Hope in Reality

After last night's episode of "Hoarders," I thought "reality" tv had reached its lowest point. That is, until tonight's episode of "Teen Mom" on MTV. What could have been an informative program for and about real teen moms is instead an insipid dose of stupidity and horrible acting. It has given me a headache.

So why am I continuing to watch it? Because I keep hoping that something will happen that will make it worth watching. But so far, nothing, and I don't think it's going to happen.

But I guess that may be the only part that is true reality - the hope that by sticking with something, it will get better. The diet will yield lost weight, the exercise will tone muscles, and daily quiet time will create harmony. The reality is that there can always be hope.

Well, everything except for this inane piece of television.
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Things that make today great: delivery from Perform Better; car business with Sam and Molly; Sloppy Joe dinner with Maribeth, Mathieu, Lynnette, Sam, and Molly

Perfect Solutions - or The Lack Thereof

I am presently watching the television show "Hoarders" on the A&E channel. I find it disturbing because I cannot imagine living like these people do. Their homes are literally filled from floor to ceiling with paper and things and vermin and filth.

My solution would be to get about a million garbage bags, throw everything away, and start over with nothing (which is why they will never hire me to be a helper on the show). But that's not the way to deal with it. The hoarders have to get to the emotional heart of the hoarding problem in order to successfully deal with it.

What does this have to do with anything? Simply this - just because I think I have the answer to someone else's problem doesn't make it so. Maybe I can help - but I can't fix it with what I believe is the perfect solution. And come to think of it, just because someone else thinks they have the perfect answer to my issues, doesn't make it so, either.

So, you work on your stuff and I'll work on mine. We'll worry about somebody else's stuff another day.
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Things that make today great: Chatting with Shirley at the cleaners; home-cooked dinner with Maribeth, Mathieu, and Steve; finding camera cords; new binoculars from Red Cross Racing

This Is Who I Am?

I just saw a Southwest commercial where different employees say, "This is what I do," and show them in their various positions of pilot, bag handler, and flight attendant. In the next scene they say, "This is who I am," and you see the same person in a position of service - talking to kids at school or preparing a meal for a family at a Ronald McDonald House. I found this commercial intriguing, because it asked me a question - "Who are you?"

I think about it because after I stopped teaching, I lost a little bit of "who I am." Teaching is a way of life because the duties, responsibilities, and concerns are rarely left at your classroom door. Teaching is a pattern of behavior with thoughts and habits that affect nearly every moment and experience of your life. So once I left that arena, it wasn't just leaving a job - it was losing a part of me.

So now I find myself wondering, "Who am I?" What matters to me now, and how am I going to pursue it? Certainly there is no better time to find out. It's the beginning of a new year and a new decade. 2010 will be the beginning of a new experience of being a grandmother. My children are grown adults and heading off on their own adventures. I'm trying to downsize physically and determine what is important and needs to be kept and what can be discarded. I'm reconnecting with high school and college friends and remembering who I was once upon a time.

So I'll add this to my list of 2010-ers. I'll determine who I am and set out to live me. Because the best part of finding out who I am will be sharing it.
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Things that make today great: Ruby Tuesday brunch and Trader Joe's with Sam, Lynnette, Maribeth, and Mathieu; Krogering with Steve; Grayson licking my eyebrow

Rock Baby

As part of my job as being a good grammy, I have been searching the 'net looking for proper role models for Lindley. Here's the first:


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Things that make today great: 3 miles in the freezing neighborhood; Apricot chicken for dinner made by Maribeth; first icky sushi with Molly; Maggie sleeping on my neck

Hello 2010!

Okay, so I really didn't want to do it. I had signed up for this 5k Resolution Run in downtown Nashville along with Steve and Sam. Steve had gone to visit his dad, and I was sitting at home, thinking of a myriad of reasons why I wasn't going to do the race. But then Sam texted me to see if we were going to do it. Yesterday I had announced that even though it was supposed to be cold (think 26 degrees), I would do the race if the sun was out. It was. So after a few minutes of thinking, I told Sam I would come and pick him up and we'd do it.

I certainly didn't expect a good finish time - I think you have to train to do that. But I figured even if I had to walk the whole thing (I didn't), it would be better than not doing it at all. So I did. It was pretty cold, as were the post-race black-eyed peas, but I did it.

One of the pre-race things you could do was to download your own bib and state your 2010 resolution. One lady had hers listed as "Run 500 miles." According to my calculations, that would be about 10 miles a week, or 2 miles a day/5 days a week - a pretty attainable goal. When I picked up my race shirt, I thought about that goal and decided that on the back of this particular shirt, I would list all the races and training runs I did this year. It will be interesting to see how many miles I end up with this year.

So - one thing I'll do in 2010 is log my miles.

Another decision is to curtail the use of my credit card. Instead, I'll use my debit card. Hopefully this will end my credit card shock every month, save me money (when I watch it trickle out of my checking account), and keep my "doo-dad and stuff" accumulation to a minimum of only "what do I need now?"

What else in 2010?

Well, I'm going to be a grandmother. How the heck is this going to play out? The only grandmothers I know a lot about were my own and those of my children. And they were really OLD. This grandmother thing should really be a ride - and I can't wait.

It would really be great if 2010 was THE year that I (a) finally got the food/eating thing under control, (b) became truly committed to exercise, fitness, and training, and (c) as a result, lost a bunch of weight and KEPT IT OFF. Hey, 2010 seems as good a year as any

Maybe not go to Disney as much in 2010. According to my 2009 calendar, I spent a total of 75 days in and about Walt Disney World. And a few more days in Disneyland in California. So maybe cut it in half? Whatever. I'm leaving on Wednesday to go again, so we'll just have to ponder this one.

Get rid of more stuff. In 2009 I unloaded 1200 things. But there's still a lot more that needs to be cleaned out.

I guess this is enough to start. Maybe by this time next year, I'll be slim and trim and actually jogging mile after mile. Maybe I'll be living in a clutter-free zone. Maybe I'll be taking Lindley to Disney World (which technically will not count on MY Disney day count). Maybe next year there will be a whole host of things to report.

2010 looks like a pretty good year!
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Things that make today great: Resolution Run with Sam and Snowflake lady; taking hot chocolate with Steve and Maribeth and Mathieu as they waited for the REI sale; lunch with Sam, Lynnette, Mathieu, and Maribeth at Cheesecake Factory