Rely

How many people in the world can you truly rely on? If you have one or two you are doing well. I am talking about the kind of person that you can ask a favor and not have to worry if they will pull through. Nothing is worse than needing someone'
s help and then having to worry whether or not they will remember. I had this happen the other day. I needed a ride to work and had asked a coworker to pick me up. She agreed but never wrote it down. For 2 days I worried that she would forget but I did not want to seem like a nag and mention it. I hoped that she would be able to remember a simple task. I was wrong. About 15 minutes before the scheduled pick up time, I called her house to say I was ready early if she wanted to come then. We all know that this call was really a reminder. It seems that she totally forgot about getting me and if I did not call I would have been standing at the door waiting for no one.

Dog Days of Summer

I made an appointment with a new dog groomer in town. The girl that actually grooms the dog changed jobs so I followed her. I had a 9:30 am appointment and arrived at 9:29 am to find the store closed. After waiting about five minutes a woman who turned out to be the owner and Kim the groomer come running from across the parking lot, apologizing. As I walked into the shop I see a sign that says please go online for a $5.00 coupon off your first visit. Prior to the appointment I did look online for any coupons but none appeared. I said to the woman that I looked online and did not find a coupon so could she take off the discount anyway. She said that I needed the paper. I said that I really did not want to go home and search for it and print it but I would do so if I had to. She said that she needs the coupon because "if she did it without the paper, people would use it more than once". I verified that this was a $5.00 off the FIRST visit coupon and she said yes. Well, if you need to register the dogs information and they keep a record of all visits, how could someone use a FIRST time coupon, twice? She looked at me blankly so I continued talking. "There is only one first time for something" I said. The next first time is called the second time. After that it is the third, etc. I saw her calculating the math in her head and then she got it! Right... one first. She said she would apply the discount to the service. All in all it was poor time management (opening the store late), poor math skills (how many firsts are there?) but a good haircut. I will go back there again.

A New Road

After one year, many resumes, and lots of phone calls, my daughter- in -law starts a new job this morning. Over the past few months she decided that she had to have a focus on a career plan instead of just having a job. She realized that she would be happiest in a school setting working with Special Education students. For five years she had worked with disabled adults and found that to be fulfilling but not enough. With the job market being poor, there was only one opening in the 14 neighboring towns. She was lucky to have found out about the opening as soon as it was posted and the school was lucky that she applied. After two weeks of paperwork, she was called yesterday to begin today. She is going back to school at 29 years old but this time on the other side of the fence.

First Day

Today is the first day of school in my town. Even though it has been years, actually decades, since my last first day of school, my memories are still quite clear. I remember how it felt to put on my new school shoes and brand new outfit. I had a friend that even had to wear new underwear and socks. I never got that carried away. A new outfit and shoes were fine. I loved the smell of my new loose leaf binder and pristine pencil case. Each year the theme was different. They ran the gamut from Barbie to Cinderella to Man From Uncle to the peace sign. A new theme for a new semester. Each year I had high hopes that this was the year I would write neat notes. I have a tendency to scribble and doodle. Each year I went back to my old ways and hoped for the best the next year. I remember those first days fondly but would never want to relive them.

Tourist Time

Yesterday at noon, we were supposed to have a guest speaker from out of town. We planned a luncheon for 12:30 pm, after the half hour talk. All of the doctors arranged their schedules to be free from 12 - 1 pm for the discussion. Twelve, twelve fifteen, twelve thirty, one o'clock, no speaker. We opened up the pizzas and ate. In the meantime I tried to call the man's cell phone but no answer. At 1:15pm a very nice man walks in the door. So, here is the story why he was late. He made a speech in Manhattan and then had to go to Penn Station to take the train to Great Neck. The taxi ride took 20 minutes and by that time he missed his train. He tried to call but there was no reception that far below ground. Since the doctors were now seeing patients, I had to sit in on the meeting to "fill a seat". It was actually very interesting. Now we get to the funny part. He never needed to take a taxi to Penn Station. He was 1 block away the whole time. He could have walked it in 3 minutes. Shame on the taxi driver.

Well Hidden

Have you ever hidden an object so well that you have no idea where it is when you want it? That has happened to me a few times and usually I find what I am looking for when I no longer need it. That is what is happening to me today. Many years ago when my older son was about 3 years old, I had a picture made for him. I was in Lake George and we were at a wild west town. I purchased a newspaper that had the headline saying "(my sons name) Captures Outlaw". It was a prophetic headline because 19 years later it came true. I wanted to bring him this picture to have as a keepsake, but I do not know where I placed it for safe keeping. Each day I check a new hiding spot. Maybe when I am not looking it will appear.

Happy Labor Day

I have mixed feelings about today. It is an ending and a beginning. I am not sure which one I am happier for. Summer flew by and I can't even recall what I really did. I went to the same pool and hung out with the same people but everything was different. The conversation seemed redundant. It reminded me of the pool in a Florida condominium. Same seats, same conversation, same bathing suits. Maybe by writing this blog I am answering my own question. I guess I am happier for a new beginning. This afternoon my pool bag will be emptied and packed away until June. Tomorrow the traffic on the parkway will be heavy because the teachers are back to work. Beach mode will turn to school mode. The countdown to holiday season will begin. Maybe it all boils down to looking forward to change.