Thursday, June 26, 2014

Finish the Sentence Friday #8

I haven’t participated in Finish the Sentence Friday in a while mostly because the subjects just haven’t “spoken” to me but this week’s did.  I’m glad too since I just found out that they are taking a break for July.   

The one thing I’ll never compromise on is……… 

This sentence seems to have a different ending at different ages and, in the end, I find myself compromising on most of those things.   

“I will always do something for a living that is exciting and makes me happy” – There came a time when responsibilities reared their heads and taking a good, stable job became the priority over excitement. 

“I will never feed my kids junk food” (from pre-parent days, of course) – Any parent who says that they actually stick to this one and never gives their kid a sugary treat is either a liar or a bloody saint.   

“I will always be the parent who bakes, does crafts, patiently sits with her kids as they do their homework while a delicious, healthy dinner is simmering on the stove; in other words the perfect mom” – Ha!  Boy was there compromise there!  After being gone eleven hours a day five days a week, this poor mom is pooped.  I’ve got two great kids who seem to love me though so I at least get an “A” for effort.  

“I will always be completely honest.  I’ll never lie to anyone” – Now, most of the time that is true of me but I’d be lying now if I said that I’ve never told a little white lie.  Is there anybody who has never said that a friend’s new outfit/haircut was nice, when they really didn’t so, just to not hurt their feelings?  Have you ever said that you forgot to call someone back or “got busy” when, really, you just didn’t feel like talking and didn’t want them to take it personally?  Even the most honest of us makes the occasional compromise with the best of intentions. 

See, life is all about compromise.  I can’t think of one thing that I can righteously say I would NEVER compromise on and you can’t either.  As a matter of fact, the word “never” should be obliterated from the English language.   

Never say “never”! 

You might say, but Kathy I would never hurt or kill someone.  Really?  If somebody was physically threatening or hurting your family, you wouldn’t fight back and take that sucker out?  Of course you would.   Mama Bear would certainly come out in me if somebody was hurting my kids and I’m one of the most peace-loving people around.   You’d never steal?  If you or your family were starving, you wouldn’t steal food?  Of course you would.  We all would.  The difference between the “good” people and the “bad” people is what has to happen for you to make those compromises. 

Of course not all compromises are born of such dire circumstances.  Some are as simple as ordering pizza when you know you should be grilling that chicken in your fridge and serving it with a nice salad but you’re just too tired to do anything other than dial the pizzeria phone number. 

Not all compromise is bad.  The ability to bend and see a different way of doing things can be a good thing.  Those who are so rigid that they can’t fathom a change in how they think and do things are missing out on so much in life.   They miss out on understanding a different point of view.  They miss out on relationships that could enrich their lives.  They miss opportunities.  I try hard to not be that kind of person.  Now that is something I won't compromise on!


This picture has nothing to do with the subject matter; I'm just proud of The Girl's artwork :)

Kathy





Thursday, June 19, 2014

I'd rather be......

At Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop today, one of the prompts is:  seven things I’d rather be doing this summer.  I tend to suck at lists but I think that I can manage this one.

The first is pretty simple – no work!  The Boy’s girlfriend’s mother works for their school and I’m so jealous of the fact that she’s off now for the summer.  Okay, maybe not the whole “no paycheque” thing - that kind of sucks – but the rest totally rocks.  If I could find a way to be off work for the summer and still pay the bills and keep the teens fed, I would be one happy chick.

I live in an apartment and, for the most part, like it but I really miss having a yard.  Instead of drinking my morning tea in front of my computer or while reading the paper, I would much rather be drinking it sitting in the shade in a yard.  Backyard barbeques would be nice too rather than barbequing on my balcony and eating inside.

A lot of people would say that they’d rather be at the beach or travelling to some other vacation spot but, honestly, I’m such a homebody and not much of a traveler so I’m going to be different and say that I just want to be home enjoying my own city.  If I’m away from home for more than three days, I start getting twitchy so it’s a “staycation” for me!  There is always so much going on here in Montreal that there is really no excuse for boredom.

The Boy is still with me full time and as much as I love him and love being with him, this momma could use some true alone time.   I love my babies (okay teenagers) very, very much but, given a chance, I’d rather be able to walk around in my underwear when I feel like it (at least some of the time).  Sorry for that mental picture…..

I’d rather be eating someone else’s cooking.  I don’t mind cooking and am really not bad at it but, once the hot weather hits, who the heck feels like standing over a hot stove?  Not this lady!  I do enjoy using the barbeque but, really, I’d rather just have someone else do the cooking this summer.  I just need that winning lotto ticket and I’m set.


I know that the days of high heat and humidity are coming and so one of the things that I’d rather be doing this summer is staying cool.  The heat makes me very cranky so the cooler I manage to stay, the better off everyone is.  So bring on the air conditioner, the freezies and cold drinks!
 
Hmmmm, I’m having a hard time thinking of a seventh thing…….

How about, I’d rather be sitting on my balcony with a cold drink and a good book right now than sitting at a desk?  Yeah, that works for me

Enjoy your summer everybody!

Kathy

Sunday, June 15, 2014

I'm "with it"…. sort of...

I had the following conversation with The Boy the other day and tweeted it:





At the time, I felt about a hundred years old.  Thanks a lot kid!

When I stopped to think about it, though, I realized that I'm actually pretty "with it".  For somebody who grew up in the seventies and eighties, the technology in my home, not to mention my purse, is pretty damned impressive.  The kids and I have cell phones and iPods and I used my tax refund a couple of years ago to upgrade to a Mac (which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE).  My cable box has a DVR so that I can record programs with no cassette tapes.  Please tell me I'm not alone in remembering those piles of VCR tapes that gathered on the shelf beside the television…….

I'm also pretty social media savvy (if I do say so myself).  Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the bloggy universe I have been enjoying here, I'm pretty hip to what's happening.  Okay, ignore that I just said "hip to"; maybe I have a way to go yet.

I think that no matter how well I keep up, I'll just have to accept that my kids will always be ahead of me.  Our kids have been surrounded by technology their whole lives.  I don't think that my kids would know how to use a pay phone and my son thinks that the video games of my youth sound quaint.  My daughter figured out my iPad case without thinking about it while I have been struggling with the darned thing.  They seem to be able to intuit these things without even trying.

(source)
If today's technology is astounding compared to what I had as a teenager in the eighties, what will it seem like compared to when my kids are in their forties?  It's mind boggling, really.  It has truly made the world a smaller place where we interact daily with people from all over without blinking an eye.  It's a world where we know what is happening thousands of miles away within minutes - for better or worse.  Whatever may come next, I know that my kids will keep up.  Me?

I'll do my best to be "with it".

Kathy

Friday, June 13, 2014

Laugh!

When I looked at Mama Kat's writing prompts for this week and saw "what was the last thing that made you laugh", there was one clear winner - by a landslide!

Somebody posted this on Facebook the other day and it made me laugh far harder that it really should have.  I mean, really, I was literally in tears!  I am obviously FAR too easily amused...….




I needed that laugh though.  I love social media  :)

Kathy

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Wordless Wednesday - Read This!

I'm not going to do an all-out review of this;


I'm only going to say - go get it and read it!




You'll walk away with a whole different perpective on this historical mission.


Kathy

Saturday, June 7, 2014

My Addiction

Okay, it’s time to admit it; I have an addiction.  There, I said it….. phew!   

No, it’s not booze or drugs or cigarettes.  It’s books. 

I can’t help myself; they are everywhere!  It seems like there is always a new book out from one of my favoured authors or from somebody I’ve never heard of that piques my interest.  I have a member card from Chapters/Indigo so, of course, I receive regular emails with suggestions of “books you might like” or sales both online and in-store.  I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been sucked in by those.   

As you know from past posts, I am an avid reader and absolutely love the feeling of a book in my hand.  I can’t imagine moving to an e-reader just because I love turning pages.  You know how calm and happy a smoker looks when they take that first haul on a cigarette after not having one for a while?  Well replace that cigarette with a book and you’ve pretty much got the look of contentment on my face as I open a new book to the first page. 

Time for a clean-out maybe?

It’s my form of escapism that is not self-destructive.  Okay, maybe I don’t get out as much as I ought to because there are days when I’d rather spend time on my balcony with a good book and a cup (or two) of tea but, still, it’s not the worst addiction that I could have. 

You want to know how bad I am?  Let me tell you…. 

The other day, I stopped at the mall on the way home from work to pick something up and my path took me past the book store.  I literally had to walk by with my gaze averted chanting a little mantra; “I am not here to buy books…. I am not here to buy books….I am not here to buy books…..”  I was like a crack addict trying to walk past her dealer without caving in and buying some.  I am absolutely incapable of walking into a book store just to “browse” without walking out with at least one book.  As a matter of fact, walking out with only one is considered showing restraint in my world. 

I’d say that I need help but I’m not sure that this is a “problem” that I want help with.  As long as my kids are fed and the bills are paid, I’ve pretty much got things under control.  That being said, if you ever see my kids on the corner holding signs that say “will work for food”, you may want to plan an intervention.  



Kathy