Tuesday, November 29, 2005

The Eyes Have it

Your Eyes Should Be Brown

Your eyes reflect: Depth and wisdom

What's hidden behind your eyes: A tender heart


They should be brown.............but they aren't.






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They're green.
Besides, I always thought if you had brown eyes you were full of shit. That's an old joke people. I don't want to offend any brown eyed souls out there.

Your Eyes Should Be Green

Your eyes reflect: Striking attractiveness and danger

What's hidden behind your eyes: A vivid inner world


Hmmmmmm, there's some food for thought.

Mixed Feelings

Thanksgiving was tough. First one without my Grandfather.

It was tough to look at my Grandmother. She was fine, cracking jokes and talking with food in her mouth, as usual. But I had to go to the bathroom and blow the snot faucet several times and wipe away the tears. I think I caught my Dad's eyes filling a couple times too. He was the only one that mentioned Papa a couple times in the conversation.

I wanted to say something poignant about Papa, remember him on this day. But, I didn't, I couldn't, at least not out loud.

We always celebrate my Dad's birthday on Thanksgiving (it's actually the 27th)He turned 60 this year. My Dad, 60. Doesn't seem possible.

The food was wonderful, delicious. It was worth fasting for 24 hours for. Worthy of the nap afterwards.

Thanksgiving just isn't the same anymore, not because my Grandfather is gone, but because the whole family cannot be together anymore. There are circumstances that prevent this, that I cannot go into. Two Thanksgivings now.

I don't know which is harder, staying home with my son and missing the family, or being there, knowing that the whole family isn't. I hate the holidays.

Friday, November 18, 2005

It's that time again

TGIF
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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TGIF is the abbreviation for the phrase Thank God (or Goodness) It's Friday. Commonly used in American conversation, it has become a common element for advertising and promotional materials, to connote a sense of partying and the weekend.

It's too bad that my idea nowadays of partying is having a cocktail and putting on my PJ's early....................with my big fuzzy slippers of course.

I'm such a badass.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Stolen from KFarmer & the Dells blog, who stole it from Lecram Sinun's blog who stole it from Addict's blog.

Your Hidden Talent

You're super sensitive and easily able to understand situations.
You tend to solve complex problems in a flash, without needing a lot of facts.
Decision making is easy for you. You have killer intuition.
The right path is always clear, and you're a bit of a visionary.


Damn! Gonna have to work on that tough chick image.

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?


No wonder the kid doesn't listen to me.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Heard in the living room last night

"You shouldn't let the dog on the couch. She's going to ruin it."

"Have ya looked at the couch?! Besides, where do you think all the grease & dirt stains already on the couch came from? That's right, from your greasy work clothes. Julietta has spent her entire life in a cage, only being let out to pee & poop or race. She's earned the right to sleep wherever she wants. Besides, it's my couch. Now, go to your room!"

Kids.

Monday, November 07, 2005

They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-haaa!

I know, I know - I've been MIA for a bit. I could give you all kinds of excuses about being busy and such, but that's not why. Let me explain....

People have asked me, "How do you do it?". Married couples cannot fathom ever doing it alone. I simply answer: "You do what ya gotta do". Just like every parent.

It can, at times, be easier being a single parent. As Stallone so aptly put it, "I am da law". What I say goes. There is no playing one parent against the other, no disagreements on discipline. No power struggles. The drawback to that is - you don't get a break. You are it, 24/7. There is no power in the words "Wait till your father gets home", cause Papa don't live here. I'm lucky that I get a break once a week. My wonderful parents take my son overnight most Thursdays for me. That's my alone time. That's the time I have to recharge my batteries, be calm and quiet. That's the time I have to regroup and get a firmer grip on my sanity. A grip I am fighting to hang on to.

Children can tire you out with their endless energy, questions and exploration, but they are easily manageable. Mom & Dad are in charge. That fact is not in question. We can protect them from danger, teach them and make them laugh.

Yes, children can tire you out, but just wait. Teenagers are exhausting.

Common sense, reason & logic are out the window. At least your common sense, reason & logic are. Everything you do as a parent becomes questionable. Every boundary, every responsibility, everything you say becomes a barrier to the life they feel entitled to. The humor and silliness that once made them laugh results in sullen looks and slamming doors. Protecting them from danger becomes a slippery slope of giving them the freedom to make their own decisions and wanting to keep them from the consequences of the wrong ones. They have, after all, forgotten everything you have taught them to this point. That, or they dismiss it as nothing more than you being overprotective or trying to baby them. They have become all knowing, invincible, immortal. They think they are masters of their own destiny. They know what's best for them. The fact that you have more than twice the life experience of them just makes you, old. You want to give them freedom to become their own person. You want them to become responsible adults. You want to kick them in the ass for being so opposed to accepting the wisdom of experience. You want scream at the top of your lungs, "Since you're so friggin smart, get out and support yourself!"

But, you don't. At least, not with meaning. There is still a thread of the umbilical that whispers the truth. The thought of leaving the safety of home is too daunting to risk. It's a thread you both hang on to. Teenagers tug at it, parents let out some slack. There comes a point where there is no slack left and the connection breaks. Then, all you can do is hope and pray they take enough of what you have given them to flourish in adulthood.

We are not there yet. But I am having one hell of a tug-o-war!

I have been too exhausted to form coherent thoughts. The creative juices have receded into the recesses of my brain like a pair of testicles in a cold pool. The mental and emotional energy necessary to get through a 24 hour period with a teenager could solve the worlds natural energy depletion, if we could harness it.

This is the dark side of being a single parent.

I am being eaten alive, one molecule at a time. I can feel it happening, but there is nothing I can do about it. I catch glimpses of myself in the mirror. There is a haunting, empty look in my eyes, much like what I saw in my Grandfather near the end.

I can picture myself in a mental ward. Drool on my chin, unable to focus on anything tangible. People will look sadly upon me and ask "What happened to her?" The Doctors will reply, "TEENAGER", and all will nod sadly, knowingly, sympathetically.