He Said:
Does anyone remember what life was like before Television: families talking to each other, neighbors being neighborly, reading a book either for entertainment or for knowledge? Some people argue that we don't need books anymore because we have the internet. I am doing my part. I am buying every book I want to read some day. So far I have accumulated thousands of titles. Back to television. Everyone I know gets up in the morning and turns on the TV while getting ready for work (except the non-working friends) and you know who you are. When they come home from work, the first thing they do is turn on their TV. When they go to bed they set the timer on their TV so they can go to sleep. I call this death by Letterman. Pardon me, I meant sleep by Letterman. When Dena (my fiance') wants to go to sleep, she just asks me to talk to her or tell one of my famous stories,which always put her to sleep. I will admit that I occasionally watch Cops or Forensic Science or maybe an episode of Survivors, or maybe The Amazing Race. Dena does make me watch all of the Monday night sitcoms, which I find amusing in some ways; but to just turn the TV on for noise sake seems a disgrace to our own intelligence. I mean you do have the dog barking (incessantly), your son to talk to, or I can always tell you one of my many stories. I am not superior to anyone else, I just want to go back to an easier, friendlier, talk and listen relationship with family, friends, and neighbors. Now is that asking too much? If I could shoot all TV's, it would certainly put me out of my misery. It would also help a lot of other people to get a life. However, some people would go into withdrawals without their TV's and my killing the TV's before the conclusion of this seasons' Survivor would only result in opening the killing season on me. Then I would end up being on TV.Wouldn't that be ironic?
She Said:
Okay Mr. Pseudo Intellectual who thinks he's above TV. I've got two words for you: CLOSET WATCHER. You go around telling everybody you don't watch TV. You say you would rather read, when what you are reading is the TV Guide to find out when the next episode of Cops or World's Most Famous Car Chases comes on. You don't necessarily sneak around like a closet eater, but you act like you don't watch TV when in reality you do watch it. Who has fifteen boxes of recorded tapes of the OJ Trial? You recorded them off of WHAT? Oh, I remember, you recorded them off of the TV. Just because you don't watch it at the time, does not mean you are not watching it off of the TV! What about all of those times when you have meetings and you ask me to record Survivor or The Amazing Race? When you come over to watch those recorded shows, that is a form of TV watching to me. Let's take a look: THE CLASS, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, TWO AND A HALF MEN, CHRISTINA, WHAT ABOUT BRIAN, GREY'S ANATOMY, SURVIVOR, THE AMAZING RACE, NANCY GRACE, FORENSIC SCIENCE, and COPS. The last time I looked, these were all TV shows, not radio shows. As for you shooting your TV, you are much too frugal with money to destroy property. I have never seen you shoot a gun so you are probably a poor shot, and the biggest reason you won't kill your TV is because there is no TV Hunting Season Guide to tell you when to hunt and God forbid you miss a season of 24 or LOST. You need to dump this TV thing and if you want me, I'll be in my room watching DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, which I am beginning to feel like!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
He Said She Said -Vacations
He Said
July must mean it is time to start making vacation plans.
When the kids were young, this was a pretty simple task.
Where are the most RIDES going to be? Now that the kids
have escaped and are making their own vacations plans
or having their own vacation woes, here we are!
I, of course, like certain places to prop up my feet,
get up and go to bed when I want to, get a soda
on my own schedule with no one to answer to except my spouse,
of course. If I can get her to agree to where I want to go
and plan the vacation, she does pretty well. After all,
she is a very even tempered person who only lives to
make sure I am happy at all times; that is, after the
children, the dog, the fish, people at work, people at
church, the neighbors, our friends, the UPS man and whoever
is delivering the mail this week.
New York to me is exciting, especially Manhattan--the plays,
the food, and the shopping choices which amount to
hundreds of stores to peruse. Myrtle Beach is nice--good food,
the roar and splendor of the ocean and that new mall is not
bad either. Atlanta, Gatlinburg, Virginia Beach, Florida. All of
these places I can go and relax and have a good time.
Vacation to her is staying at home and getting all of those
jobs done that WE (and I use that term lightly) can accomplish
working together as a team. I call them projects. Blowing insulation
into the attic, mulching around the house, painting all of the
bedrooms does not constitute vacation time to me. Heck, I might
as well be at work where I have it easier, plus I get paid for being
there. Maybe I’ll tell her I can’t take vacation this year because
I’m too busy. At the very least, I’ll get out of having to fix gutters
or what other ideas she puts into that job jar.
She Said
Teaching school all year and getting home at 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. every
day does not leave me a lot of time to get my “projects” as you
call them started or even close to being finished. What you call
projects is what other families call keeping your house up. The house
won’t fix itself.
In the past when I mentioned vacation destinations, you would
sort of turn up your nose and make a face or question why I would
want to go to those places. I did notice your ears perk up when I
told you that they had a Wal-Mart in Hawaii. You are the only man
I know who can take two days to drive to Atlanta, which is normally
a five-hour trip, because you have to stop at every mall, Wal-Mart,
K mart, produce stand, and hobby shop between here and Georgia.
I have been to Myrtle Beach with you more than once and I don’t
think in all of those times have I actually been on the beach. I am
not sure if you even know there IS a beach at Myrtle Beach.
However, I do know every store in the Outlet Mall, regular mall,
and every fleabitten piece of memorabilia at the flea markets.
I think visiting the cathedrals and museums in London or the
Louvre and the Eiffel Tower in Paris would be exceptional
vacations. But the problem for you would be no Wal-Mart,
no mall--only exotic food, that you don’t like, a
foreign language that you don’t speak and a lot of walking,
which you are allergic to. I imagine a vacation in Europe with
you would be a week of all WHINE and no cheese. The best thing
to do is stay home.
I’ll do my projects. You sit on the porch drinking your tea
and reading your books. I’ll be happy; you’ll be rested,
and we’ll both save money. But I’m not cooking.
Vacation week...you are buying dinner out every night.
HAPPY VACATION.
© Larry Oldham, 2007
July must mean it is time to start making vacation plans.
When the kids were young, this was a pretty simple task.
Where are the most RIDES going to be? Now that the kids
have escaped and are making their own vacations plans
or having their own vacation woes, here we are!
I, of course, like certain places to prop up my feet,
get up and go to bed when I want to, get a soda
on my own schedule with no one to answer to except my spouse,
of course. If I can get her to agree to where I want to go
and plan the vacation, she does pretty well. After all,
she is a very even tempered person who only lives to
make sure I am happy at all times; that is, after the
children, the dog, the fish, people at work, people at
church, the neighbors, our friends, the UPS man and whoever
is delivering the mail this week.
New York to me is exciting, especially Manhattan--the plays,
the food, and the shopping choices which amount to
hundreds of stores to peruse. Myrtle Beach is nice--good food,
the roar and splendor of the ocean and that new mall is not
bad either. Atlanta, Gatlinburg, Virginia Beach, Florida. All of
these places I can go and relax and have a good time.
Vacation to her is staying at home and getting all of those
jobs done that WE (and I use that term lightly) can accomplish
working together as a team. I call them projects. Blowing insulation
into the attic, mulching around the house, painting all of the
bedrooms does not constitute vacation time to me. Heck, I might
as well be at work where I have it easier, plus I get paid for being
there. Maybe I’ll tell her I can’t take vacation this year because
I’m too busy. At the very least, I’ll get out of having to fix gutters
or what other ideas she puts into that job jar.
She Said
Teaching school all year and getting home at 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. every
day does not leave me a lot of time to get my “projects” as you
call them started or even close to being finished. What you call
projects is what other families call keeping your house up. The house
won’t fix itself.
In the past when I mentioned vacation destinations, you would
sort of turn up your nose and make a face or question why I would
want to go to those places. I did notice your ears perk up when I
told you that they had a Wal-Mart in Hawaii. You are the only man
I know who can take two days to drive to Atlanta, which is normally
a five-hour trip, because you have to stop at every mall, Wal-Mart,
K mart, produce stand, and hobby shop between here and Georgia.
I have been to Myrtle Beach with you more than once and I don’t
think in all of those times have I actually been on the beach. I am
not sure if you even know there IS a beach at Myrtle Beach.
However, I do know every store in the Outlet Mall, regular mall,
and every fleabitten piece of memorabilia at the flea markets.
I think visiting the cathedrals and museums in London or the
Louvre and the Eiffel Tower in Paris would be exceptional
vacations. But the problem for you would be no Wal-Mart,
no mall--only exotic food, that you don’t like, a
foreign language that you don’t speak and a lot of walking,
which you are allergic to. I imagine a vacation in Europe with
you would be a week of all WHINE and no cheese. The best thing
to do is stay home.
I’ll do my projects. You sit on the porch drinking your tea
and reading your books. I’ll be happy; you’ll be rested,
and we’ll both save money. But I’m not cooking.
Vacation week...you are buying dinner out every night.
HAPPY VACATION.
© Larry Oldham, 2007
He Said She Said - Beauty Shop Conspiracy
He Said
They say that couples should spend quality time
together whenever possible. I agree. I try to
spend as much time as possible with my fiancee'.
But let me tell you, going to the beauty shop
together does notmake for quality time.
In today's world not all guys go to the barber
shop to get their hair cut,colored or coiffed.
Some go to a beauty shop. Somehow, my fiancee'
and I started going to the same beauty shop on
the same day and at the same time. These days,
in between all of her other fixings,our hairstylist
Stephanie cuts my hair.
I have noticed that when a man walks into a beauty
salon, the women stop talking all at once. You
can literally hear a hairpin drop. How and why
they do this is beyond me. They can't all have
been talking about me because all of them do
not know me. Something else I have noticed is
that once they start talking again, they do it
in unison, like some kind of women's army.
Since I have been going to the beauty parlor,
I have also learned that there are secrets
going on. How do I know this? Because I ask
questions but I don't get back answers.
For example...
One day on the shelf in front of me I noticed
a bottle of something called Sex You Up
so I asked Stephanie,"What is that? Do you
drink it, splash it on your body, or bathe in it?
"No",she replied.
"Well, what is it for." I asked. No answer.
When she finally told me that it is something to
puff up your hair, I bought a bottle. I was
thinking it would make me look younger or at
the least, sexier. Instead, it made me look like
one of those gospel singers or preachers you see
on TV with bouffant hair, so I threw it away.
I don't need to look any puffier than I already
look or look younger and have all those blue
haired women calling 24/7. Maybe I should go back
to the barbershop where men are men and we just
look sexy naturally...without additives.
She Said
To all of the women in the world, I apologize.
I am afraid my fiance' has found out the truth
about us. We have a hideout; it's the beauty salon.
Yes, my super-duper-snooper detective fiance' has
discovered the top secret of women everywhere. Hair
Salons all over the world are chapters of an
organization of women who plan to take over the
world and rule all men. I apologize, too, for his
discovering our top secret weapon, Sex You Up.
Thank goodness it doesn't work for men, just women.
What he did not realize is that Sex You Up
works to make us sexy and alluring so we can entice
all of the men and conquer them, not the other way
around. Sort of like their AXE body spray. That must
be some formula that men think will entice us meek
unassuming, poor women. There is an old saying that
"He chases her until she catches him". Think about
that , guys.
He also discovered that we bring stories to our
hairdressers, about what the men did that week, and
the hairdressers tell other women; this is how we
learn to dominate them.
Thank goodness he didn't find out that we all conspire
together to marry them, divorce them, and get all of
their money, which we then send to the Natural Order
of Women.
We go to beauty salons each week under the pretense that
we are just trying to fix ourselves up for them. But
now that secret is out, we should never, ever let them
find out that when we all go to the restroom together,
this is really just a time for short meetings of our
NOW group.
My fiance' can find a conspiracy theory in everything
I do and now it is everything that women do at the
hair salon. I didn't ask him to go to the beauty salon;
he just tagged along.
I didn't ask him to buy Sex You Up,he thought
it would puff up his hair when actually it was just to
puff up his ego.
I am telling you, I only go to the hairdresser to look
good and to make myself more appealing for him. I imagine
that if I took a survey, most women would feel the same
way. I'll be sure and bring it up at our next monthly
meeting.
Puffy hair? Give me a break. Larry, you only look puffy
from eating too many Snickers.
They say that couples should spend quality time
together whenever possible. I agree. I try to
spend as much time as possible with my fiancee'.
But let me tell you, going to the beauty shop
together does notmake for quality time.
In today's world not all guys go to the barber
shop to get their hair cut,colored or coiffed.
Some go to a beauty shop. Somehow, my fiancee'
and I started going to the same beauty shop on
the same day and at the same time. These days,
in between all of her other fixings,our hairstylist
Stephanie cuts my hair.
I have noticed that when a man walks into a beauty
salon, the women stop talking all at once. You
can literally hear a hairpin drop. How and why
they do this is beyond me. They can't all have
been talking about me because all of them do
not know me. Something else I have noticed is
that once they start talking again, they do it
in unison, like some kind of women's army.
Since I have been going to the beauty parlor,
I have also learned that there are secrets
going on. How do I know this? Because I ask
questions but I don't get back answers.
For example...
One day on the shelf in front of me I noticed
a bottle of something called Sex You Up
so I asked Stephanie,"What is that? Do you
drink it, splash it on your body, or bathe in it?
"No",she replied.
"Well, what is it for." I asked. No answer.
When she finally told me that it is something to
puff up your hair, I bought a bottle. I was
thinking it would make me look younger or at
the least, sexier. Instead, it made me look like
one of those gospel singers or preachers you see
on TV with bouffant hair, so I threw it away.
I don't need to look any puffier than I already
look or look younger and have all those blue
haired women calling 24/7. Maybe I should go back
to the barbershop where men are men and we just
look sexy naturally...without additives.
She Said
To all of the women in the world, I apologize.
I am afraid my fiance' has found out the truth
about us. We have a hideout; it's the beauty salon.
Yes, my super-duper-snooper detective fiance' has
discovered the top secret of women everywhere. Hair
Salons all over the world are chapters of an
organization of women who plan to take over the
world and rule all men. I apologize, too, for his
discovering our top secret weapon, Sex You Up.
Thank goodness it doesn't work for men, just women.
What he did not realize is that Sex You Up
works to make us sexy and alluring so we can entice
all of the men and conquer them, not the other way
around. Sort of like their AXE body spray. That must
be some formula that men think will entice us meek
unassuming, poor women. There is an old saying that
"He chases her until she catches him". Think about
that , guys.
He also discovered that we bring stories to our
hairdressers, about what the men did that week, and
the hairdressers tell other women; this is how we
learn to dominate them.
Thank goodness he didn't find out that we all conspire
together to marry them, divorce them, and get all of
their money, which we then send to the Natural Order
of Women.
We go to beauty salons each week under the pretense that
we are just trying to fix ourselves up for them. But
now that secret is out, we should never, ever let them
find out that when we all go to the restroom together,
this is really just a time for short meetings of our
NOW group.
My fiance' can find a conspiracy theory in everything
I do and now it is everything that women do at the
hair salon. I didn't ask him to go to the beauty salon;
he just tagged along.
I didn't ask him to buy Sex You Up,he thought
it would puff up his hair when actually it was just to
puff up his ego.
I am telling you, I only go to the hairdresser to look
good and to make myself more appealing for him. I imagine
that if I took a survey, most women would feel the same
way. I'll be sure and bring it up at our next monthly
meeting.
Puffy hair? Give me a break. Larry, you only look puffy
from eating too many Snickers.
Friday, March 21, 2008
He Said She Said - Dieting
He Said
There is one word we don't use much
around our house, because not only
is it off limits, it is also taboo.
Now I know what you are thinking...
money, sex, ex-wives...nope. Nothing
that trite. We are talking about the
big word.
DIET.
I personally don't see anything wrong
with the word. I occasionally use it
myself,usually in a sentence like: "I
don't do diets", or "I don't believe
in diets".
Don't get me wrong. I believe in good
health, quality of life and so on and
so on. Heck, I even watch those cute
girls doing Pilates on TV and you know
I don't do much TV. But when it comes
to diets, there are just too many of
them out there: Atkins, Weight Watchers,
L.A. something or other, Weight Off
Forever (or when you run out of money),
Nutri-Systems...the list goes on
forever. I mean if one of them really
works, why don't all of you get on
that one?
Let's say all of you gets on the one
that works and lose a few pounds. That
means new clothes, a new house, new car,
and probably a new spouse.
Why not do what I did when my doctor told
me I was getting fat? I just cut back on
my sweets, sodas, hot dogs, potatoe chips,
milkshakes,bisquits, butter and jelly. In
a few weeks I had lost a few pounds, without
eating foreign foods or taking exercise
classes and best of all, not having to pay
someone to tell me that I had gained or
lost a few pounds during that week.
Yep, my plan works so well for me that maybe
I will become one of those diet guru people.
I will gather up a few of those BEFORE pictures
back when I was fat and take some pictures of
me AFTER losing a few pounds. Next I will
write a diet book on how I did it and come up
with a fad diet name...something like
MAC-THIN or SLIM-MART or MAXI-THIN...then I
will share my big diet plan with the rest of
the world.
But first I think I will have some ice cream
and take a nap.
She Said
The only four letter word not spoken around our
house isn't diet...it is STOP.
STOP bringing those 42 bags of Easter candy,
21 bags of Valentine candy, and 34 bags of
Christmas candy to my house that you bought
on sale for 1/2 off at some drug store after
each and every holiday. Keep it stashed at
your house instead of mine and them we will
see how well the world's most famous couch
potato keeps the pounds off.
You. a diet guru?
You could be the poster boy for all the diet
plans in the world...but only the before
pictures. You are like most men. You eat
everything you want and then throw it up
to us ladies that dieting is a farce, all
because you can quit eating sugar, sodas,
bread, etc. for a few days and lose weight.
Men and women have a different metabolism.
We are already not eating all of that
garbage that you enjoy so much, so we don't
have much to give up without starving ourselves
to death.
When we do find a dieting program that works,
you're too busy making fun of fad diets to
lend support and encouragement to our diet
program. The diet word is not really taboo
around the house. I just don't like to
talk about it because I know that I am going
to hear ridicule or sarcasm about my diet.
Maybe you should try to appreciate the fact
that I am trying to look slimmer and thinner
to please you.
Instead of looking at the girls doing Pilates
on TV in their size 3 bathing suits, maybe I
would like for you to compliment me on my
appearance. At the very least, I would like
to think that when you're talking eye candy,
I am somewhere in that equation.
Otherwise I can only think that I am losing
weight just in case Dr. McDreamy should happen
to come to town again.
There is one word we don't use much
around our house, because not only
is it off limits, it is also taboo.
Now I know what you are thinking...
money, sex, ex-wives...nope. Nothing
that trite. We are talking about the
big word.
DIET.
I personally don't see anything wrong
with the word. I occasionally use it
myself,usually in a sentence like: "I
don't do diets", or "I don't believe
in diets".
Don't get me wrong. I believe in good
health, quality of life and so on and
so on. Heck, I even watch those cute
girls doing Pilates on TV and you know
I don't do much TV. But when it comes
to diets, there are just too many of
them out there: Atkins, Weight Watchers,
L.A. something or other, Weight Off
Forever (or when you run out of money),
Nutri-Systems...the list goes on
forever. I mean if one of them really
works, why don't all of you get on
that one?
Let's say all of you gets on the one
that works and lose a few pounds. That
means new clothes, a new house, new car,
and probably a new spouse.
Why not do what I did when my doctor told
me I was getting fat? I just cut back on
my sweets, sodas, hot dogs, potatoe chips,
milkshakes,bisquits, butter and jelly. In
a few weeks I had lost a few pounds, without
eating foreign foods or taking exercise
classes and best of all, not having to pay
someone to tell me that I had gained or
lost a few pounds during that week.
Yep, my plan works so well for me that maybe
I will become one of those diet guru people.
I will gather up a few of those BEFORE pictures
back when I was fat and take some pictures of
me AFTER losing a few pounds. Next I will
write a diet book on how I did it and come up
with a fad diet name...something like
MAC-THIN or SLIM-MART or MAXI-THIN...then I
will share my big diet plan with the rest of
the world.
But first I think I will have some ice cream
and take a nap.
She Said
The only four letter word not spoken around our
house isn't diet...it is STOP.
STOP bringing those 42 bags of Easter candy,
21 bags of Valentine candy, and 34 bags of
Christmas candy to my house that you bought
on sale for 1/2 off at some drug store after
each and every holiday. Keep it stashed at
your house instead of mine and them we will
see how well the world's most famous couch
potato keeps the pounds off.
You. a diet guru?
You could be the poster boy for all the diet
plans in the world...but only the before
pictures. You are like most men. You eat
everything you want and then throw it up
to us ladies that dieting is a farce, all
because you can quit eating sugar, sodas,
bread, etc. for a few days and lose weight.
Men and women have a different metabolism.
We are already not eating all of that
garbage that you enjoy so much, so we don't
have much to give up without starving ourselves
to death.
When we do find a dieting program that works,
you're too busy making fun of fad diets to
lend support and encouragement to our diet
program. The diet word is not really taboo
around the house. I just don't like to
talk about it because I know that I am going
to hear ridicule or sarcasm about my diet.
Maybe you should try to appreciate the fact
that I am trying to look slimmer and thinner
to please you.
Instead of looking at the girls doing Pilates
on TV in their size 3 bathing suits, maybe I
would like for you to compliment me on my
appearance. At the very least, I would like
to think that when you're talking eye candy,
I am somewhere in that equation.
Otherwise I can only think that I am losing
weight just in case Dr. McDreamy should happen
to come to town again.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
He Said She Said - Love in February
He Said
Here is what I know about love.
It comes once a year on February 14th.
That is the one day that I know I am
loved. People tell me. Cards tell me.
Balloons tell me. On a good Valentine's
Day, candy even tells me.
Let's look at the other 364 days of the
year. Where are my presents? Where are
my cards? Where are my flowers? I want
to be loved all the year round. This
part-time love isn't working for me
anymore. I want everyday to be Valentine's
Day. Instead, every day is like Halloween,
spooky and scary.
According to Hallmark, every month there
is a holiday of some sort, but if they
had it their way, every day would be a
holiday. I am offering them that chance.
Make every day a day of Love. It would
certainly satisfy my love needs. I don't
require presents, cards, flowers, or candy
every day, even though I could get used
to it. However, a love nudge, holding hands,
a little kissy mouth, anything to let me
know I am appreciated daily would be great!
This might take away from February 14th a
little bit, but think about how we would
feel with the whole world being in love
each and every day. I am starting to feel
a little like John Lennon and the Beatles.
I could have asked for every day to be like
Christmas, but I know that is way out of
bounds. It would take too many decorations
and too much money to make that work,even
for Hallmark. I will just keep asking for
the love day with the hope that someone(hint
hint)might just hear me and respond. Just
tell me you love me and show it by your
daily touch.
Happy Valentine's every day of the year.
She Said
But I like Valentine's Day and the fact that
it only comes once a year makes it really
special. Too much of a good thing diminishes
it's worth. For me, Valentine's Day has always
been a time to let my special someone and my
children know how much I love them.
On Valentine's Day, when the children were
still at home, I always had little gifts and
candy waiting for them in their chairs at
breakfast before they left for school. It was
a nice way to start their day. Of course my
significant other always received more presents
and or attention because like he said, it's a
day to show unconditional love.
You do bring up some good points, however.
Showering that special person with gifts, flowers,
candy every day wouldn't mean as much as little
acts of kindness such as helping out around the
house without being asked, planning a night out
as a surprise, or doing favors for in-laws. Those
are genuine acts of love and respect for our
relationship.
Remember the night we "kidnapped" our friends and
took them to a restaurant without telling them
where we were going? They even called their son
and laughingly told him that in case he didn't see
them again, they were with us! It was all in good
fun and they knew how much we cared about them.
We don't have to be "in" love with someone to show
them that we love them.
During the eulogy that you gave at the burial of
your best friend, it was extremely evident how
much you loved and cherished him. It didn't have
to be Valentine's Day for you to express those
feelings. At the funeral home visitation, our
former classmates expressed loving thoughts for
each other, which is what this time of year should
be...a reminder that on Valentine's Day,it would
be a good idea to tell all the special people in
your life that you love them.
Here is what I know about love.
It comes once a year on February 14th.
That is the one day that I know I am
loved. People tell me. Cards tell me.
Balloons tell me. On a good Valentine's
Day, candy even tells me.
Let's look at the other 364 days of the
year. Where are my presents? Where are
my cards? Where are my flowers? I want
to be loved all the year round. This
part-time love isn't working for me
anymore. I want everyday to be Valentine's
Day. Instead, every day is like Halloween,
spooky and scary.
According to Hallmark, every month there
is a holiday of some sort, but if they
had it their way, every day would be a
holiday. I am offering them that chance.
Make every day a day of Love. It would
certainly satisfy my love needs. I don't
require presents, cards, flowers, or candy
every day, even though I could get used
to it. However, a love nudge, holding hands,
a little kissy mouth, anything to let me
know I am appreciated daily would be great!
This might take away from February 14th a
little bit, but think about how we would
feel with the whole world being in love
each and every day. I am starting to feel
a little like John Lennon and the Beatles.
I could have asked for every day to be like
Christmas, but I know that is way out of
bounds. It would take too many decorations
and too much money to make that work,even
for Hallmark. I will just keep asking for
the love day with the hope that someone(hint
hint)might just hear me and respond. Just
tell me you love me and show it by your
daily touch.
Happy Valentine's every day of the year.
She Said
But I like Valentine's Day and the fact that
it only comes once a year makes it really
special. Too much of a good thing diminishes
it's worth. For me, Valentine's Day has always
been a time to let my special someone and my
children know how much I love them.
On Valentine's Day, when the children were
still at home, I always had little gifts and
candy waiting for them in their chairs at
breakfast before they left for school. It was
a nice way to start their day. Of course my
significant other always received more presents
and or attention because like he said, it's a
day to show unconditional love.
You do bring up some good points, however.
Showering that special person with gifts, flowers,
candy every day wouldn't mean as much as little
acts of kindness such as helping out around the
house without being asked, planning a night out
as a surprise, or doing favors for in-laws. Those
are genuine acts of love and respect for our
relationship.
Remember the night we "kidnapped" our friends and
took them to a restaurant without telling them
where we were going? They even called their son
and laughingly told him that in case he didn't see
them again, they were with us! It was all in good
fun and they knew how much we cared about them.
We don't have to be "in" love with someone to show
them that we love them.
During the eulogy that you gave at the burial of
your best friend, it was extremely evident how
much you loved and cherished him. It didn't have
to be Valentine's Day for you to express those
feelings. At the funeral home visitation, our
former classmates expressed loving thoughts for
each other, which is what this time of year should
be...a reminder that on Valentine's Day,it would
be a good idea to tell all the special people in
your life that you love them.
Monday, March 17, 2008
He Said She Said -Blended Families
He Said
Dating is hard.Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard.
None of them is as hard as trying to blend families.
If you have ever been married, divorced, and married
again, you know of what I speak. Don't get me wrong,
My fiancee' is the epitome of love, happiness and joy.
BUT(the old proverbial but) blended families are a
constant reminder of the trials and tribulations of
love.
It's not her. It's not her children. They are all great.
It's our differences and what we bring from our respective
families and other marriages that open up Pandora's Box.
Nothing she does is wrong; it's just different from
how I would handle certain situations. Not right. Not
wrong. Just different.
That doesn't mean I don't love her any less or think
that she is a bad mother; I just have another opinion.
She is a good mother and I do love her. Some of the
problems come from the excess baggage of our past
histories brought to the forefront from another life.
"What we bring from the past is an effort to blend it
into the future"...for our families of course.
Is that profound or what? Sometimes I amaze myself.
She Said
Blending families is a little like combining vanilla
and chocolate. It's hard to take two families who were
brought up in separate environments, taught to solve
problems differently,and expect them to blend into the
Brady Bunch overnight. Blend into what?
Foods blend, Drinks blend. People tend to segregate.
With the divorce rate so high, it seems that a child
living with both biological parents under the same
roof is rare. In split homes, there must be a lot of
give and take from everyone. Hopefully, everyone will
have the same goal in mind, which is to coexist peacefully
and support each other emotionally. The Hill and Oldham
children are adults and there has never been a cross
word from any of them, but what about families with
young children?
When young children are involved, there needs to be a
common set of rules by which all abide. I have often
wished there was a set of instructions for how to
peacefully set up housekeeping with stepfamilies,
but there is no "easy button".
Why don't we just drop the term "blended families" and
call it something else like "Chosen Ones" with the
common goal of our children being healthy, wealthy,
and wise instead of being like us, older, poorer, and forgetful?
Dating is hard.Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard.
None of them is as hard as trying to blend families.
If you have ever been married, divorced, and married
again, you know of what I speak. Don't get me wrong,
My fiancee' is the epitome of love, happiness and joy.
BUT(the old proverbial but) blended families are a
constant reminder of the trials and tribulations of
love.
It's not her. It's not her children. They are all great.
It's our differences and what we bring from our respective
families and other marriages that open up Pandora's Box.
Nothing she does is wrong; it's just different from
how I would handle certain situations. Not right. Not
wrong. Just different.
That doesn't mean I don't love her any less or think
that she is a bad mother; I just have another opinion.
She is a good mother and I do love her. Some of the
problems come from the excess baggage of our past
histories brought to the forefront from another life.
"What we bring from the past is an effort to blend it
into the future"...for our families of course.
Is that profound or what? Sometimes I amaze myself.
She Said
Blending families is a little like combining vanilla
and chocolate. It's hard to take two families who were
brought up in separate environments, taught to solve
problems differently,and expect them to blend into the
Brady Bunch overnight. Blend into what?
Foods blend, Drinks blend. People tend to segregate.
With the divorce rate so high, it seems that a child
living with both biological parents under the same
roof is rare. In split homes, there must be a lot of
give and take from everyone. Hopefully, everyone will
have the same goal in mind, which is to coexist peacefully
and support each other emotionally. The Hill and Oldham
children are adults and there has never been a cross
word from any of them, but what about families with
young children?
When young children are involved, there needs to be a
common set of rules by which all abide. I have often
wished there was a set of instructions for how to
peacefully set up housekeeping with stepfamilies,
but there is no "easy button".
Why don't we just drop the term "blended families" and
call it something else like "Chosen Ones" with the
common goal of our children being healthy, wealthy,
and wise instead of being like us, older, poorer, and forgetful?
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