Tuesday Musing #13

List five things that drive you crazy and make you want to go live in a cabin on a mountainside and never see another human being. Then, list five things that make you smile even on the rainiest of days.

Here's the icky stuff...

People who are manipulative

Ergh!! For example, my health plan insists that I give them my FULL address and phone number EVERY time I call for ANYTHING, "for the security and protection of my account". Ha! They just want to make sure they have my current address. Why can't they just tell the truth about why they ask for it?!? If they REALLY cared about the security of my account, they would ask me the password I had put on the account after my purse was stolen. They remember to do this about 3 % of the times I call.

Women who expose themselves

I am so tired of seeing women's breasts falling out of their shirts (can those really be called articles of clothing?) when I go anywhere! Esp. the mall - I've seen women wearing less to the mall than I wear to the beach - much less. Sometimes I'm tempted to take post-it notes wherever I go and help them out.

People who disregard the flow of traffic

Just yesterday, I almost collided with someone trying to cross my lane, coming out from behind a semi where I couldn't possible see them when they didn't have the right of way. I sympathize with the frustration of having to wait your turn, but it is part of life - adjust!

Authors who write nasty books and market them to children

I spend much more time reading children's books to see if they are OK for my darlings to consume than anything else. You'd be surprised at how many we return to the library unread.

Car manufacturers

OK, so we have a car that seats eight and gets 28 mpg. Why can't they make more like it? Everything has to be so BIG! I dread the wagon dying and having to buy some monstrosity. Ergh and ugh, again!!!


...and now for the good stuff.

My boyfriend

He calls me from work, buys me jewelry and flowers, looks good on the beach, kisses well (that's probably more information than my kids wanted to know) and has put up with being hitched to me for almost 16 years -amazing!

Nature

I would probably get a lot more of this if I lived on that mountainside, but a trip to the beach in Feb. on a weekday morning when it is almost empty or to the desert in the spring to look at flowers or to the mountains in the fall to pick apples always make everything look brighter.

Our seven kids

They are so much fun, from Summer's stories to Michael's jokes, from Gwen's hugs to Naomi's kisses, from Rachel's curiosity to Heather's kindness and Kelly's giggles to top it all off, they make my life so much more rich and wonderful.

Modern conveniences

Not much gives me such a sense of satisfaction as having the dishwasher going full of dishes that I didn't have to scrub by hand simultaneously as the washing machine full of clothes I didn't have to wring by hand. I am so glad I live in the age of microwave popcorn, electric toothbrushes, drive up atms and freezers (love having that ice cream handy).

Our chickens

Sometimes they drive me crazy when they go hormonal, but I love having them in the back yard, laying eggs and clucking expectantly when they see me coming.