Why Bother Stocking Up

Why do I bother stocking up on extra items? Okay, this works for some things I use on a regular basis such as paper products, soap, toothpaste and laundry products but for some items, I can guarantee I will forgot I have extra on hand.

When I go through my kitchen cupboards, I come across items, way at the back, that I had forgotten about and have been buying on a regular basis. This is wasteful and shameful as I am spending money on what I already have and sometimes end up throwing out goods that have passed their expiry date.

The icing on the cake though was finding a container of de-icer crystals in my garage, today, hiding in plain sight, long after after I had used what I thought was the last, during the recent ice storm. As luck would have it, none could be found in stores and I kept telling myself I should have bought extra before winter started.

To think I  have been walking gingerly along my ice-coated walkway and driveway and all this time, there was de-icer in the garage. In 2014, I vow to be better at keeping track of what I already have; it's the sensible thing to do.

Will keep you posted.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Why The Hate for Gay People (Ugandan Law)

It's almost 2014 and here we are looking in on Uganda, where it appears there are no pressing problems so their MPs can spend time passing an anti-gay law to imprison homosexuals.

It boggles the mind that in this day and age, when knowledge is at our fingertips and we can educate ourselves, we have so many people, especially in power, who think it is their bounden duty to antagonize, disrupt and destroy the lives of people who have done nothing wrong but be true to themselves. Why don't they do some research and realize that gay people have been on this earth from the beginning of time and that homosexuality is found throughout nature.

Why can't they realize that gay people are not choosing to be gay just like straight people are not choosing to be straight. I really don't remember any triggers when I was going through puberty that pointed me to being a heterosexual.  I also can't imagine getting up every day wondering about the sex lives and genitals of those close to me furthermore of complete strangers. Why would it matter to me? And why this obsession with punishing them for something they can't help? Why not leave gay people alone and just let your god sort it all out in the end since you believe there will be a reckoning? By the way, these christians believe we are all created by their god so did their god make a mistake with gay people?

These poor excuses for human beings in Uganda and elsewhere should be mindful we are for a short time on this earth and we should just let people live their lives without the intrusion of ignorant people making horrendous laws. As for the so-called Christ followers, especially those from North America exporting their venomous beliefs, who get in their pulpits and pews and thunder that homosexuality is wrong; who died and left you in charge of sexuality? If you answer, Christ did, please remember he never once pronounced on homosexuality or any kind of sex for that matter and if you choose to mention Leviticus, then you must follow those laws in their entirety or you are tagged as the worst kind of hypocrite and your god may find you wanting.

Just leave people alone to live their lives just as you would like to live yours without interference from viper-like people who claim to speak for their god. Get a damn life! This world would be better off all around.

Will keep you posted.

Rules To Live By

Yesterday, I wrote about my daughters giving me advice and how our roles had reversed. That got me thinking about the rules they laid down for me, after they had all left the nest, to ensure my safety and that I won't be found dead in my bed or the bottom of the stairs. Here are a few of the rules:

• If going out in the evening, I have to let them know. Once I forgot to do this and my cell was off. Guess what? I came home to a note on my pillow informing me middle daughter had called youngest daughter (who was still in my neck of the woods) and instructed her to go to the house and see if all was well with me.

• When going down the stairs, I must hold on to the handrail at all times. I must stop running up and down the stairs as I am wont to do (some days it's the only exercise I get::). I must also look out for cats on the top step as this is where they like to hangout and once, middle daughter fell down the stairs after tripping over a cat. Please note I was not the one falling over a cat.

• As I work at my computer a lot, I get random texts from middle daughter telling me to put my shoulders down from around my ears and reminders to do the neck and shoulder exercises as previously instructed.

• Stay in contact with one of them each day. Thankfully I'm one of those older people happy to use technology and social media. These days, I text more than I talk and they can always check to see if I posted on Twitter or Facebook or responded to a one on one message or in our group texts.

Not only have certain rules been implemented on my behalf but just a few months ago, I went on a trip I had previously said I was opting out of because first born daughter could no longer go due to a scheduling conflict. She informed the travel agent to switch the ticket to my name and THEN I was informed.

So far, the rules make sense and the trip was heavenly and if this is how they will look out for me in my later years also known as the second childhood, then I'm in great hands.

Will keep you posted.

Role Reversal

My daughters have been giving me advice. After years of guiding and encouraging them, I now find myself in the position of receiving guidance, encouraging words and at times, the proverbial slap upside my head.

I have been doing some serious introspection to fully understand why I am the way I am and how to be less of a worrier. Self-reflection is the easy part; actually making necessary changes that result from this exercise is the head cracker. Why? After years of worrying whether I was doing the right thing and making the correct decisions, while single handedly making a decent life for my daughters, it's difficult to change that part of me. I still worry about the girls but now I worry about making decisions that are right for me.

My three daughters and I have always been a tight-knit group and I always had an open outlook and they could discuss anything with me and not be judged or have that information used as a cudgel later on. Of course it has not always been an easy road and we never agreed on everything but we valued each other's input and tried to walk the talk as they say. One thing I always treasured was hearing my daughters tell me they knew their secret was safe with me and that I would never mention a thing to a sister unless they gave the green light.

Now the roles have been reversed and I am listening to my daughters speak some hard truths to me and of course, they come from a place of love. Not only, are they telling me what I should be doing to relieve stress and make some wrongs right, they are actually backing up their opinion with detailed information from observing me all these years. They have actually pointed out where I tend to sabotage situations so I can save myself potential agony (more than likely of my own doing) down the road.

I appreciate their input and who better to get advice from than the people who know you best plus I don't have to lie on a couch, these therapy sessions can be spontaneous and best of all, the price is right; well maybe a nice home cooked meal here and there.

Will keep you posted.

Sears - What It Meant To Me

Sears Christmas Wish Book 2013

Sears will be moving out of some prime location malls, including my home mall as business is not what it used to be and this news is leaving me a little melancholy.

My memories of Sears are mostly about catalogue shopping. I remember as a new mother and with toddlers, how much I  depended on Sears to get what I needed for my children, my home and myself. With three small children, packing them up and leisurely strolling through the mall was not an option. I did my browsing and shopping through Sears catalogues, my online experience of the day.

Sears catalogues, and there were many throughout the year, were looked forward to but none more so than the Christmas Wish Book. The Wish Book had its pages of gifts under $10, $15, $20, etc., any toy you could imagine, games, party clothes, coats, jewellery and oh yes, fruit cakes although I have not seen those recently. The pages of Christmas decorations! Were homes really decorated like that? Not mine with three active kids but I could live vicariously through the catalogue. As my daughters got older, they would go through the Wish Book and mark exactly what they wanted for Christmas; it made my life so much easier.

Browsing the Sears catalogue was stress-free and somewhat therapeutic; no rush, no fuss, no hustle, no bustle. I would sit at the table with catalogues and flip from page to page and be inspired, envisioning how each room would look with an item(s) or zone in on an outfit or three that became must haves. Between the catalogue and the store, I have at some point, made purchases for every room. How much more simple could it be to place an order? You chit chatted with a customer service rep who, after the order was placed, would ask if you were interested in hearing what was on sale and of course who couldn't use a couple more towels or another set of sheets? Any items on backorder were identified and you were given an expected delivery date otherwise, the order was delivered next day and at that time, there were no additional delivery charges and the driver would take a cheque. Eventually, delivery charges were added and orders took a few more days. As the girls got older, we would shop in the store but catalogue browsing was still something I enjoyed and I would still place orders.

As time marched on, my girls developed their own style and we started shopping at the new stores that were popping up but Sears still drew us in and we could always find something we liked.  For me, it was their excellent selection of eye-catching, high quality handbags. Often someone would compliment me on a bag and would be surprised when I told them where I bought it. Just this year we made a trip to the store to buy bathing suits and beach wraps for our March Break trip. One stop worked for all of us.

I am sad to see Sears, that tried so hard to be everything to everyone, close some stores. Sears filled a need for my young family and for that I'm grateful. I look back fondly and I hope Sears will be able to revamp, be sustainable and help create memories of what a department store still could be for some. We all want the best for an old friend.

Will keep you posted.

My Ghost Story

Boo!

Halloween is approaching and at this time of year, there are many stories of ghostly encounters so I have decided to relate my own. What? Doesn't everyone have a ghost story? :)

Many moons ago as a teen and Girl Guide, another Guide and I spend a week as helpers at a children's camp. The location of this camp was at the historical soldiers' barracks built in 1790 and located on the seashore. It is a huge location and beautifully landscaped. The children and supervisors were assigned to a large dormitory and my friend and I had our own room with two single beds. It was on the same level as the dormitory and there were many empty spaces on that level. Our front door opened to a verandah along which we walked to the dormitory and the stairs to the outside. The back door opened on to a corridor and we had to cross that corridor to get to the bathroom. At one end of the corridor,  there was a big room; I don't remember what was in this room, if anything.

We settled in. During the day we had our meals and activities with the children. At night we talked into the night. One day, we started noticing the toilet would flush and we knew for sure no one was in the bathroom because it was just the two of us assigned to use it. Also, because we were two young ladies, no one was allowed to come and go on that floor and the children and their helpers had their own facilities. We kind of ignored it the first few times and then one day we asked someone why the toilet would flush on its own and we were told maybe it was because of the tides; remember this facility backs on to a beach. We swallowed that and I'm sure you would too.

The piece de resistance occurred one night when we heard what sounded like someone, wearing slippers, walking along the hallway towards our room. You know that slapping sound slippers make against the floor. We sat bolt upright, looked at each other to make sure we were hearing the same sound, hightailed it out of the room to the dormitory and pounded on the door to be let in. We told our story and spent the night in bunk beds.

For the remaining time, we would use our room and the bathroom during the day but come night time, you couldn't pay us to be in that space; we spent our nights in the dormitory.  I always wondered if, with the centuries old history and the number of soldiers who were stationed there, some of them going off to war never to return, there were wandering souls still haunting their old barracks or if those stationed there decided to have some fun with impressionable teens. I know which version I prefer.


Will keep you posted.