Elderly Neighbors

The house across the street from me is for sale. The people who live there are moving after about 25 years. I never liked them, but that is another story. As I see the young couples with small children looking at the house, I remember that years ago I was like them. My oldest son was 20 months old when we moved into my house. I remember my parents standing in the street as some elderly neighbors walked by to talk. They told us what a nice block this was and how their children grew up here. As they told their story I could see the happiness on their faces remembering their youthful days as young parents. They seemed so old to me. If I do the math, they were probably in their late 50's but they seemed old. When a new family moves in, I will be that elderly neighbor telling stories of years gone by.

Never Gone

She isn't gone. She is just not here. There is a difference. I find myself reminding people around me of this fact. If I say it enough, they will slowly believe and see what I am saying. How can you be gone, when you have left a legacy? How can you be gone, when your blood still flows in your family? How can you be gone, when things you used to say are still being said? How can you be gone, when I still feel you so strongly in my heart? The answer is that you are not gone. You are just not here. I have resigned myself to this mindset and it makes me feel at peace.

Wired

As I was walking Shelby this morning, I looked around my yard. All I saw were wires strung from pole to pole. Wires to my house. Wires to the street. Wires to my neighbors houses. Then I began to think. If we have cell phone and internet service, why can't utilities also be wireless? In a storm, our internet still works so if there was another hurricane and we were wireless, no one would be affected. We could run our homes from a utility router that is connected to a main utility server. If the system goes down, it takes only hours to fix, not weeks like the last storm. Why are we so modern yet so archaic?

The Last Turtle

A turtle is an animal that has a strong shell. It can carry things on its back without flinching. There is an expression that dates so far back that no one really knows how long ago it originated. The saying is, "Turtles all the way down". It means that one turtle rests on the next and the next and the next. It is an infinite layer of turtles that are there for support to carry the world on their backs. Sometimes I feel like the last turtle.

Miscommunication

My boss returned to the office after a one month vacation. She met the new receptionist and thought she was very nice and personable. Then she started to assign her tasks without being very clear. She doesn't understand that the rest of the staff knows how to deal with her rapid fire instructions but a new girl needs to learn. Two out of two tasks were done wrong. I heard what my boss wanted done and then heard how it was done incorrectly. One was a mix up of UPS and Fex Ed. The other was a mix up of which brown chairs belonged where. I fixed both the problems but needed to review the errors with the new girl. I explained to her that if she was not 100% clear about the tasks, she could question the boss for more specific details. It is better to question and be right, than assume and be wrong. Hopefully things go smoothly from now on.

Written Down

I am at the age where if it is not written down, it does not get done. This morning as I combed my hair, I realized that it was a bit longer than usual. I could not remember when my haircut appointment was. I looked on the calendar and did not see an appointment for July even though I thought I had written it down. I checked back in June and saw that I went on the 13th which means that four weeks later a date must have been made. Thinking back, I sort of remember saying that July 11 was a good day, even though it was my husband's birthday. The 11th has come and gone. The stylist never called to check where I was even though I have not missed an appointment in 35 years. I could have died and she would not have known it. I happen to be alive but forgetful. Now, since my hair cutter is only in one week a month, I will use a coupon for a new salon and save $15. This was a profitable oversight.

Return

My boss returns to work today. She has been out of the office for almost two months. Things ran smoothly when she was gone. No big issues or problems to solve. I am sure as she walks in today there will be a thousand nonsensical things on her mind. Work is great without a boss.