Miscellaneous thoughts

I'm slightly disturbed that Blogger now has a Facebook style "reaction" gadget I can add to my posts. People no longer need to even string two words together in a comment...just hit a button that says "interesting" or "funny" or "I'm a lazy a$$ and can't think of anything original to say in a comment so I'm just clicking this stupid button."
-----------------------------------
Speaking of which...

It seems I'm limited to two distinct types of communication lately. Short Twitter-like statements OR what my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Stanley, used to call verbal diarrhea. (And yes, I am quite impressed that I know how to spell diarrhea correctly...spellcheck verified and I did a little happy dance because, YAY, I'm smarter than I thought I was!) Anyway...this is my problem. Nice problem to have, right?

Honestly, I've been doing. That's right DOING. More than I've done in YEARS. Sewing. Volunteering. Working (my boss will be so pleased). Connecting with friends. The summer is here and it's filled with fresh blackberries straight from the vine (oh, ok, not STRAIGHT from the vine...we have animals...I washed them before eating), water gun battles, picnics on the front porch that were taken indoors to escape the killer mosquitos, sunshine until 9:30pm, beautiful dark pink and purple sunsets, laughter, adventures and love.

I heard something on Guiding Light the other day (yes, the soap opera...don't be so judgmental) that really resonated with me. If you're spending so much time trying to take it all in, recording it so you can recall it later, then you're not really experiencing it. Maybe that's why I blogged so much during the time the grief was so bad...so I wouldn't have to experience it all...so it's edges were dulled by the recording and sharing. Who knew?!?! Real life lessons on soap operas! Cool!
-----------------------------------
Anyway...this summer has been a lot of Myles climbing on everything. And yes, of course there are pictures.

But the cutest is when he climbs up on top of his big brother and "attacks" him. It's really adorable the way he cries a war-cry and then growls like a ferocious beast. It makes me laugh every time. And Sam, bless his heart, says, "No baby," and laughs with me.
-----------------------------------
As we knew he would be, Sam is an amazing big brother. He does get frustrated every now and then, but we've tried to teach him to find the humor in Myles' annoying habits and it seems to keep him on an even keel for the most part. Despite "hating soccer," he has recently announced he wants to play soccer again in the fall. I look at it as guaranteed crochet time.
-----------------------------------
The whole family is currently preparing to say goodbye to our friend, Daisy Mae. She's had a bad spell here the last few days and, while she's feeling better right now, she probably isn't long for this world. It's an important lesson for all of us. I brought her home because she's old and "unadoptable" and I didn't want her to die alone in the animal shelter. So we'll love her as long as we can...and then we'll wish her peace and hope to see her again in another life.
-----------------------------------
Last week I had lunch with a friend from high school (and elementary school before that). It was nice. A little weird being adults together now since I know all her "growing up stuff" and she knows all of mine. It was followed by immediate insecurity on my part. Did I sound like a bitter old lady? A complete dork?

Imagine the chuckle I got when she sent me an email apologizing for being nervous and "not the best conversationalist."

Now I remember why we've been such good friends for so long.
-----------------------------------
I have discovered I will never be a really great boss. I just can't deal with the tough stuff like discipline and firing. I'm a member of a board of directors that is currently dealing with the realities of having employees who "just don't work out." It's not fun for anyone.
-----------------------------------