If I were picking a picture to use with my article about Jennifer Aniston topping People’s “Best Dressed” list I’m thinking I would have used a photo that showed Jennifer WITH clothes on!
It’s the small things in life that just crack me up.
Archive for September, 2006
Life is too short
My friend’s father just passed away suddenly. He was 73. He was kind, gentle, smart, generous and loving. Son # 1 he spoke to all the time and son # 2 he hasn’t spoken to in over a year.
The Mom called son # 1 and told him his Dad was in the hospital and it was bad and he needed to be there – he left right away. Mom called son # 2 to tell him about his Dad’s passing and he wasn’t home. Mom asked her daughter-in-law (whom she hadn’t spoken to in over a year also) if there was a cell phone where son #2 could be reached. There wasn’t. Son # 2 called the hospital a short time later. During the phone call informing son # 2 of his Dad’s passing some family bitterness reared its ugly head again.
Something like this:
“How come you didn’t just tell my wife.”
“I wanted to tell you myself that your father just passed away.”
“You’re just holding a grudge and being disrespectful to my wife.”
“I am not going to have this conversation with you, I don’t have the energy. I just wanted to be the one to tell my son his father passed away.”
There is a lot of background to this story, but really, does it matter? What I will tell you is that each person was waiting for the other to call and make a mends. One family split into two sides.
I am so sad for this family. Son # 2 has five kids ranging in age from two to 11. Five kids. Five innocent bystanders to this tragedy who haven’t seen there Grandfather in over a year – and now will never see him again.
I suppose this family could be any of ours. The family spat could happen in any of our families.
At the end of every visit, every phone call and every night (for my husband and my son) I tell my family that I love them. I think I started this tradition in my family years and years ago. I didn’t feel like we said it enough, so I started saying it; to my Mom, my brother, my nephew and now we all say it to each other all the time almost without fail. “I love you” is the last thing I say to my husband every night … well not every night, sometimes it’s “I love you, too.” I get such a thrill when I hear my husband say, every night to our son, “Daddy loves you” as he kisses his little forehead before he goes in his crib.
I know this sounds corny. Sorry. But, make sure you tell the people around you how you feel about them today. Hell, do it tomorrow too, and the next day.
We don’t know when the time we have in our physical bodies is up. Don’t let something positive go unsaid. Don’t let pride harbor your ability to contact someone you may be at odds with, especially your family.
In memory of David Fortune – you will be missed.
Book-o-rama
I have been tagged by Annika. Nice sense of humor, girlie…. But it is my first meme (whatever that means). Yay!1. One book you have read more than once:
I really don’t read books twice unless it’s by accident or I am trying to research something.
2. One book you would want on a desert island:
If I was stranded then something like: How to Fix (Just About) Everything : More Than 550 Step-by-Step Instructions for Everything from Fixing a Faucet to Removing Mystery Stains to Curing a Hangover by Bill Marken. Now if I was just on vacation, then I would want any mystery by either Tami Hoag or Patricia Cornwell (preferably Patricia).3. One book that made you laugh:
I would have to agree with Annika here. It would have to be a Calvin & Hobbes book or any Gary Larson.4. One book that made you cry:
Every Danielle Steele book I ever read. I quit reading her after about 15 books – I realized they were all the same, but I still cried.
5. One book you wish you had written:
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale.6. One book you wish had never been written:
Can’t really think of any off-hand.
7. One book you are currently reading:
Okay, how about four:
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. Every parent should read this book.
Your Baby’s First Year: week by week by Glade Curtis, Judith Schuler, and Lori Eining.
South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston.
Not sure if this counts as reading but I open it every night so I’ll count it: Sudoku Mind Benders published by Thinking Panda.8. One book you have been meaning to read:
My Life by Bill Clinton.
9. One book that changed your life:
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume. The subject matter of the book is not what changed my life. It is the first book I really remember reading for pleasure and I was hooked on reading ever since.10. Now tag five people:
Holy crap, I don’t think five people even read my blog. How about Jenn, Kelly, Laurie, Cindy and last but not least, Meghan. I know that’s six, but like I said, I’m not sure anyone reads my blog so I added one for good measure.
If people would quit asking…
…me if it is hard leaving Hunter in daycare today, I’m sure I could stop crying.
I should have only worked a 1/2 a day today…
Pumping at work can be a real “let-down”
Okay, so today is my first day back to work. I had Hunter June 14th, but was put on bed rest June 6th, so I have been gone for 3 months. Gone for three months from a job I only had for a month. It is also a job I had to take so I wouldn’t get laid-off from my old job. (long story, maybe someday I will share it) So needless to say, it’s not my ideal job situation. Today was also Hunter’s first day in daycare.I like to have a plan for everything and this was no different. I was trying to get a plan together but somehow I was feeling just left of completely frazzled.
How come this is what was on Yahoo this morning after I logged onto my computer AT WORK?
“For new moms going back to work after maternity leave, planning is everything.”
Hello… a few days ago this would have been helpful!! Today it’s just spiteful.
Anyway…. I wasn’t really worried about Hunter going to daycare, my anxiety was coming from pumping breastmilk at work so I could continue to breastfeed Hunter. Hunter has been supplemented with formula since he was 2 weeks old. I know he can take a bottle and a breast and go back and forth (we’re fortunate). Again it’s not Hunter I was worried about. Originally I just wanted to be able to breastfeed for at least 3 months. Now that 3 months has come and just about gone, I would like to breastfeed him for at least 6 months. I just thing the health benefits are too numerous to ignore.
Well, I had myself pretty worked up. I was so worked up about it I was having a hard time even pumping at home for the last couple of days. I was getting hardly any milk, I was certain my “let-down” reflex would freeze up on me at work, I thought Hunter would have to switch to formula, I was worrying myself into a tizzy. Not normally my style. I think I had ‘performance anxiety’… is this how men feel??I spent some time on the Internet last night searching for “let-down” tips at work. I was certain no milk was coming out of these babies while I was at work. I even took a picture of Hunter breastfeeding from my perspective with my cell phone… just in case. The best tip I found was to relax (duh?!) and try to do something else like catch up on emails or something. Also, don’t keep looking down at the bottle and the progress, just let it happen.
Remember when I said I wasn’t that worried about Hunter going to daycare… well I cried like a baby and was completely blind-sided by it. I was fine until I saw this poor little boy, he was probably 18 months or so, he was just sobbing. I lost it. The daycare workers kept asked me if I was going to be okay. Hunter was fine, and I knew he would be. I had no idea his Mommy would completely lose it.On the up side, I just finished pumping… 4 1/2 ounces BABY!! Performance anxiety… pfft.
