her turn, she walked up to the counter and started yelling at the girl. She was shaking a prescription bottle at her. As she yelled louder, I heard what she was saying. She was stating that her prescription was short pills. She was threatening to call the "head of the pharmacy" to let them know what was going on. The pharmacist came over to see what the noise was all about. He took the bottle out of her hand and read it. He commented that the prescription was filled on February 1, and it was now March 17. He said that someone was obviously taking the pills. She got even more infuriated. She screamed that they always do this to her order. I can bet you that the bottle contained a controlled substance. She thought that if she yelled loudly they would give her more pills. They did not.

Unexpected

When I go to Florida, I spend the afternoons at my parent's clubhouse pool. There is a group of people that go there every day to sit and talk. They range in age from 65 to 94. They all look young and fit. When I left the pool on Saturday, I said goodbye to everyone and added,"See you all next January". That is what I say every year. Yesterday morning I got a call from my sister saying that one of the people in the group suddenly died on Sunday night. It is always upsetting to hear of a death, but the woman that died was 67 years old. She was a beautiful woman and full of life. She went to sleep and never woke . She had a massive heart attack. I can't get the thought out of my mind that she is gone. It is unreal and so unexpected. It makes you think that we should all live life to the fullest as tomorrow is never guaranteed.

Back Home

I returned home yesterday afternoon and was glad to see that mostly all of the snow had melted. When i arrived at my house, I saw my lawn for the first time in six weeks. Now it feels like spring is on its way. I have a sense of renewal. I left in wintertime and returned to springtime. I will leave my house soon to go back to work and hope that there are no problems awaiting me.

Going Home

I am at the airport waiting to board a flight home. Five days is never enough, but is just enough if you are visiting family. It is hard living in someone else's domain even when they go above and beyond to accommodate your every need. I look forward to next year when I will rerun this trip. I had a wonderful time!

Last Two Pages

We all have worries in life. If we do not, we will create them. Humans are not meant to live their lives stress free. That is what heaven is for, I hope. We spend our lives going from topic to topic and most times things work out well. If we only waited to see the problem play out, we would have had an easier time. It is like reading the last two pages of a novel. Once you know there is a happy ending you don't have to spend 300 pages figuring out the plot. From now on when I face a problem, I will say to myself, "Just read the last two pages" and go with the flow.

Ross and Marshall

When I am in Florida, I spend my mornings with my new friends. Marshall and Ross. They are two retail stores that have the best bargains. Ross's is famous for shoes and Marshalls for clothes. I know the location of all of the stores and will go to a few each day. I have my suitcase filled with plenty of new clothes and when I wear them I will remember what a good time I had this week.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's 91st birthday. She is still going strong and has more energy than I do. So does my father. I am truly blessed. I am with my sister in Florida spending a long weekend with my parents. Just the four of us. Does life get better?

Early Bird

This morning I am up with the birds. I am flying with them too. I am off to Florida for my yearly birthday visit with my mother. It will be me, my sister and my parents. A winning combination. We have the same routine each year but it never gets old. Same restaurants, same stores and most times the same conversations. They used to have internet in their building but a few years ago it disappeared. I will try to go to the clubhouse and write this blog, if I can.

The Arguer

I work with a woman who is an arguer. Pick any topic and she will argue with you. Whether she is right or wrong, she is on the attack. She thinks that if she talks loud, it makes her right. Yesterday one of our patients was checking out at the front window. He made the simple comment that it was going to be freezing tonight so drive carefully because the melted snow will turn into black ice. It was a simple statement but the argument began. My receptionist said it was not going to be freezing. The patient answered that it was going to be 32 degrees. My receptionist said that 32 degrees is not freezing. He said it was. She said it was not. And so on and so on. After about 5 minutes of this insanity, I had to intervene. I said that "technically" 32 degrees is freezing so the patient is correct, but since it has been such a cold winter the receptionist felt that 32 degrees was like a heat wave. They both laughed and the patient left. I then turned to my receptionist and asked her whether that entire conversation was really necessary.

Dark Ages

We changed the clocks ahead this weekend so I am getting up to darkness again. I loved waking up to the sunshine. It will be a few more weeks until I see that again. I prefer not to drive in the dark anymore as my vision is not as good as it used to be for night driving. I am going to the eye doctor today and I hope he says that I have a cataract. Then I could have it fixed and have perfect vision without wearing glasses. I do not really think I have a cataract, but it gives me something to look forward to.

One Heart

I usually do not continue a blog for a second day but this time I must. I spent yesterday with a group of phenomenal people. Most of them I did not know, but their stories were the same. Each one of them had a friend or family member with a rare form of cancer.The event was held at Equinox gym in New York City, just one of the many locations nationwide. It was a spin cycle event. Each team had a few members ride the stationary cycles for 20 minute intervals. Each team represented a person that has, is in remission from, or passed away from a rare form of cancer. You would think that the mood would be somber, but it was just the opposite. It was the most upbeat group of people I had ever been with. The music blared and the floor of the room shook. Spirits were high as people cycled. The onlookers cheered them on with orange pom poms. There was complimentary food, fruit, water and energy bars. It was a party. All of the strangers in that room were bonded together for a cause. It was a family of strangers. The donations that are made go 100% to research and the amount of money donated was staggering. Everyone there had a smile on their face instead of  tears in their eyes. That is what hope and faith is all about. The link below is for my family's team. So far the total that they raised is $29,000. Can we make it higher? Everyone in that room was once a person that thought it could never happen to them. Maybe through our donations, research can find a cure so that it never happens to us.
 http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?team_id=40715&pg=team&fr_id=2340

Cycling

This morning I am going to a charity event named Cycle for Survival 2015. It is an event to raise money for rare cancers. All proceeds will go directly to research. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is the sponsor. The weather outside is beautiful as is fitting for such an event. I will be going there to cheer on the team of a family member. Her team has raised a large sum of money. That goes to show the love that her friends and extended family have for her. If you are reading this blog, keyword Cycle For Survival 2015 and donate.

In Order

I am an organized person. Everything I do is done in a timely manner. I do not say I will do it "later". I do not have chores that need to be done, but are not. I do not procrastinate. This mentality became evident yesterday. I had the day off due to the snowstorm. I called my staff to tell them we were closed. One person said that she would finally clean her house. One said that she would open the mail and pay the bills. Another said that she would catch up with the television shows she had recorded. I could not think of one thing that I could do because everything was done. I wandered around the house and looked out of the window a hundred times waiting for the snow plow to arrive, which did not happen until after 5pm. Everyone's day flew by. Mine dragged. I guess that is the downside of organization.

Cruel Joke

I got up this morning and looked out of my bedroom window. No snow! I got dressed and fed Shelby. We put on our coats and went outside for a walk. Down came the snow. What happened? I had my heart set on going to work and not losing another vacation day to snow. Sitting in all day and wasting a day off is aggravating.

For The Birds

People say that this weather is for the birds so I began to wonder. Where are the birds? This morning when I walked Shelby I stood there listening for their chirping,  but there was no sound. It was raining and there was sleet. I looked up into the leafless trees and did not see them. I looked at the telephone and electrical wires and they were not their either. Where did they go to keep safe and warm? As I sit here writing,  I still do not hear them. I guess this weather is really not for the birds because when it gets bad they disappear.

Smart Shopping

I am not usually a coupon clipper. The only ones I cut out are the ones for my favorite restaurants or craft stores. The brand names want you to buy 2 or 3 of their products and I no longer stock pile food. I have become a price comparison shopper. Since a new supermarket has opened a few blocks away, I have an additional reference. Just this week alone, I saved a nice amount. My usual store had bananas for 79 cents a pound. The new store had them for 49 cents a pound. Chicken cutlets
that were $4.59 in the old store were $1.99 in the new one. Avocados for $1.28 each were 99 cents each. Blackberries were $2.99 but I paid $1.88. The list goes on and on. These stores are only a half mile away from each other and the fruits were the same brand. It just goes to show the price markup from one store to another. The new store is named Best Market. What an appropriate name.

Wonderful Guy

Today is my nephew's birthday. He is 31, the same age as my younger son. Their birthdays are six weeks apart. The two boys grew up together. They went to the same schools and now that they are married, they live in the same neighborhood. I always felt that he was a like my third son. He is the kindest person and is very loving. I have very fond memories of his childhood. One stands out more than most. One Mother's Day when he was about 11 years old, he walked around the corner to the florist. He had to cross a busy street and my sister and I were worried. We followed him and hid behind trees so he would not see us watching him. He brought home 2 roses, one for her and one for me. He wrote a note on the tiny florist cards for each of us. Mine said, "Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have a good time today". He doesn't know that I saved the card and it is in my jewelry box. Even though he will not be reading this, I wish a happy birthday to a wonderful guy.

March

It's March! Even though there is still snow on the ground, March gives us hope. We know that there is an end to the winter doldrums. In January we know that we have a long road ahead. In February we know that there will be snow and cold. March just has a different feel. It is like Wednesday. You know that you are almost there and if you just hang on, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.