Taking the Time

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My mind is kind of racing today. It is one of those day's when I have fifty thoughts and 50 to do's going on and what am I doing but posting a journal instead of doing bookwork. Question for anyone. On my travels I have came across this plant in many areas and wondered what it is? The berries are small clusters that are purple. Seems to last from spring to fall.

Well this week was definitely different for us. I celebrated my 46Th birthday on Tuesday and we celebrated our 25th anniversary on Thursday. Wow 25 years! The good thing is that it does not really seem like 25 years. This has been the first time ever that we both had off together at the same time (one of the perks of owning your own business). The other odd factor is that we usually plan something big. This year it was Hawaii. Due to Lisa's surgery, the current state of economy and layoff's those plans were nixed. We did something simple (after I worked in the morning-I can't help myself!) We went to lunch with her Mom. Lisa's mother treated us to wherever we wanted to eat and it was my choice. You know we have never eaten at a golden corral which is a buffet restaurant. They thought I was joking! They of course were thinking seafood. Let me tell you it was quite a deal for what they had and I enjoyed it. The food was hot, fresh, and plenty of it. We ate leisurely without interruption and had some good conversations . The down side was that I ate like it was Thanksgiving. My belly grew three sizes. Later that even we had a nice bottle of wine, some cheddar fondue out on the deck with a fire. You know sometime the most pleasant of surprises are right in your own backyard.

Okay at 46 do I feel old. NO! I do have the crackling joints beginning and arthritis, but I still feel like I'm in my mid twenties. I even woke up with a pimple-ooooh! I hate that. I am going to try Windex one time like in the movie My big fat Greek wedding just to see if it works. I figure it can only go three ways. I will wake up and nothing will change, it will be gone, or I will have this big gnarly pimple three times its size. My sisters always call on my birthday and send cards with money-yeah! I think we keep sending the same $20.00 bill to each other. This year Sharon is going to send something unique, I haven't gotten it yet. Lisa's gift was an early card with money to gamble in Atlantic City, makeup, a box of candy and a movie card. She follows my mothers tradition and still makes me my favorite birthday meal. Since she doesn't cook that well I let her off the hook this year and requested something simple. It turned out nice! Except for Abbeys gift of a roll in the mud after I had given her a bath just the other evening.

Right down the road from us we have an old steel bridge surrounded by trees and and a creek bed that flows underneath. It provides some great fall colors as the season changes. Whenever I pass over I usually stop to listen to the water rippling over the rocks taking in all the color.

I recently accepted two new clients that travel often and need their dog taken care of. They go to re-enactment camps from the civil war time era. It is very primitive with no luxury at all and of course no cell phone use. Seemed very interesting. I have often thought that if I could go back in time I would have liked to experience the old west. The pioneer days and most of all the staking of your own claim for property like in the movie Far and Away. Things just seem to move too fast for me sometimes. We have three phone lines in our house and it seems like you spend more time answering phones than anything. I just hate having a cell phone. Customers are calling while your out on a job and I loose concentration or have to stop in the middle of something. I have just gotten to the point that I only turn it on when I'm in transit. Maybe we will retire in the Hills of Tennessee, the mountains of Montana, or a remote shore bank in Alaska. Really I do enjoy interaction, but I like meaningful interaction.

Meaningful Interaction. I will give you an example of this. I have a client in my neighborhood that I do work for. She is a divorced woman that is a VA nurse. She seems rather nice to me but had stated when I first went to work for her that she had a strained relationship with the neighbor. I was mowing her grass when the neighbor came out one day. A big man in his early 40's with a gruff attitude pointing to me where the property line was. I got off the mower and listened, smiled, and expressed to him that I knew where the line was and that I would do him a favor and cut his small side for free while I was doing hers. Just to make things look nice. He became very friendly after that. I have seen him many times and waived since then. I thought that this may soften their relationship. The other day I was mowing her lawn and Lisa went with me so she could see what I call the lawn from hell. Tony the neighbor that I am talking about was outside and his dog Coco was on the porch. I asked him if we could pet Coco. I had seen him staring at Lisa, then he came over and introduced himself to her. I was laughing inside because I knew what he had in mind and I thought you are barking up the wrong tree. I was petting the dog when Lisa came over and Tony expressed to her how he needed petting too. She was appalled! She did an about face and muttered "pig". Tony then proceeded to stress what a nut case and a bitch I was working for. That she looked like a troll and needed a new attitude.

This is what I mean by a NON MEANINGFUL INTERACTION!

I had quite alot to say today. The brain never stops! I wish that people would be more kind, more gentle, genuine, stop rushing and get used to taking the time.