I remember being in one of the many cheaply named 'Dollar Store's one day and witnessing something that I will never forget. For some reason, this incident just popped into my head once again. I was with my mom, she was looking for something very specific, I can't remember what. We were just moseying around, in and out of conversation, when I saw a young boy, maybe about eight or nine years old, with his father. The boy was looking through a pile of frames - appropriately priced at one dollar each. He chose one in particular and ran up to his father with great excitement in his eyes asking "Dad! Dad! Can I get this frame to put my certificate in??!!" He must have done something pretty special to receive a certificate and he was clearly proud of his achievement. His father yanked the frame from his hand replying, "Put it back! We don't need a damn frame for that!!" The boy took the frame and placed it back on the shelf with a slightly defeated expression on his face. I was enraged. I pulled my mother to the side of the aisle and told her what happened. "Should I go buy that frame for the boy?" I asked. "Don't get into it, it's not our business" she replied. Which was completely true. I had no right eavesdropping on their sad moment in the Dollar Store and I had no right to override the father's wishes. But I couldn't help feeling like this boy was simply looking for some praise and to no avail. I contemplated confronting the father and giving him my unwanted opinion ... but again, I realized it was not my business.
This happened at least six or seven years ago and I can't believe how it haunts me still. I understand that money is tight and for certain families there is nothing extra allowed. But is ONE DOLLAR seriously going to break the bank?? Couldn't you fore-go the glass cleaner or a can of corn and buy your son something that will really show him that you are proud of him?? Man. It still burns me right up. You should have seen the boy's face. I hope that moment didn't have the impact on him that it did on me. Or worse.
November 6, 2009
November 5, 2009
the truth...
Well, I figure I owe it to anyone reading this nonsense, post after post, to be brutally honest. Sure, I have given you tidbits of information and brief glances at my life from a safe distance. And yes, I have spoken with sincerity about my husband, friends and family. But isn't there more to sheribloggins besides sarcasm, a fear of insects, a passion for decorating and love for horror films? ISN'T THERE??? Since I have kept my profile information short and sweet, please allow me to elaborate a bit on... well, ME. A bit self centered don'tcha think?? Yep. And that's just the beginning...
I have been unemployed since January. Now, before you go judging me - I am not a quitter or a lazy ass... I was no longer needed at my former job. The dismissal was super shady but I couldn't be happier now. At first, I didn't know what to do with myself. I applied for a crazy amount of jobs in a one week span - barely looking at the salary or requirements. Upon settling down, I eased into my new-found housewife-ism. I realized quickly that I need to win powerball so that I can forever be the awesomest housewife - and someday, mother - on the east coast. Currently I am still searching for a job that will allow me to continue paying my mortgage and seven million other monthly bills. And I am in good company, as tons of people are in similar situations, some better but most worse.
I wrote a children's book. Yes, yes I did. I have sent it to two publishing companies since the spring - no takers yet but I will keep floating that manuscript on and on and who knows? Maybe someday, someone will love it.
I don't make coffee everyday. Don't get me wrong. I DID. For the longest time. But lately I let myself decide in the morning - can I make it with just a small glass of milk in my little, pink Hello Kitty cup?? Or do I need two giant mugs of the good stuff? My D&D coffee preference? Medium iced Dunkin' Dark with milk and 3 sugar. I quit Splenda since I found out the ridiculousness that goes into it. Also because I bought a bag of Splenda and the weight of the bag made me want to vomit. It looks like snow and when you pour coffee onto it, it fizzes and foams up. MMMMMM granulated slow death crystals.
I am pretty selfish at times. I can't even apologize for it because it's just part of who I am. Breakdown: I would never turn my mom down if she needed help with anything or leave my friends flat in a desperate situation. But if you ask me to go to your candle party or jewelry party or Pampered Chef party - yeah I'm not going. If an invitation arrives in the mail for a 50th birthday party at a VFW hall and I don't know who the person is - yeah I'm not going. If I made plans for Friday night but it ends up rainy and I have cramps - guess who's canceling to put on pajamas and cozy up with a magazine? That's me.
If you make a comment to me that I don't like, I usually won't address it with you right then and there. A lot of times the setting doesn't allow for a confrontation. What will happen is - I will go home, LIVID over it, mulling it over a million times in my head, coming up with awesome comebacks and playing out elaborate scenarios. In time, I will move past the aggravation but will never quite fully forget what you said and how pissed I was about it.
I fully understand the dangers of skin cancer but I am one of the morons who slathers tanning accelerator on rather than SPF.
I am as stubborn as they come. I almost always discard good advice and learn my lessons the hardest way possible. And that has definitely played a huge part in my becoming a responsible adult. (Please refrain from pissing your pants laughing).
I do have my pride. And a LOT of armor. It takes an incredibly harsh person to really break me down but when they do - and they hurt my pride - it takes me a long, long time to build it back up.
I often say words when I burp. I know! I am charming as hell - hands off, guys, this 10 is married.
Perfect time to admit that I have absolutely no grace. I couldn't be LESS elegant. I envy graceful people. I don't think they realize what an amazing quality that is. Just something as simple as getting into a car for instance ... graceful people just GLIDE in - almost weightless. Not me. I practically explode into that seat. Hair getting caught in the door, smashing my elbow on the console, change falling out of my pocketbook, a button getting ripped off of my pants pocket etc. It's not easy.
I would move to another state in a heartbeat. I appear to be very set in my ways and comfortable with the "regular" but that's not true. I could easily start a fresh life in a new place. Easily.
I am looking forward to being a mother someday. It took me a long time to feel like I am "ready" and a lot of people just didn't get that. I have had some battles over it in the past few years. And I had asked that friends and family stop the constant nagging as I didn't think it was fair to me. I just see it as an extremely personal matter and I really only share personal information on my terms.
I am not very affectionate. I am not the hug-spreader (although I have gotten much better thanks to Gregg, Cass and D). I don't like to get excited because it just makes it harder to deal with disappointments. I have a very firm grip on reality and my life and our finances and budget and household but at times I wish someone would just take that all over so I could put my hair in pigtails and play hopscotch. I do miss being a child with no responsibilities. I am a writer at heart. I love poetry and have written over two hundred of my own poems. I love art and music and movies. My memories mean the most to me. My biggest love is Gregg. I look forward to our future together as we grow old (starting with my crow's feet). My biggest fear is Alzheimer's. I worry too much. I wear the same jeans several times before washing them. I practically live in pajamas. I won't leave the house without makeup on. I am not a news watcher or a newspaper reader. I will read top stories online and that's that. I don't get into politics. I don't get into religion. I love pasta and eggplant. I eat four thousand eggs per week. My favorite band is Pearl Jam. I have a pretty solid crew of friends who are all exactly what I need them to be. I am very strong in many ways but can also be very weak. I have to talk myself into being confident. I still watch episodes of Full House every now and then. And I feel better in my thirties than I EVER felt in my twenties.
So that's more of me for you to "love" hahaha ... or maybe now you are realizing 'Hmmm, I don't think I like this Sheribloggins very much at all, actually'. Nah, I'm not all bad. I am who I am. I just wanted to give you a closer look.
I have been unemployed since January. Now, before you go judging me - I am not a quitter or a lazy ass... I was no longer needed at my former job. The dismissal was super shady but I couldn't be happier now. At first, I didn't know what to do with myself. I applied for a crazy amount of jobs in a one week span - barely looking at the salary or requirements. Upon settling down, I eased into my new-found housewife-ism. I realized quickly that I need to win powerball so that I can forever be the awesomest housewife - and someday, mother - on the east coast. Currently I am still searching for a job that will allow me to continue paying my mortgage and seven million other monthly bills. And I am in good company, as tons of people are in similar situations, some better but most worse.
I wrote a children's book. Yes, yes I did. I have sent it to two publishing companies since the spring - no takers yet but I will keep floating that manuscript on and on and who knows? Maybe someday, someone will love it.
I don't make coffee everyday. Don't get me wrong. I DID. For the longest time. But lately I let myself decide in the morning - can I make it with just a small glass of milk in my little, pink Hello Kitty cup?? Or do I need two giant mugs of the good stuff? My D&D coffee preference? Medium iced Dunkin' Dark with milk and 3 sugar. I quit Splenda since I found out the ridiculousness that goes into it. Also because I bought a bag of Splenda and the weight of the bag made me want to vomit. It looks like snow and when you pour coffee onto it, it fizzes and foams up. MMMMMM granulated slow death crystals.
I am pretty selfish at times. I can't even apologize for it because it's just part of who I am. Breakdown: I would never turn my mom down if she needed help with anything or leave my friends flat in a desperate situation. But if you ask me to go to your candle party or jewelry party or Pampered Chef party - yeah I'm not going. If an invitation arrives in the mail for a 50th birthday party at a VFW hall and I don't know who the person is - yeah I'm not going. If I made plans for Friday night but it ends up rainy and I have cramps - guess who's canceling to put on pajamas and cozy up with a magazine? That's me.
If you make a comment to me that I don't like, I usually won't address it with you right then and there. A lot of times the setting doesn't allow for a confrontation. What will happen is - I will go home, LIVID over it, mulling it over a million times in my head, coming up with awesome comebacks and playing out elaborate scenarios. In time, I will move past the aggravation but will never quite fully forget what you said and how pissed I was about it.
I fully understand the dangers of skin cancer but I am one of the morons who slathers tanning accelerator on rather than SPF.
I am as stubborn as they come. I almost always discard good advice and learn my lessons the hardest way possible. And that has definitely played a huge part in my becoming a responsible adult. (Please refrain from pissing your pants laughing).
I do have my pride. And a LOT of armor. It takes an incredibly harsh person to really break me down but when they do - and they hurt my pride - it takes me a long, long time to build it back up.
I often say words when I burp. I know! I am charming as hell - hands off, guys, this 10 is married.
Perfect time to admit that I have absolutely no grace. I couldn't be LESS elegant. I envy graceful people. I don't think they realize what an amazing quality that is. Just something as simple as getting into a car for instance ... graceful people just GLIDE in - almost weightless. Not me. I practically explode into that seat. Hair getting caught in the door, smashing my elbow on the console, change falling out of my pocketbook, a button getting ripped off of my pants pocket etc. It's not easy.
I would move to another state in a heartbeat. I appear to be very set in my ways and comfortable with the "regular" but that's not true. I could easily start a fresh life in a new place. Easily.
I am looking forward to being a mother someday. It took me a long time to feel like I am "ready" and a lot of people just didn't get that. I have had some battles over it in the past few years. And I had asked that friends and family stop the constant nagging as I didn't think it was fair to me. I just see it as an extremely personal matter and I really only share personal information on my terms.
I am not very affectionate. I am not the hug-spreader (although I have gotten much better thanks to Gregg, Cass and D). I don't like to get excited because it just makes it harder to deal with disappointments. I have a very firm grip on reality and my life and our finances and budget and household but at times I wish someone would just take that all over so I could put my hair in pigtails and play hopscotch. I do miss being a child with no responsibilities. I am a writer at heart. I love poetry and have written over two hundred of my own poems. I love art and music and movies. My memories mean the most to me. My biggest love is Gregg. I look forward to our future together as we grow old (starting with my crow's feet). My biggest fear is Alzheimer's. I worry too much. I wear the same jeans several times before washing them. I practically live in pajamas. I won't leave the house without makeup on. I am not a news watcher or a newspaper reader. I will read top stories online and that's that. I don't get into politics. I don't get into religion. I love pasta and eggplant. I eat four thousand eggs per week. My favorite band is Pearl Jam. I have a pretty solid crew of friends who are all exactly what I need them to be. I am very strong in many ways but can also be very weak. I have to talk myself into being confident. I still watch episodes of Full House every now and then. And I feel better in my thirties than I EVER felt in my twenties.
So that's more of me for you to "love" hahaha ... or maybe now you are realizing 'Hmmm, I don't think I like this Sheribloggins very much at all, actually'. Nah, I'm not all bad. I am who I am. I just wanted to give you a closer look.
... good mood, good reasons ...
Let me just start by congratulating the New York Yankees for winning their 27th World Series Championship. Yes, I was glued to the set for all of the post season games. My heart raced beyond safety pace for the past month and FINALLY last night they put themselves back on top!!! Sure, I had to celebrate this electric victory by myself, sitting in my recliner, ass half off the seat, texting fellow fans and quietly clapping and cheering so as not to wake up Gregg or cause panic-induced barking from Brody. BUT I couldn't care less. I almost forgot how awesome it feels to see your favorite team celebrating like the champions that they are on that home field. AMAZING. AWESOME SEASON!!!
Next, we move onto my nephew-watching today. Stacey, my sister-in-law, called yesterday for the favor. I love to watch the boys, they are fantastic. Alex is 5 and in Kindergarten, smart as a whip, creative, polite and obsessed with dinosaurs. Theo is 3 and in Pre-School, imaginative, tricky and obsessed with Batman and Robin. And Benjamin is the newly vaccinated 7 month old who has one of the sweetest smiles you'll ever see.
I arrived at 9:30 with my iced coffee and my "Yankees just won the world series" smile. The older boys had already finished breakfast and were getting ready to do some drawing in the dining room. Benjamin was being shuffled out the door for his visit to the shot doctor. Alex, Theo and I sat around the table for creative time. Alex was putting the finishing touches on a picture of Grover that he had colored half with pen and half with markers. Stunning. Theo was drawing the infamous Robin (of Batman and Robin) and made sure to remember the yellow belt around his super hero's waist. With my Bic, I whipped up some lame cartoony guy and a cloud and sun. Alex said "Hey, how'd you do that so fast??" "Ohhh, I have been drawing these guys for a long, long time" I answered. I then colored my hasty picture with typical primary colored crayons (some, which had sparkles in them!!!).
When creative time had ceased, we moved into the living room for some good old fashioned 'what the hell kind of show is this?' television. I had never seen this particular show and Alex filled me in that we were watching PBS Sprout. Theo crawled up on the couch, in his Batman Halloween costume mind you, sucking his thumb with eyes fixated on the TV. Alex was sprinting around, in his striped pajamas, racing numerous Matchbox cars. At this moment, Theo decided that he wanted to play with these exact cars. Whining ensued. I pointed out that there are a million toys in the house and there is more than enough to go around. And that Theo was clearly watching television while Alex had his mitts on the cars. No need for fighting. Theo then switched gears and wanted to play the Muppet video game. PS3 was unhooked and I was positive that there was good reason for that. He then pointed out that there is a Lego Batman and Robin video game downstairs. So, off we went to check that scenario out. Two remote controls and 4 electronic gadgets later I decided that there wasn't enough time to figure the setup out and that brushing their teeth would be a better idea. Later, I would find out that video games are off limits until the weekend.... sneaky sneaky sneakyyyy.
Teeth brushing is easy. Alex puts Theo's toothpaste on his brush for him (the fruity one, not the "spicy" one) and they stand side by side brushing their little hearts out. Apparently Alex put the paste on a plain, old yellow toothbrush for T and he was UNhappy about that. "I want the spinny one!! Nooooo the one that spins I want that one!!! I don't want this one!!" Well, what do you know? The spinny one was right in front of my eyes. I scraped the paste off of Old Yeller and onto spinning Spiderman. Crisis averted. Next thing you know, "Mommy's home!!!"
Stacey pulled up with big, brave Ben. He had two shots and was a very good boy!! I didn't get to the face-washing or the school-clothes choosing but we had a good morning!! You can really learn a lot about these boys in such a short amount of time ... I enjoy watching them. They put me in a good mood.
As I drove away, I decided that I should take Brody somewhere 'special' today since the weather was decent. But up around the bend were dark, heavy, churning clouds that appeared rain-filled. I threw on Empire State of Mind in keeping with my "New York High" ... and followed the road home. A couple of egg whites on toast and a vitamin later - here I am ... enjoying my day with many reasons to smile. Don't bring me down!!!
Next, we move onto my nephew-watching today. Stacey, my sister-in-law, called yesterday for the favor. I love to watch the boys, they are fantastic. Alex is 5 and in Kindergarten, smart as a whip, creative, polite and obsessed with dinosaurs. Theo is 3 and in Pre-School, imaginative, tricky and obsessed with Batman and Robin. And Benjamin is the newly vaccinated 7 month old who has one of the sweetest smiles you'll ever see.
I arrived at 9:30 with my iced coffee and my "Yankees just won the world series" smile. The older boys had already finished breakfast and were getting ready to do some drawing in the dining room. Benjamin was being shuffled out the door for his visit to the shot doctor. Alex, Theo and I sat around the table for creative time. Alex was putting the finishing touches on a picture of Grover that he had colored half with pen and half with markers. Stunning. Theo was drawing the infamous Robin (of Batman and Robin) and made sure to remember the yellow belt around his super hero's waist. With my Bic, I whipped up some lame cartoony guy and a cloud and sun. Alex said "Hey, how'd you do that so fast??" "Ohhh, I have been drawing these guys for a long, long time" I answered. I then colored my hasty picture with typical primary colored crayons (some, which had sparkles in them!!!).
When creative time had ceased, we moved into the living room for some good old fashioned 'what the hell kind of show is this?' television. I had never seen this particular show and Alex filled me in that we were watching PBS Sprout. Theo crawled up on the couch, in his Batman Halloween costume mind you, sucking his thumb with eyes fixated on the TV. Alex was sprinting around, in his striped pajamas, racing numerous Matchbox cars. At this moment, Theo decided that he wanted to play with these exact cars. Whining ensued. I pointed out that there are a million toys in the house and there is more than enough to go around. And that Theo was clearly watching television while Alex had his mitts on the cars. No need for fighting. Theo then switched gears and wanted to play the Muppet video game. PS3 was unhooked and I was positive that there was good reason for that. He then pointed out that there is a Lego Batman and Robin video game downstairs. So, off we went to check that scenario out. Two remote controls and 4 electronic gadgets later I decided that there wasn't enough time to figure the setup out and that brushing their teeth would be a better idea. Later, I would find out that video games are off limits until the weekend.... sneaky sneaky sneakyyyy.
Teeth brushing is easy. Alex puts Theo's toothpaste on his brush for him (the fruity one, not the "spicy" one) and they stand side by side brushing their little hearts out. Apparently Alex put the paste on a plain, old yellow toothbrush for T and he was UNhappy about that. "I want the spinny one!! Nooooo the one that spins I want that one!!! I don't want this one!!" Well, what do you know? The spinny one was right in front of my eyes. I scraped the paste off of Old Yeller and onto spinning Spiderman. Crisis averted. Next thing you know, "Mommy's home!!!"
Stacey pulled up with big, brave Ben. He had two shots and was a very good boy!! I didn't get to the face-washing or the school-clothes choosing but we had a good morning!! You can really learn a lot about these boys in such a short amount of time ... I enjoy watching them. They put me in a good mood.
As I drove away, I decided that I should take Brody somewhere 'special' today since the weather was decent. But up around the bend were dark, heavy, churning clouds that appeared rain-filled. I threw on Empire State of Mind in keeping with my "New York High" ... and followed the road home. A couple of egg whites on toast and a vitamin later - here I am ... enjoying my day with many reasons to smile. Don't bring me down!!!
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