Death

Recently a close friend died and while his wife was away buring him, she asked me to housesit and puppy sit for her. I, of course, said yes. While I have been housesitting, I have realized why it takes people who once lived with a person who died, take so much longer to heal from the pain of their loss. So I posted that as a status update on Facebook. Well the daughter of the person who died texted me and asked me to remove the status update. For me, it was almost like she was saying that it was not right for me to understand that. It is like she assumes that the death of her father only affects her and her family but I think that to believe that is to assume that he never touched another person in the whole world. But that would be wrong. Her father touched so many people with his sense of humor and love for life. Am I wrong for understanding why people feel this way?

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I am a late bloomer...

I can't tell you how many times people have told me "You are a late bloomer". For the longest time I didn't really pay attention to that phrase but as I am getting older (shhhh Tiff! I know I am the baby of the group but I am still getting older!) that that phrase is so true. I was the last person in my family to start that wonderful monthly thing, I didn't have to do any of those girly things (ie. wearing a bra) until I was almost 14, and I was one of the last people in my school to decide where to go to college and what I wanted to major in, and that is only a tip off the iceberg. I am starting to realize that I am the last one in my friends group who is single and doesn't have kids. With my last friend without kids getting pregnant, I am thinking that I need to get on the ball and find myself a suitable husband. I am not so pressured to have kids because I don't want them, but the whole marriage thing is really starting to bug me. I know that it will happen in time but the brutal reality that I am still single is starting to ring louder and louder. Being single hasn't only affected me in the sense that I am feeling like a really late bloomer, but it is also making me question relationships. I am being excluded from activities because I am not married and/or don't have kids, which I think is wrong! If a friendship is based off of a person's relationship status, how true can that relationship be? People tell me I just need to find more single friends but that is so much easier said than done. I am not a college student (at least not in the traditional sense) and I have 3 jobs trying to make ends meet so meeting people is rather difficult. I have been the victim (more than once) of my friends attempts at matchmaking and everytime it ends up the same - I am a friend that is a girl and someone that they can talk to when they need a girl's opinion or something along those lines but I am never the girlfriend. I am sure it will happen in time, I am just ready for that time to be now.

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I shaved my head!

....and I have a video of it, thanks to my amazing and wonderful friend Tiff! (Thanks so much dear for doing that - it is amazing!)

You will have to go to her blog to see it which is Life in the Zoo. Go see it please. She worked really hard on it, and it is amazing! :)

Thanks y'all!

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I am going to do it...

Yep...that's right...I am going to shave my head. I am not talking about just cutting my hair really short - I am going all the way. No worries...I will be donating my hair to a company who makes wigs for cancer patients. Please watch my blog for ways that you can help me in this adventure.

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45 Things

My friend posted this as a note on her Facebook page and I really liked it so I am reposting it. I really think that everyone can take something from it.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written . My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple..
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
45. Friends are the family you choose.

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The Ultimate Birth Control

So I have never really agreed with the whole idea of giving a young person the task of taking care of a child(ren) for a given period of time in an effort to keep them from having unprotected sex and therefore producing offspring, but after today, I would venture to say that that is a rather effective way of putting a decline to teenage pregnancies. Here's my ultimate birth control story...

I have a friend who has 3 kids, the youngest is in kindergarten and the oldest is in 4th grade. Well in an effort to help my friend out since she has been having a lot of back issues lately, I offered to take care of the kids and dinner for the day. My day started at about 9:30 am (at this point, I had only had about 6 hours of sleep since I worked the night before and didn't get to sleep until about 3:30ish). I got out of bed, got ready for the day and headed to the office. Since today was the 16th, I had to turn in my time card so that I can actually get paid for the work I do (novel concept...I know). I also needed to make copies of my paperwork since I am not up at the office on a regular basis. I finally escaped the office at about 11 am...45 minutes until I had to be at the school to pick up the youngest and still one more errand to run. I quickly dashed through Costco to pick up some groceries for my friend (shopping isn't quite pleasurable when in pain) and off to the school. I made it with just a few minutes to spare before they were dismissed. After escaping the mess of the school parking lot, we went back to the house, packed a lunch for her and headed to go grab lunch for me since in my brilliance in the morning, I forgot to pack a lunch...so intelligent, I know. We had a nice lunch in the park and played for about 45 minutes then headed to a local water fountain so that she could play in the water. The wind was blowing so playing in the water didn't last long which gave me a bit of extra time to get to the store and grab stuff for dinner. We made it out of the store with only one fit being thrown...yay! We then headed back to the house and enjoyed a movie and a game of Uno before I had to go and pick up the two oldest at school at 3:30. After picking those two up, I prompted all 3 of them every step of the way to put away their school items, to find their karate gis and eat a snack. I gave one last call for anything that they may want to take with them to the dojo to play with/eat while they waited for their siblings to be done training. While the youngest was training, I headed to the store next door to ship off a package. I came back just as she was about to start sparring...and only then did I realize that I forgot the sparring bag at home. So needless to say, all three of the kids had no mouthguards while training. Thank goodness that the dojo at least has headgear and gloves that they could use. While the two older ones trained, I took the little one with me and headed to my house so that I could grab what I needed for work tonight...scrubs, shoes, socks, laptop, snack. After karate, we headed back to their house. They started chores while I made dinner and cleaned the kitchen. After dinner, they continued with chores as did I. By the time I had finished my list of things to do, it was about 15 minutes before I had to leave for work so I soaked up a few minutes of just relaxing and snuggling with the youngest one.

My day playing 'mom' wrapped up at about 8:30 and I was exhausted. It gave me a refreshed apprieciation for moms and what they do in a day. It also made me realize that I am not cut out to be a mom. There is no way that I could be a stay at home mom but I feel like I would have to to be able to keep up with everything that having children entails. Several people have told me that it is so much different when the kids are my own and I am sure that is the truth but at this point, I really cannot justify having kids.

Now I can't say that I won't repeat my ultimate birth control expirence because next Wednesday, I am going to do it all over again. But I think with time, I will get used to it. And I know I will come to enjoy it more and more. I feel so blessed that my friend has given me the blessing of being able to be a part of her children's lives. It is amazing.

Well that's it for now...it is 1 am and I still have a while longer before I am off work but there are still more things to get done before I can call it quits for the day. I hope that y'all are doing well! God bless!

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Anything besides murder...

I know...its a weird title but what can you expect at almost midnight? But humor me and read along...

If you are a friend of mine, you need to read this. I want you to know that no matter what, I am here for you. I will do anything besides murder (hence the title of this blog) if I know that it will help in the end, and even if I don't know, I will still do it. I am a person who would give up the clothes on my back and walk around naked if it would help you. Yeah, I am weird but that is how I am so just get used to it. I will be here whenever you need me, night or day. I am never more than a phone call/text message/e-mail away. Please do not hesitate to ask me for help. If I can't help you, I will do everything that I can to find someone who can. That is what friends are for.

Okay...that's it for tonight. :) Love y'all!

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