Ask Me Wednesday!!

These Wednesdays sure do seem to come pretty quickly ...... of course, that could just be me.

Took the two sons to a movie today ... "Taken". I thought it was very good. Very intense, but good. They both seemed to like it, plus they like going to the movie places that serves food while you watch.
I find it mediocre, at best. The service is usually horrible. Today I had to go find a waiter to take our order and he still took a bit of time before coming in (guess he showed me!), but then everything was fine after that.
Maybe your like/dislike of the service/food is in direct correlation to your like/dislike of the movie ....? Hmmmmmm, I should do some kind of study on that. I bet I could get get the government to give me thousands of dollars in a grant to study that!!!!
I shall have to ponder that.

Anyway .... here are the questions:

This question from JB probably wasn't intended to be an "Ask Me Wednesday" question, but I was too lazy to write another comment and then a post so here it is:

I think the other day you wrote about "God-things." Was hearing Tammy W. a "god-thing?"

It was for me .... definitely.  It turned my day and my mood for the better, so .... yes.


susan said...
question for wednesday: i love the way your mom addresses you in these comments. so the question, has she always "spoken" to you in this way?

Well, not actually.  She never greeted me with, "Welcome home, my darling daughter" or "Time to wake up, darling daughter", if that's what you mean.  

She didn't speak harshly to us or anything ..... well, unless one of us happened to say that her cooking smelled like dog food (even though that was meant in the kindest way possible!).  But she didn't get all mushy, either.  

I would say that she spoke to us in the "normal" way that most mothers speak.  (My siblings can jump in here and give you their opinions, if they'd like.)

She was always nice, but like most mothers -- I believe, she acquired quite a lot of niceness once she became older and became a grandmother.

(I wonder what her next comment will be?!)

:)

 


Dear J,
Seeing Tammy tonight made me think of Porter Wagner, Dolly Parton and "boxes of Breeze". Unfortunately, I can not remember what you could only find in boxes of Breeze. So that is part of my Wednesday question, because I know you have a mind like a steel trap and I'm too lazy to google tonight! Keeping with the seventies, what was your favorite 70's band? For me it's ELO - puffy hair, crazy costumes and all.
Peace,
AEW

Well, dear AEW, I tried to google "boxes of Breeze"  (using the word "inside"), but all I got was stuff about cat litter.

I do remember them advertising that, though ..... back in the day when the performers did the advertising right on the show (i.e:  Johnny Carson selling dog food).  I think they used to have glasses in them ...... like you'd collect a glass from each box (kind of like McDonald's .... wow ... I am SO dating myself here!).

As for favorite 70's band ..... that's a tough one.  I liked Bread, Queen .... nothing hard, and mostly just single singers.  ELO ..... ahhhh, the memories ......    :)

UPDATE:  I just posted this entry and then received an e-mail from my mom saying that the box of Breeze contained a towel.  So there ya go.  I was wrong .... must've been confused by all of the glasses I collected with pictures of the Hamburgler and Grimace.  Oh well.

Thanks, Mom!

Question for Wednesday: What do you do about a 100 lb. dog that has the worst gas problem? Some are silent and others are loud but all of them can clear a room! Are you using anything on your scar to minimize it so you can still wear your thong bikini? (Whoops maybe not everyone knows about your swimsuit attire)
Love you,
Julie

Julie .... if I knew the answer to that I'd be a millionaire!!!  Or maybe I'd pay a million $ for someone to answer it!!  I have a 120+ dog and I have NO idea ..... but there are days when I think about putting her out on the curb!!

As for the scar .... I'm using Mederma.  And I thought I told you to NEVER mention the thong on the blog!!!!!

L:
I know the wife of the Shell executive who recently died in the Amsterdam plane crash. I only know her from high school (she is the older sister of one of my good high school friends) - and I haven't been in touch with either of them for over 20 years, except for our HS reunion. Anyway, I want to reconnect with her, if only to pass along "your blog" - if that makes sense. (Is that ok?) I guess my question is - at what point, or how soon, do you think she would be ready or even open to reading? I know everyone grieves much differently, and I believe that her emotions are overwhelming and raw still, at this point. Is it too soon?
Thanks,L

L, 

 I am so sorry.

Yes, I think it makes perfect sense that you'd want to pass her the blog.  

I think you should definitely contact her .... either through a card or e-mail, just to touch base and tell her that you're sorry and that you're praying.

As for when to give her the blog address ..... I might wait a bit on that.  She's probably not going to want to read anything, although people will give her tons and tons of books.  Hopefully she'll put them in a stack and then a few months down the road (or several) she'll feel like looking at them.

I would say that when about 3 months have passed you could contact her again and this time give her the site address.  You might also tell her to start from either the beginning (so she can get a peek at how the blog ... and thus I .... was before) or have her start from the day he died. But do warn her ..... that it's very honest and so sometimes very raw, and that it's a lot of reading.  Once you've sent it to her then she can decide if and when she wants to read it.  You could also send her my e-mail address .... in case she'd like to "talk".  Or ask her if it's OK if you give me hers.  It might be easier if I contact her first .... if she's OK with that ..... but I'd love to do it when she's ready.

Again ..... I'm very sorry.

Monike:
And my question: What do you feel like is the best way to deal with anxiety?

OK my lovely daughter #4 .... since this is not the first time you've asked this question ... I will assume that it's a pretty serious one.

If you've tried that standard things ..... prayer, deep breathing, re-directing your thoughts (ha!), getting a massage (that helps SO much) ..... and you are still having problems, then I'd say it's time for you to go visit your dr.  Talk to her/him about what's going on and ask for help.  There may be several different options ... from over-the-counter stuff, talking to a counselor,  to herbal things that could help.  As a last resort ..... you might need medication .... depending on how severe the anxiety is and how much it affects your daily life.

So, speaking to you as I would to Daughters 1 - 3, .... go see a dr!

I love you.

Tamara:
Ask Me Wednesday...What did you do with your kids on Spring Break and in the summer. Did they occupy themselves since there are so many of them? Did you put them in camps? Did they whine at your feet every ten minutes to let you know how bored they were?

My dear, dear Tamara ..... 

I think you have heard me speak often enough (MOPS?) to know that the word "bored" was forbidden in our home.  

But in case you've forgotten because you are slowly being driven mad this week .... I will remind you of the consequences of using that word.  Any time a child uttered the sentence ... "I'm b----" .... cuz usually, they only got the b out before they received "the look" from mom.  The look that said, "Are you really, really sure you want to finish that sentence?".  If they had lost their brain that day and did indeed finish that sentence ..... they were handed the toilet brush and cleaner and told to go clean a toilet.

No kidding.

If a child --- especially in this day and age, with so very many play choices --- wants to insist that he/she is bored ..... then I would certainly find something for them to do to cure that.

Let me know if you need me to come over there.

:)

As for the things we did, several Spring Breaks we rented a beach house with other families for the week.  We had a blast.  

Some years I'd drive them to Okla to visit the grandparents.

Summers --- usually a couple of weeks of vacation and one week of camp.  Otherwise, it was the usual summer.  We'd go to movies, the zoo .... little things to occupy them sometimes.  We spent a lot of the early years at the neighborhood pool.   But mostly, it was up to them to play with friends, swim, play with each other, go bonkers ..... whatever.  They just couldn't be b----.  

OK .... that's it for today.

I want to leave you with this video that a lovely friend sent to make me smile.

It did indeed ...... and I know it will affect you the same way.

Thank you, S!!!!