Category: worries

TODAY’S WORRY

In an effort to maintain the sort of not-so-young but not-so-old image that we want, we have invented The Three Step Rule. Now this may sound like a shortcut to sobriety but, alas, it is not. And it is something that only needs to be done while in public. Sometimes, after being in the car for a goodly amount of time, we find that knees and hips don’t just spring out of the seats and jauntily walk away from the car. So we have invented The Three Step Rule as a solution. After getting out of the car, stand for a moment and get your back, hips and knees lined up while trying to look casual. Then the rule is, you must be walking naturally by the time you have taken three steps. Sure, it is easier to creak across the parking lot. But the more you give in to the creakiness, the more it will become a habit.

TODAY’S WORRY

Being the kind of person who is always worried that something will go wrong, I find vacations that I plan very stressful. Since I am the planner, when inevitably some activity does not quite live up to its billing or is a total disaster, I feel it is my fault. In fact my kids always refer to these mishaps as “another one of mom’s good ideas.” Too crowded is often a good-vacation-experience killer. So here’s my advice – take your trips during the off-season. Want to go to Florida? Try April or November. Been longing to visit Italy? There’s nobody there in January and February. Interested in hiking in Zion National Park? I was there last week and there were blue skies and temperatures in the upper 50’s and low 60’s. The desert flowers were beginning to bloom. Being able to experience extraordinary places without thousands of other people is a real joy. Yes, sometimes it’s a little rainy, or cold, or hot. But I find that weather is a lot easier to put up with than too many tourists.

TODAY’S WORRY

Most people who know me would say that I am somewhat to the left of center when it comes to politics. But I try to keep an open mind. This week on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Nancy Sodenberg was on to hawk (heh, heh) her book, The Superpower Myth: the Use and Misuse of American Might. Now, Jon Stewart is not known for his right-leaning point of view but he brought up some points which are valid and are a conundrum to many Democrats. He said, “But what do you make of–here’s my dilemma, if you will. I don’t care for the way these guys [the current U.S. administration] conduct themselves. ….But boy, when you see the Lebanese take to the streets and all that, and you go, “Oh my God, this is working…” Sodenberg replies, “Well, I think, you know, as a Democrat, you don’t want anything nice to happen to the Republicans, and you don’t want them to have progress. But as an American, you hope good things would happen.”

I guess only time will tell if this is a case of a cause and effect, and if so, whether the means justified the ends.

TODAY’S WORRY

Since in my last entry I talked about not sleeping, I thought today I’d talk about napping. I have never been a napper. Not in a real sense, anyway. You know, giving in to the sleepiness and actually lying down on a bed. It has always seemed too guilty a pleasure. But I am starting to reconsider my position. Suppose the next day, after having an interrupted five hours worth of sleep the night before, I decide to lie down on my bed (as opposed to falling asleep somewhere else and ending up with a stiff neck), and took a little sleep, maybe a half an hour. Would I arise refreshed , and ready to tackle the rest of my day? Or would I be groggy and disoriented and consumed with guilt over my indulgence? Moreover, would I be setting the stage for another night of non-sleep?

TODAY’S WORRY

Do you sleep? I mean all night. Or if you wake up, do you go back to sleep right away? I am very good at falling asleep but not very good at staying asleep. Is it because as a mother you get used to always being on the alert for any little noise? Is it just that as you get older you don’t need to sleep as much? I am frequently awake between 3 AM and 5 AM. I toss and turn. Sometimes I go look at my email. I play solitaire on my PDA. (Playing games on one’s PDA is an excellent way to while away the sleepless hours. It is backlit so you don’t have to turn on a light and bother your sleeping partner.) I don’t remember the last time I slept all night. I’d really like to.

TODAY’S WORRY

This has happened to me quite frequently. It always makes me feel bad. John and I walk into a restaurant or a hotel or somewhere that you get waited on. They ask how they can help him and then they ask me, “Are you checking in?’ or “Table for how many?” “No, we’re together,” I say. Of course, I immediately feel like they are thinking, how can she be with him? John says I am just being paranoid and they are merely covering their bases by not ignoring the lone woman standing there. Maybe I am just being insecure but I’m not sure.

TODAY’S WORRY

There was recent economic news reporting that new home sales are booming. I wondered why that was. I know the economy has improved somewhat but it still seemed an unusually high number. Do you think it is because so many baby boomers are getting ready to retire and they are buying retirement and second homes? I’ve spent part of this week viewing the homes in the St. George Parade of Homes. St. George, Utah is a hot spot for the “active retiree.” There’s lots of hiking and outdoor sports plus gorgeous scenery. Lots of the houses on the Parade were in the $1 million+ range. My thought is this, who are the houses going to be resold to? If you have millions to spend on a retirement home, wouldn’t you want to have one custom built for you? There’s lots of land out here and no one seems to be putting the brakes on development.

TODAY’S WORRY

Noah, call the lifeboats! Here in the southwestern part of Utah I think we have just surpassed the most rainfall ever. Because all the activities we were planning on doing have been washed out, we decided to go and become members of the local library, the Santa Clara branch of the Washington County (Utah) Library System. After having to prove we were not usurpers trying to take out books illegally, we were given our library cards, a brochure about the library and allowed to browse the shelves. The library goes for the minimalist look. No shelf is more than one third full and the bottom two shelves have nothing on them at all. Although there are several hefty shelves of Mormon doctrine, there is only one slim volume on the Catholic shelf called Catholic Thought. Apparently, Catholics don’t think too much in Utah.

It was, however, the brochure that really caught our attention. Here is an actual quote from it. “Because of the high demand for certain non-fiction books, only three (3) books on any one subject may be checked out at a time (i.e., flower arranging, abortion, holidays, etc.)” So, young Utahan, don’t be having an unintended pregnancy during the Christmas season, especially if you were planning on making the wreaths and centerpieces yourself.

TODAY’S WORRY

Last week, on our way to Utah, we stopped at the Carl’s Jr. in Mojave, CA for lunch. Given the nature of part of this blog, we of course chose wisely and dietetically. Well, at least we didn’t have french fries ( I understand now that Chirac and Bush are pals again, they are no longer freedom fries.) Anyway, John did the ordering and, as the girl behind the counter rang it up, she automatically gave him the senior discount. This was not a discount he had asked for since he was not even aware that Carl’s Jr. had a senior discount. A friend of mine, Catherine, once told me she had been getting the senior discount at the movies since she was around 40 just by asking for it. She claimed that the teenagers at the ticket booth think everyone over 30 looks old. But the fact that John, whom I have always thought looks younger than he actually is, got the senior discount without asking for it, is quite sobering.

TODAY’S WORRY

From various surveys conducted by colleges, pollsters and even Dave Letterman, we’ve become fairly aware that we are a nation of history numbskulls. But this morning, I just couldn’t believe it. I was listening to Weekend Edition on NPR. In a survey conducted by a professor at Washington College, when people listed their top Presidents, George Washington came in seventh! This is the same man who is supposed to be, “First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” The top seven Presidents, according to the poll, were Lincoln, Reagan, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton, George W. Bush, and then Washington. Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton and Bush?!?!! Ahead of Washington? Is it that people only have short-term memories?