Rebellion Happens in the Mind: Mother

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January 02, 2014

2013 Retrospective

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
I attended my uncle’s wedding.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t remember what they were.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope.
5. What countries did you visit?
None, unfortunately.
6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
More versatile clothes.
7. What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I’m not really good with dates. But the concert I took my Mom to on Mother’s Day, the Mud Run, and T’s 22-person birthday party are definitely highlights.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Supporting my family.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Overcommitting.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I have pharyngitis right now! Oh, and I took a softball to the knee.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Admission to the Mud Run.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
T, for taking care of me when I’m sick. My Mom, for going with the flow and having her priorities straight. HN and N, for being supportive and helping us move and paint! These are just a few, I actually have way too many people to list, which is awesome.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No comment.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Groceries
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Glow Race, Mother’s Day concert, game night at HN’s, running tour.
16. What song will always remind you of 2013?
The Wobble. Can’t Hold Us and/or Thrift Shop and/or Wings by Macklemore. Somebody That I Used to Know covered by Mayday Parade. I Love It by Iconapop. Gangnam Style by Psy. Before the Throne.

Cover of Mayday Parade

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same level of happy, just in different ways.
ii. thinner or fatter? Definitely heavier.
iii. richer or poorer? Well, I own property now, so there’s that. It’s kind of a double-edged sword.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Laundry.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Laundry.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent Christmas Eve with my parents. I spent Christmas Day playing games.
21. Did you fall in love in 2013?
I stayed in love.
22. How many one-night stands?
We have two nightstands.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
Dirty Jobs.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No. My level of hate may actually have decreased.

Cover of American Gods: A Novel

25. What was the best book you read?
American Gods.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
High Street Hymns, E.S. Posthumus
27. What did you want and get?
Wise counsel from others.
28. What did you want and not get?
To be closer to some of my friends, geographically. For some of my friends to make good decisions for themselves.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Iron Man 3, John Dies at the End, World War Z, Pacific Rim, and The Conjuring.
30. What did you do on your birthday?
I had a cookout at my parents’ house.
31. What would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Taking better care of myself.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Denim, purple, polka dots, tights.
33. What kept you sane?
Articles and TEDtalks about Psychology, trips to the River, laughing with my husband, dinners with friends, honest arguments with friends.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Aidan Turner.
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Not sure if this is political, but racism in the media.
36. Who did you miss?
T, my Mom, G, H, among others.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
The Ps!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013:
That God doesn’t owe me anything.

September 15, 2013

Nannying and Marriage

Ugh, I've had to miss so much work lately. I hate it! I am excited to see my monkey boys again tomorrow though.
I had to spend two nights and most of two days away from my husband this week and I missed him terribly. Perhaps that sounds pathetic, but I really don't care. Even worse, one of the guys at my uncle's wedding was dressed very similarly to how my husband often dresses, and he even had the same color hair and skin tone and a similar haircut! I kept seeing him out of the corner of my eye and getting excited and then remembering that my husband was roughly three and a half hours away. I was so happy to see him Friday evening and he was so helpful in getting the bonfire started for my family. (We were at my grandparents' cabin.)

Perhaps the first audio format logo, the LP symbol appeared on countless records (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wednesday night I got to stay with my Mom and we had a really great conversation about anything and everything on our way to her house. I really miss those. We talked about my friends and her friends, about her dog and my cat (her grandcat), house-hunting, and a million other things. The next evening we spent at a hotel. She timed me on my run and didn't even fuss at me when it started raining and I kept running!
Of course, while I was out of town, my friend LP had her baby. She had a little girl! My husband got to go to the hospital and hold her when she was only four hours old. I am so jealous. He also gave the proud new papa some peace of mind by going to their house and letting their dogs out while they stayed at the hospital for a few days, due to my friend having a c-section. However, I got to see the baby today! My husband said I was a natural and her mommy said she liked me! We were only able to stay for an hour but I will get to see them twice more this week. The little girl was a little fussy at first because she was hungry, but she soon snuggled into me and took a nice little nap once I walked her around a bit.

January 20, 2013

Awesome weekend

Image via CrunchBase

The apartment is a mess. We hates it, precious! I suppose that's what happens when I spend a night away. At least I helped my Mom strip the sheets from her bed. I can definitely tell when I visit her that my Flylady routines are rubbing off on her. It is great to see.

T and I managed to squeeze in a run yesterday before I went to my babysitting gig. Since we slacked off over the holidays, we dialed it back to week 3, day 3 of the Couch to 5k program and we'll be progressing from there. I had leftover French Onion soup for dinner and it was actually better the second time. Thanks husband! I also wore the new purple blazer my Mom got me for Christmas. It was very comfortable!

English: french onion soup, as photographed at the Woodhaven House in Rego Park, NY. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This morning T and I watched the TLC show My Strange Addiction on Netflix. I have to admit, it was a little disappointing. Learning about the addictions was interesting, but the program offered little information on the reasons for it and completely glossed over the treatment. I would have really enjoyed more details on that.

The original Dungeons & Dragons set. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is Dungeons and Dragons day. I'm really frustrated that I wasn't able to get my sword back last session, and now we have to play a silly game involving keeping a councilwoman from being assassinated and stopping a riot. It's still the only way for my rogue to get her sword back, so she'll go along with it until she gets what she wants. She also might get a lecture from a teammate on attacking them in order to solve a puzzle. But it solved the puzzle! We wouldn't even have gotten this far if she hadn't done that, so I considered a Crowning Moment of Awesome for my character, Dezirinda.

I really enjoyed visiting with my Mom Friday and Saturday. I was also able to watch a friend of mine audition for a play. It was so funny to see her on stage in the same theater where I performed in my first play. (As a tree.) I was also able to see one of my eighth grade teachers and her daughter, who I babysat when I was about 14. Now that I am older I can't believe she trusted me with that responsibility when I was so young!

June 27, 2012

Hassled by the Real World

English: My Grandfather (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Mom talked to my Grandfather about a week ago. He will hereafter be referred to as Mr. M. He told her that he loved her and he wanted her to be happy and have a good life, but that he no longer wanted a relationship with her. He told her that she was not there for him after my uncle died.

T has been truly amazing the past couple of days. He has cheered me on in my new job and not pressured me about money at all. He has made me laugh and folded clothes and complimented my cooking. He has forced me to run when I didn't want to and helped pack boxes. I am a very blessed woman to have such a husband.

As mentioned above, I have recently started a new job at a Special Needs Ministry. The clients range in age from 18-55. It is a non-profit (of course, do I work at any other type of place?). I would like to organize some field trips for them or maybe find some good guest speakers but I am not sure what they would be interested in. I am still kind of trying to get a feel for the place.

My car is broken. I am really sad about this and it is seriously the last thing we needed as our money was already stretched super thin this month. We have had to borrow from my parents and I cannot possibly express how much I hate doing that. It makes me nervous to owe anyone money and I hate depending on my parents when I know things have been rough for them lately too. I am in my mid-20s, I should be independent! Aaargh!

We had too much fun tonight. We went to a friend's house for game night. While it was fun and the company was great, I feel like we really shouldn't have gone. I feel like I am trying to do too much and I am packing my schedule too full right now. I jump at every invitation without really considering if it is best for me or will help my get closer to my goals. I need to remind myself of my priorities.

I have been thinking a lot about my previous career lately, if you can even call it a career. I used to work at a residential treatment program. The majority of my coworkers were awful people. However, I enjoyed my work. But I was highly disappointed in the place where I worked. Now I am wondering if all programs in this field are like that. The hours were also terrible. No wonder people in this field burn out so quickly. Combine the high stress of the job with little sleep and it is a recipe for disaster! I truly think this can be prevented.

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From "The Irrational Season" by Madeleine L'Engle

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take…It is indeed a fearful gamble…Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…It takes a lifetime to learn another person…When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.