A Mother

Having a mother is something we all take for granted. She is someone who is always there and has our best interest at heart. She is someone we can share life's accomplishments with and someone we can cry to when times are rough. I have a good friend who lost her mother when she was 20 years old. My friend is now 30. I see how the loss of a mother has affected her. She has no siblings so that makes it worse. She is not in a relationship and has no real family except for her father. I have become her shoulder to cry on and her person to share her accomplishments with. Yesterday she was upset and called me in tears. I sat and listened to her sob for about a half hour. I did not need to say much of anything, as all she needed was to know that I was on the other end of the phone. When she got it all out, she took a deep breath and felt better. She said that just listening to her was what her mother would have done.

One Rule

There is one rule in my family that cannot be broken. Yesterday, my husband broke that rule. He shopped in a local craft store...without a coupon. It must have been a moment of insanity or maybe a mini stroke. He needed a picture frame for a nonsensical certificate and could not wait for me to buy it. He took it upon himself (without prior authorization) to go to the store alone. He paid $9.00, full price, for a frame that should have cost $5.40, with a coupon. I did not yell at him, because I knew it was going to be returned this morning. He will need a refresher course in coupon shopping. If you do not get 20% or 40% off, you walk out of the store.

Happy Birthday

June 19, 1981 was the best day of my life. My first child was born. From the moment he was born, life has never been the same. The years have flown by. My little man has grown into a big man. I remember snippets of his childhood with great fondness. I cannot remember anything bad. I guess our memories filter out all of the childhood nonsense and leave us thinking that we brought our children up wonderfully. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Disgruntled Employee

Since my husband has been on disability there were phone calls that needed to be made to his union. That is not his strong point. He has no idea what to say. One afternoon he called the disability department and a nasty woman got on the phone. She was his representative for his claims. He said that he wanted her to speak to me  and I got on the phone. After I said hello, she demanded that he get back on. She told him that she would only speak to him. He said he wanted her to talk to me. She said no. I explained that he had no idea what questions to ask. She still said no. We put her on speakerphone and decided to play the game with her. I said, "Ask her if she got the form". He said, "Did you get the form". She said yes and he repeated to me that she said yes. We did this for about ten questions and she finally realized how moronic her request was. I then spoke to her directly on speaker phone and got all of the information. I did not want to fight with her and inform her that by him saying I could be spoken to, under Hipaa law, she had to do it. She accomplished nothing by being spiteful.

Even Dogs Know

How we react to people depends on the "vibes" that we are given. We act calmly when surrounded by a calm person and we act agitated when surrounded by an irritable person. Human beings are wired that way. Apparently, so are dogs. I live next to a very aggressive Labrador retriever. When I walk Shelby, this dog bolts at us, as if he is on the attack. He bares his teeth and growls. Shelby then retaliates by barking and jumping. Most days, I slowly scan the yard to see if Milo is there. Once the coast is clear, we venture into the yard. On Father's Day, the next door neighbor on the other side of my yard had a cousin that was visiting and he brought his dog. It was a very large Boxer. Four times the size of Shelby. I had no idea that the dog was in the yard when I went out. After I was midway into the yard, standing at the fence, this huge dog slowly walked over. Shelby slowly walked to meet him. They both stood silently at the fence touching noses and wagging their tails. It was so cute to see. Two dogs, just being friends. It just goes to show you that even dogs react well to good behavior.

Wake Up Call

Every morning for as long as I can remember, my sister calls me at about 6:45am to say good morning. We discuss what we did the prior day, even though we spoke 10 times and then discuss what we will do today. We repeat ourselves over and over, but it still seems like the first time we say things. At some point in the conversation we always find something to laugh about. I love to start my day this way. It just makes things feel right.

Good Advice

Nobody in the world knows it all. I have learned over the years that asking for advice is for your own benefit. I have been making greeting scrolls as gifts for friends and family. I give them instead of greeting cards and as keepsakes. I decided that I wanted to sell them on the Etsy website, which is a site for crafters,  but I knew nothing about how to go about doing it. My sister in law sells customized boxes and picture frames (and so much more I cannot list) on the Etsy site. Her items sell well because they are beautiful and well made. She uses ribbons to embellish the items, thus the name of her shop is "RibbonMade". (www.etsy.com/shop/RibbonMade). I showed her my items and listened intently as she gave me her feedback. She was right on target with all of her advice. She pointed out things that I never would have realized. I had my own personal "Shark". She was even kind enough to design a web page banner for me. That gesture was extra special as she is also a professional commercial artist. I will do the work and set up my shop and hope for the best. Her advice was worth a million. Thanks, Barbara!