Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Today I climbed into the wayback machine and spent some time fondly remembering all of those notes I wrote during classes in middle and high school. I view it as a necessary stage of my adolescence, really, the Writing Notes stage.

Nowadays, of course, kids only have the put-their-heads-down-and-text-all-day-long stage. I think it’s different. Not necessarily bad, mind you, but different, and maybe just a little too quick. Then again, I’m a known curmudgeon, so what do I know?

Well, I know that I’m over at Feel More Better today, and I kind of wish teens would try writing notes, again. It probably won’t happen, but I dunno… there was some magic in those scribbles I just don’t think you can find on a text phone.

One of the things I found myself doing yesterday (and several days prior)—before I wrote about the difference between Young Blogging Me and the current Old And Smarter But Fatter And Crankier Me—was going back and reading some of my old posts. I don’t do this very often. And usually, you know, I remember stuff I wrote about before (duh), but occasionally a post is a COMPLETE surprise (read: repressed memory), and very often, something falls into the realm of “Oh, I remember that, but until I read this, I had kinda-sorta forgotten.”

So it was just yesterday that I found myself rereading various posts detailing The Great Flood of 2006, wherein my basement flooded not once, but TWICE, and I came down with bronchitis and was convinced I had mold in my lungs from all of the associated cleanup, because that’s logical and also I am a little bit of a hypochondriac. Know what our lovely home here in Georgia doesn’t have? A BASEMENT. That makes it my most favorite house ever, by the way.

Anyway, that’s preface to what I’ll tell you next, because yes, I was a little… uhhhh… primed with memories of water disasters. (more…)

Today I’m over at Feel More Better, talking about words, choosing them carefully, and repeating the important ones. As a person who’s spent most of my life trying to edit down the amount of stuff that comes out of my mouth (or my fingertips), it’s been interesting to realize that not everything that’s repetitive is is bad.

Come on over and weigh in—can you embrace being redundant? I’m trying to.

I’m currently in full-on LET’S GET THIS NEXT CHAPTER STARTED mode. Waiting for the flip of the calendar was arbitrary, sure, but sometimes you need something like that to help you move on.

So I flipped the calendar, put on my big girl panties, and am trying to Get Stuff Done. It’s terrifying, but kind of good, too.

On my way to this mode I watched some football, and had a few onion-dip-related epiphanies over at Feel More Better. I don’t know that it’s completely changed my life, or anything, but it definitely tweaked my outlook in a few important ways. Come on over and weigh in, if you’re so inclined.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and by “wonderful” I of course mean “stressful, over-hyped, and mob mentality PMS-filled.” Because really, it’s not just us, right? EVERYONE is cranky? Like, “Happy Holidays! ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?” kind of cranky? I want to be peaceful and calm and bright, I do. And I assume other folks do as well. But the pace of the season and the rushrushrush to finish school/work/life-goals before Christmas and/or the end of the year is just turning us all into giant jerkfaces.

(See, you can tell I’m working really hard on being gentler and kinder because I said “jerkfaces” instead of “raging assholes.” I am so proud of me! I mean, I was until I pointed out… oh, crap. Nevermind.)

Even Hippie School—bastion of love and light and kindness—seems to be floundering in a bit of less-than-lovely behavior, no doubt brought on by that osmosis that happens between stressed-out parents and their kids. And I am less than proud of my latest approach to this, which is more or less to look my child in the eye while he’s complaining about someone else and say, “Stop. STOP. Ask yourself: ‘Am I being a jerk right now? REGARDLESS OF THE JERKINESS OF ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ STOP IT.” (more…)