Risin' up, straight to the top . . .

In the summer of 1982, I started college, met a nice guy, accidentally admitted I went to a movie to my conservatively-religious mom (whose heart proceeded to break) and joined the Rocky movie craze. I had never seen a Rocky movie, but after seeing Rocky III, I had to see the rest. I was only ONE of the many young people on campus that year singing "Eye of the Tiger," and doing that funny dance/punch down the steps. Thank goodness there was no YouTube then!! It's so funny to think back now that the guy I thought was the "Tiger's Meow," would become the bestest brother-in-law in the whole world. The one who took me to Fast Times at Ridgemont High would help give me a perfectly sweet little adorable niece (named after me) and the cutest, funniest and most brilliant little neph an Appie could ever want! I couldn't have manipulated that situation better if I'd tried! You can call me lucky, but I just feel VICTOR-ious!!

I left my heart in SFO . . .

I love San Francisco. I'll admit it. Even if Al Gore says it'll be underwater someday. I love Union Square. I love Macy's. It's better in Union Square. Now that Macy's is in EVERY SINGLE town, I'll always love it better in Union Square. I love Fisherman's Wharf. I love my extended family in Menlo Park. I love seeing trolley cars and the Gold, Silver and Bronze Men. I love Spa Nordstrom. I love the Cheesecake Factory on the 8th floor of Macy's. I love seagulls (sometimes!) and seals and the smell of clam chowder. I love the Christmas tree in the St. Francis Hotel. I love the Geary Street Theatre. I love The Christmas Carol. I love the little ol' Asian lady in my favorite souvenir shop who pretends she never remembers me. I love Walgreen's where I can buy limited quantities of Advil Cold. I love holiday tunes playing subliminal messages like "Buy Me!" and I always do! I love early December in the airports. I love my BFF. I'm sad. It's only June.

It's a Jolly Holiday with Ma-a-ary

Today is my wonderful mom's birthday. She's a very special age that allows her to retire. Today to celebrate her special day, her household goods were delivered to her new house! She's living a dream life now. She gets to do WHAT she wants, WHEN she wants. I'm jealous. Today for her birthday I worked. (It sucks to be me.) But I worked at a nice place. (It doesn't totally suck to be me.) Then I came home and found 3 teenage boys cleaning my kitchen. Makes me wonder why. Hmmm. I'm no dummy. Some questions are best not asked.

Oh yeah, my mom's birthday. So I called her at 6:20 this morning and sang "Happy Birthday." She forgave me for probably waking her up. She's cool that way. I get to see her next week and I can't wait! Sure, she'll be older, but I still think she's cool. And she recently put two more holes in her head. She's nutty that way. And she really really loves her grandboys and grandgirls. She's huggy that way. So here's to my mom. May she have many many many more birthdays, but may I never never never have to change her adult diapers. I love you, Mom!

Chicken or Tuna??

My sister sent me this lovely quote recently.

“You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” -Jack London

Ok, I gotta tell ya. I thought that was from Jack Webb. His ex-wife was Julie London from "Emergency." (Only the BEST SHOW EVER in the 70's!!!!) Well, ya put that together and I was thinking, "Wow, Dragnet- guy has a good quote." I'll say it. I'm a moron. Someone club me.

Idiots In Our Midst

Today I worked at a company doing some computer work in an office adjacent to another room where they were conducting interviews. The manager was interviewing throughout the day. It was a laborer job, but I was still so shocked, I thought I was getting punk'd or something. Here is a snippet of the conversation I overheard.

Manager: ". . .so the benefits in this job include . . "

RING RING (Applicant's cell phone)

Applicant: "Oh, I gotta get this."

"Hi Honey. ---- Yeah, I'm in an interview right now. ----Yeah, the jobs sounds good. -----I'm not sure exactly how much. We haven't talked about that yet. ----- Oh, you know I wouldn't take anything less than what I'm worth. (I'm sure at this point he winked at the interviewer) ---- Well, I decided I should come by and talk to them now. ---- Yeah, I can do that when I get home. ------ I love you, too. ------ Yes, I really do. ------ Honey, I'm not kidding. I really do love you. ------ Oh yeah. I forgot to pick that up. I'll do it on the way home. ----- I'm really sorry. I do love you though. ----- OK, I'll see you at home." CLICK.

Manager: "Do you have time today to get the paperwork from HR?"

Applicant: "So, do I have the job?"

Manager: "I don't see why not."

So, at this point, I'm spewing Slimfast through my nose. Did I mention he brought his 6-year-old son to the interview? It's one of those ridiculous situations where the guy GOT the job, so you can't even say "Hey, here's a tip . . ."
This would be a good place to note that in a recent temporary assignment, I was working in HR, sorting and compiling documents. I took the time to read the applications, as I was told by the HR manager it would be very amusing. One man wrote "Just got outta prison. Didn't really beat the bitch up."

My own personal worst interview moment was awhile back when the interviewer-man said to me "Do you have a stable home life?" I don't know. Define stable.

So, what's yours???

NONE OF THIS WAS MADE UP. I'm not that good!

Does this helmet make my butt look big?

Today I embarked on a truly remarkable adventure. Ron talked me into taking a ride on the back of his motorcycle. I think we went a whole 35 miles or so. I was decked out, head to toe, in protective gear (to include 27 layers of bubble wrap.) I stopped visibly shaking after we left the highway. Yes, we were IN traffic. One car ahead. One car behind. No one tailgated and they’d have heard from me if they tried. (I can still send signals with my feet!) I closed my eyes for several seconds and realized it was much more terrifying not seeing which lane we were in. I did a little backseat driving, I will admit. I think Ron’s glad we didn’t have a head mic system. I'm just sure he sent me a subliminal message today. “I like to spend time with you more when I can’t hear your voice.”

Whatever.

Well, I gotta go floss. I taste something in my teeth that ISN’T lunch.

Got Spark?

Way back in nineteen seventy-something, my wonderful grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were surrounded by ALL of their children and probly most of their grandchildren and a coupl'a great-grandchildren. The families helped clean, paint, wallpaper and landscape their home and yard prior to this momentous occasion. Each individual family had their picture taken with the honored couple. My grandpa wasn't grumpy, but when the photographer said "Smile!" Grandpa said "I AM smiling*&^%&*(!!" And we all chorused, "Yeah, he IS." My mom made matching dresses for my sister and me. Lucky us.

My grandpa was a really special person to me. He was sick with emphysema for my whole life, so it was very normal for him to be in and out of the hospital, living temporarily in an oxygen tent. He saved the bendy straws for me in the hospital. He always told me lots of stories of "the olden days." I remember sitting by his bedside while he regaled me with logging stories and hunting tales. He was protective of me and even when his old codger friends visited, and they gave me the creeps, I knew that Grandpa wouldn't let anything happen to me. He shared books with me about cowboys. I would have liked to be a cowgirl, until I found out they didn't bathe very often. Even though Grandpa wasn't into "women libbers," he got a kick out of my mom and her best friend burning their bra's in his backyard. He made the best mincemeat pies and jellies and jams. Though I couldn't tell you now what mincemeat tastes like. He had a smokehouse behind their home and it smelled SO good when it was going. I didn't know what venison was made from or maybe I wouldn't have enjoyed it quite so much. Don't ask - don't tell. If Grandpa was alive today, he'd be nearly 107 years old. Of course, he would have buried three of his five children by now. I remember the day my grandpa died. I was so sad and really didn't understand the forever aspect of death. And I never gave any thought to eternal life. We were Baptist and I was scared outta my wits over that secret rapture crap. (No offense anyone. Really. I still get the willies thinking about it.) So, my grandpa was gone and I didn't get to see him or talk to him or hug him or kiss him ever again. It was my first experience ever with death of anyone I loved.

My grandma was the kindest-hearted person I've ever known. She was a seamstress and a crafty person. I don't sew - my sister inherited that gene and her teaching, but I'd like to think the crafty thing came from her. She wrote me my first ever check, for a Brownie calendar I sold her. I still have that check somewhere. I love the home movie of Grandma and Grandpa coming over for Christmas morning to see me open my gifts. I was number 87 (or something like that) of grandchildren, but they never failed to make me feel like Numero Uno. I was their baby's first baby, so I guess there was something special about that. My grandma told me SO many stories of life in the 20's, when she married my grandpa. Before they married, she was a school teacher. Probly she was HOT cuz you know how all the single school teachers are HOT. She gave birth at home for her first 4 children and then my dad was the only one born in an actual hospital. Here's me without an epidural: "BARREN" My grandma would sew in the evenings and watch TV. After my grandpa died, she missed him so much and told me she still expected him to walk around the corner. I don't know where they are now, but I imagine something like the reunion at the end of Titanic. Her stories paint a very special love story. She had a terrible fall one night and then suffered from Alzheimer's for awhile before she died. It wasn't a very dignified life at the end and I tend to think more of the great memories of her while I was growing up. She buried one son during her life and told me afterward of the terrible pain in her heart, losing him. She said "it doesn't matter if they're 8 months or 80 years, it's heartbreaking to lose your child." I sat there holding my 8 month old son in my arms while we talked and I hurt just imagining that kind of loss. I loved her stories about my dad when he was a little guy. After she died, my aunt found all the pictures and letters that she had ever received in the many drawers around her house. I still have letters she wrote me throughout the years. She was one very special lady. I know I tend to think of my grandparents as just old people who lived together. But spending 50 years together is much more than tolerance and charity. They built a life together. They raised a family and continued tending to their grands and greats until their deaths. Something brought my grandparents together some 80+ years ago. There was a spark, a smile, the hint of something sweet. They couldn't have imagined the lives they would build together. Just like me and my #1 guy, nearly 22 years ago. A spark. A smile. The hint of something sweet.

But the greatest of these is LOVE . . .

I received an email recently that challenged me to see how many things I’m thankful for that DON’T cost money. Let’s see . . . hmmm . . . Oh, yeah -

• my #1 guy
• my #1 boy
• my #2 boy
• my Molly and my Shelby
• my mom and dad – I’ll ALWAYS be thankful for them, even when they aren’t here to hear it.
• my little sis – big hearted and talented! Bro-in-law is pretty great, too. Jack the boy and Katie, Scout and Casey the girls – love ‘em all.
• my BFF and her extended bunch – they’re all awesome!
• The Montana Jeri's
  
• Nana – who was fun with me and is now an even better Great-Nana
• My aunt and uncles in Oregon – thankful for some special cousins, too!
• My wonderful cousins/surrogate parents - Wade and Karen
• My dear friends in Colorado, Oregon, California, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas and Germany
• People I've worked with who are so nice to me I feel like it's my birthday!
  
• my mind – it comes and goes, but hasn’t completely left me yet
• my health – I’m still putting one foot in front of the other
• music
• humor
• clean, fresh air
  
• blue skies and a great view of Pikes Peak
• rainy days and Mondays
• a job with flexibility
• living in a free country
• Joy, peace and love

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I miss you, Libby

Ten years ago today, I lost a very dear friend. Libby was 31 years old, married and had three little girls under the age of five. She suffered a sudden massive stroke one Sunday afternoon. I know her loss is still felt by so many. I wrote this poem as a tribute to this caring and thoughtful friend.

My Friend

If I had but just one moment

And knew the end was near

I have so many things I'd say

Now she'll never hear

I didn't know there'd be no chance

No later time to tell

No words to be the last ones

No time to wish her well

If I'd had that moment

I'd thank her for the days

We laughed, we shared, she always cared

She showed that in so many ways

I loved to be around her

I admired her sense of life

She had class and she had style

She was a loving mother and a good wife

The hardest part of losing

This friend I'm glad I had

Is that if I'd lost any other friend so dear

She'd be my shoulder while I'm sad

Libby was a friend to all

Her heart was big and plenty

She had so much yet left undone

So much to give to many

If I can learn but one thing now

That moment now is past

To share our final words of thanks

Should not be saved for last

We must not keep those words inside

When time might quickly end

Without a warning, Libby's gone

Good-bye, my wonderful friend.

So here I am alone to grieve

No shoulder now for me

But I have to say I'm thankful

For the little piece of heaven, called our friendship

I was lucky to receive