20 years

I recently received information regarding my twenty year high school reunion.

I'm not sure if I will go or not. Although I stay in touch with a few friends from my childhood and youth, I'm not sure I want to revisit that period in my life - albeit 20 years later. Teenage angst can be brutal, particularly if there are other issues in play. I was insecure, foolish, hyper, and loud. I begged for attention and usually got it in all the wrong places. Wisdom has come with age, and my fair share of therapy. I would love the chance to see some of my "friends" from that time - see how they have changed and show them how I have. Yet I don't trust that any of them have changed enough to see the change in me. Therein lies the rub.

It also somewhat irritates me that I even care what they think of me all these years later. I think that implies that I am not over the insecurities that I have tried so hard to overcome. When the Postman saw the envelope in the mail, he said "We're busy that day!" without even knowing the date.

Perhaps he's right.

There's a big world out there. Bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won't matter if you were the prom queen or quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it. ~ Anonymous

What's Agway?

We got about 5 inches of snowfall last night...but that didn't deter us from being at the (outdoor) rink at 9:00am for hockey. The fact that it snowed means the air was probably warmer than it was on Wednesday night, but there was quite a wind this morning. AND, I got stuck in the unplowed parking lot at the rink. Yay me.

Since hockey runs for an hour and a half on Saturday, I told my son I would be leaving for a few minutes to do an errand. I asked my daughter if she wanted to go with me to Agway. "What's Agway?" she asked. "The feed store." (among other things), I responded. She agreed to go and off we went.

As we drove, however, I thought about her question. A year ago we lived in a relatively urban area. About an hour from Boston, and 45 minutes from Portland. Almost anything we needed was just a few minutes drive into New Hampshire. Barnes and Noble was a mere 8 minutes from our house. Now the closest B and N is about 1/2 hour away. We now do alot of browsing and buying online. Even so, with everything available to us before, there is so much we aren't familiar with.

Today I learned more about hockey. I learned why the blades need sharpening, I learned about sock garters, and I learned that I don't get his skates tied tight enough. Hmmmm...the first two I can work with and I know what to do and what we need. The last one? All I can say is the Postman might need to be in charge of tying skates from now on!

Education is the movement from darkness to light. ~ Allan Bloom

$75,000 per minute

That's the profit Exxon Mobil Corp made every minute of 2006. Profit. While consumers are rejoicing when gas prices fall below $2.00 per gallon, some executives at Exxon Mobil Corp. can expect their bonuses to exceed 5 millon dollars. Read that again. Their bonuses. That is in addition to their yearly salaries. When is enough too much?


Capitalism is founded on greed and envy ~ Charles Long

February 1st

Normally this is a tough time of year for me. I find the months after Christmas to be dark, cold, and depressing. They then lead right into the period before my birthday which, for reasons I do not wish to discuss yet, I despise. It has nothing to do with getting older - although that's the premise I hide behind. I think probably only one person knows the true reason.

Anyway.

I am so easily irritated these days. The Diva is in full Diva mode. She honestly has no idea that there are 3 other people living in this house and that the world does not revolve simply around her and her desires. I was discussing the situation with the Postman last night, wondering when that all might change and he replied "Not until she's about thirty." God help me.

Beyond these four walls, it seems the world has gone mad. Or madder. The big news of the week: Tyra has gained weight. Seriously? There are so many problems with making that the issue of the week. There is a war going on in Iraq. There are peace rallies taking place in Washington. But Tyra gained some weight folks. Don't get me wrong: I am beyond pleased that she is fighting back. It's high time someone like her stood up and said "It's ok!" But...I still can't fathom that's what made big headlines this week. Is it because we have become so numb to everything else that's going on that we needed a diversion such as this? Side note: If I looked like Tyra does, I would be thrilled! She looks fabulous. And she's intelligent to boot.

It's time to get moving. Volunteering at school today and running errands after that. It's a balmy 8 degrees F this morning so it shouldn't be too bad.

This is a youth-oriented society, and the joke is on them because youth is a disease from which we all recover.—Dorothy Fuldheim