An Opinion Can't Be Wrong

My sister told me a funny story this morning. The other day she was walking in Queens and passed two brothers and their father. The boys looked about six years old and were pushing and shoving each other. One boy kept saying, "An opinion can't be wrong. It is a feeling. You can't tell me I am wrong if it is my opinion". The other brother then shoved him and said, "You're wrong". The first brother repeated that an opinion can't be wrong because it is a feeling. Opinions can't be wrong. The other brother shoved him again, saying, "You're wrong". My sister watched as they did this back and forth banter all the way down the block. At six years old, this little boy was right. An opinion can't be wrong. It is a thought, a feeling, an opinion. It is not a fact. A fact needs to be right. An opinion doesn't. How many times have we fought about a subject and not resolved it? Most arguments are conflicting opinions. We all have the right to our own.

Virtial Tour

Skype is the best invention for grandparents. Years ago, if your grandchild lived far away, they could only speak to you on the phone. Now they can see you face to face. Last night my granddaughter Skyped with us. I was able to walk her around my house and take her into the backyard to see my husband doing yard work. She told me about her day and how she spent it with her new doll, Margaret. She ran into her room and brought out four dolls. She showed me each one and told me their names. There was Margaret, Baby, Man and Girl. She said she sleeps with ten dolls and then counted 1,2,3,7,8,9,10. I guess she was too excited to remember 4,5 and 6. She got to see Shelby running around too. It felt like we were there with her, except for the real hugs and kisses. Nothing replaces those.

A New Normal

There is an expression, "A New Normal". At some point in everyone's life it becomes relevant. Life is about change and movement. We go through childhood, adolescence, adulthood  and retirement. Each phase has different guidelines. There is no handbook. We learn as we go. The choice to be happy in each new phase is up to us. In my lectures I teach that happiness is a mindset. Today my husband begins his new normal. I hope the transition into this phase will be easy for him. If not, it will be hard on me. Nothing comes easy and we have to leave room for adjustments. Rome was not built in a day. Neither is retirement. We are formulating a plan and if it goes as scheduled, he will have a fulfilling life. The key is that he has to be a willing participant with a good attitude. I think he will do just fine.

Retirement

Today is my husband's last day of work. Tomorrow, people will refer to him as retired. He has been wanting to retire since he was 28 years old. As the day grew closer, he began to have anxiety. Was he doing the right thing? It isn't the question of stopping work. It is the unanswered question of what is next. Your work becomes your identity and as much as people dislike the work routine, it is an integral part of you. His retirement party was at work last night. There was great food and he received a beautiful watch. It is funny that a watch is the usual retirement gift, as you have nowhere to be on time after you retire. It is like giving a comb to a bald man. He is requesting to work at his job one day a week and hopefully that will start soon. He will also look into other options to keep busy. Everyone needs a purpose in life. Without one, what is life about?

Stand By

This week I am on telephone standby jury duty. It isn't serving on a jury that I mind. It is losing pay. I get the concept that it is a civic duty and responsibility to serve. I do not understand how the government thinks that people can pay their bills on $40 a day. Considering that the government tosses away thousands of dollars on nonsense, why isn't the law changed. If people received their weekly salary, no one would mind being on the jury. Instead, we plot our strategy as to what we could possibly say to be dismissed. I only know one person that wants to serve. The funny thing is that that as much as she wishes, her number never gets called.

Good Help

Good help is hard to find. It goes across the board from office workers to construction workers. We are up to our fourth estimate for our large bathroom. We are easy going people. We want a basic job done without any fancy custom work. Basically swap out the toilet, sink, and tub, and sheetrock the walls. Then tile the floor and bathtub area. That is what we did for the small bathroom, but we do not want to remove a bathtub ourselves. Each contractor that walks in, is an event. One was a fast talker that said we would flip over his work. He never called us back with references and did not show up the next week to write up a contract. The next one said he was reliable, but the internet said he stole money. The next one showed us the scar from where his colon was removed. TMI, as we say. He quoted us a high price and said he would call that evening with the specific breakdown. It is now the next day and still no call. This afternoon one more putz will come to my house. By next week my husband will start pulling off the bathroom walls himself as he wants the bathroom done "NOW". As for me, I don't really care anymore. As long as I have one working bathroom, I am good to go.

Unexpected Call

Yesterday my sister and I went to visit our parents. As usual, we walked around the neighborhood first, as it is so culturally diverse. After taking our walk , we went to our paren'ts house. We walked in, hugged and kissed them hello, then the telephone rang. It was my cousin from California. As soon as my mother heard his voice, she knew something was wrong. Her brother had passed away that morning. He was her younger brother. Out of five siblings, my mother is the only one left. She was distraught. So were we. It is never the right time to lose a beloved family member. There is never a right age. He had not been sick. He developed pneumonia and died a few days later, peacefully, with his son's by his side. He will be missed.