I can't believe the entire month of October passed without me posting even a tiny blog entry.
Well, actually I guess I do believe a whole month can pass without me posting...truth is that I can't believe the entire month (and most of November) has past. Period.
This time of year seems to pick up serious speed. I wonder if I would get Christmas shopping done early if the Oct.-Dec. time period would slow down a bit.
Since I don't see me actually getting Christmas shopping done before December 24th, I probably will never know the answer to that question. Oh, well.
My reconstruction surgery is scheduled for December 17th...so I guess I'd better start figuring Christmas out a little sooner rather than later. I don't think my kids will be that thrilled if I tell them my new boobs are their Christmas present this year too. I can see how well that conversation would go over... ;)
Here are some catch up topics I wanted to touch on that have gone through my head at least twice these past couple of months:
First, I want it on record that I personally think the health care issue thing about not getting mammograms until age 50 is retarded. If I had waited that long I would be looking into mastectomy, chemo, the works. There has to be a happy medium for the higher-ups. Or they need to put a woman on their panel. Either way is good. Enough said.
Second, Montana is a lovely State. We went there last weekend for my nephew's non-farewell and non-open house. He entered the MTC this past Wednesday and will be going to Costa Rica. He is excited. Great kid.
I thought that I would freeze in Montana in November, but actually Utah right now is colder than Montana.
Third, I could go my whole life and not have to spend an aimless hour and a half driving around Idaho Falls again. Been there, done that. On the way home from Montana we stopped at the Walmart in I.F. and bought a fuse for the converter thingy (yes, that is the technical term) to the power do-hickey (not the technical term, but it should be) so that the kids could continue watching movies on the way home from our trip and the parents could maintain some semblance of normalcy. Then we found out that Wendy's closes early in IF. And we drove around looking for another fast food place. Seriously took waaayy longer than it should have. And it put is home at 2 a.m. instead of midnight like we had planned.
Fourth, have you ever looked back at what you had or didn't have your kids involved in and wondered where you went off track? I remember when I first got married and though about having kids, I pictured my daughters all taking dance and playing soccer (I took dance from the time I was 3 until I was 16...and I've played--and still play--soccer forever), and my sons would be involved with baseball and soccer (husband is the baseball guy, and again me with the soccer). I also thought my kids would love horses just because I do--having owned horses and having been able to ride since I was 3, and because my husband also had a horse growing up).
I know those aren't huge problem type issues, but I really pictured those things being part of our lives. Soccer is, so I guess you can see where my real priorities have been. But my kids have never taken a dance lesson, my older son played 2 years of baseball and that is all, my youngest hasn't ever played; my oldest daughter is actually afraid of horses--which is actually what shocked me into this direction of thought. Some of my most fun times were with horses. My first date with my husband was me taking him riding through Snow Canyon when we were both at Dixie College. I feel like I've cheated them out of something. I'm sure they don't mind at this point, but when I was first married I would never have thought that 18 years later I wouldn't have dancing baseball playing kids.
I'll get over it eventually. It is just such a weird thing to me.
Fifth, have you noticed that you look better in some mirrors than others? Maybe it is just me--okay, most definitely it is just me, but still...--It might be the lighting, it might be the actual mirror itself, but some mirrors I look at myself and think "Huh. Not too shabby today", others I have an almost uncontrollable urge to give myself the wink and the gun, and then the evil mirrors that make me look like a 41 year-old housewife (oh, wait...that's what I am....dang). I was thinking that if I could figure out what makes the wink and the gun mirror work the way it does, and then make that work the same way in a camera--I'd be set for life. Because honestly, even if I pass a wink and gun mirror and then get my picture taken...photo ends up looking like I got ready in front of evil mirror. Why can't someone invent a camera that REMOVES 10 pounds instead of adding it?
Sixth, here is another thing I have always found myself doing. I want to decorate my house more. I want nice paintings, etc. So I go look at home decor places or boutiques and look around. And I see a lot of things that I could totally do equally well if not better (in my humble opinion), so I don't buy any of the paintings, etc. But the key here is that I don't actually go home and make them myself. So just because I CAN do something better, doesn't usually (ever) mean that I will actually DO the thing. So my house isn't decorated like I'd hope because I'm too vain to buy something I think I can do better, and yet also too lazy to just get off my backside and do it. Which is an annoying trait to realize I have. And it is even more annoying to know the odds of my getting over the trait is slim to none.
Seventh, I decided I'm already not looking forward to January and New Year's Resolutions. Just so you know.
Eighth, I think that people who dread being called to serve in the church nursery either haven't actually been in the nursery before, or they are not seeing the great potential that is there. I mean seriously. How bad can a calling be when you have the parents take care of any diaper issues, you take kids to their parents if they are being overly upset that day--both of which means that you really only get to have the good part of playing with little kids--happy and dry and non-stinky--and you get to sing songs, play with toys, color, and--hello--eat snacks. C'mon. Seriously. It is a primo church calling.
I am not in nursery right at the moment. I am in YW. Not a bad gig either, but 16 and 17 year old girls tend to frown on their adult leaders breaking out into 'Once There Was a Snowman'. I have found they are fine with being offered mini-marshmallows or goldfish crackers though. :)
Ninth, what is hotter? A man in a tux, a man in a military/police/firefighter uniform, or a man giving out free chocolate. Not just any chocolate...but your very favorite kind? Just wondering.
Tenth, there are a few videos/movie lines etc. that can make me laugh just thinking about those particular scenes. Some like in the movie 'Night Shift'--that I can't actually see again since I've given up on 'R' rated movies, but it is still one of my favorite comedies of all time--when Michael Keaton's character yells "I'll save you Chuck!" and belly flops off the balcony. (You had to be there). I like things that make me laugh. I've shared these two things before, but I figure if you've read through this far you deserve a little humor too. The first is a link to one of my all-time favorite Barats & Bereta clips from YouTube and the second is the German Coastguard thing that cracks me up when I remember the punch line. So enjoy.
And thanks for putting up with 10 rambling topics. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn1-M5Ze0p8
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Update on Me
It is official.
I no longer have cancer.
I'm not done with reconstruction...but the cancer has been removed completely with something as "simple" as a mastectomy.
I had it a little easier than some. I won't need radiation or chemo. All the test results came back that they got all of the cancer and it had not spread or moved into lymph nodes.
Everything moved so quickly from getting the mammogram to having the surgery--July 23rd was the mammogram, Aug. 26th was mastectomy surgery--that it has taken awhile to really sink in that I just kicked cancer's butt.
I have learned a few things through all this.
One: I have pretty fantastic friends and family and neighbors. Everyone has been supremely supportive and helpful. I have been given the luxury of not having to worry about my youngest kids after school or dinners for my family for the three weeks following surgery because of volunteers who wanted to help.
It is actually pretty humbling to see everyone around so willing to serve and go out of their way so that I can get back to normal as soon as I can. There really isn't anything more surprising to me than people actually saying yes when asked if they can watch three 5 year-olds for 3 hours after they get home from kindergarten. And to top it off, they have actually said nice things about my kids after the fact. So either my kids were on best behavior or my neighbors are fabulous liars. :) Either way, I will forever be grateful to everyone and am going to be permanently put on the list on helping anyone else in need in the future. I am looking forward to being on the other end of the service thing.
Two: I have a pretty fantastic community too. School teachers making sure my kids are dealing okay with everything. School administrators letting me get a parking pass for my daughter at the high school even though she is a junior and passes are for seniors, just so she can be mobile during my recovery and better able to help me out. The list is longer, but you get the idea...there are genuinely nice people in this world.
Three: I still really need to work on showing gratitude. My whole life I have had a hard time showing excitement about anything. At birthdays, Christmas, baby showers, etc. I have had to psych myself up to force a cheerful expression. On the inside I can be happy and grateful, but I've always had trouble showing it on the outside. So I tend to come across as not very grateful or excited, which is usually far from the truth. Which probably makes all of the above mentioned genuinely nice people maybe not quite as thrilled about giving me service. It is hard to serve people who give the impression of maybe thinking that service is somehow 'owed' to them. Which is how I am afraid I come across sometimes...although that is far from how I actually feel.
Well, that was depressing enough.
I just want to thank everyone who has asked about me, prayed for me, thought about me, helped me. Even if I haven't demonstrated sufficiently enough, I am grateful. You have all cheered me up, eased my mind, and helped me in more ways that I can count.
For a physical update on me, I am almost done with the tissue expanding part of my reconstruction. My surgery to complete all this is scheduled for December 17th--mainly because I really want to get it done before the end of the year so I don't have to cough up the insurance deductible again--but also because it will make it easier for family to shop for me for Christmas :) I'm getting new boobs for Christmas so I've got bras and shirts on my list. :)
The feeling is coming back in my chest--the nerves are healing and putting themselves back together--which means that I actually have more pain at the moment after each tissue expanding appointment than I did after the mastectomy surgery. Which is unpleasant. But I should only have one or two more of those appointments left since I am close to the size I am shooting for.
Everything seems to be going well. No more cancer and a bra size I never in a million years would have thought I would wear without dr. assistance--and since that wasn't ever happening as an elective surgery (I'm not a fan of pain, even for vanity), I'm perfectly fine with this being my 'silver lining'. If I had to get cancer, at least I get a bigger chest out of it. :) I do wish my nerves decided to take longer to heal so that I couldn't feel this expansion thing quite so well, but I can't have everything.
So thanks to you all for your thoughts and prayers. They were felt and needed. And even if I don't look it on the outside, on the inside I am filled to the brim with gratitude and appreciation for you.
I no longer have cancer.
I'm not done with reconstruction...but the cancer has been removed completely with something as "simple" as a mastectomy.
I had it a little easier than some. I won't need radiation or chemo. All the test results came back that they got all of the cancer and it had not spread or moved into lymph nodes.
Everything moved so quickly from getting the mammogram to having the surgery--July 23rd was the mammogram, Aug. 26th was mastectomy surgery--that it has taken awhile to really sink in that I just kicked cancer's butt.
I have learned a few things through all this.
One: I have pretty fantastic friends and family and neighbors. Everyone has been supremely supportive and helpful. I have been given the luxury of not having to worry about my youngest kids after school or dinners for my family for the three weeks following surgery because of volunteers who wanted to help.
It is actually pretty humbling to see everyone around so willing to serve and go out of their way so that I can get back to normal as soon as I can. There really isn't anything more surprising to me than people actually saying yes when asked if they can watch three 5 year-olds for 3 hours after they get home from kindergarten. And to top it off, they have actually said nice things about my kids after the fact. So either my kids were on best behavior or my neighbors are fabulous liars. :) Either way, I will forever be grateful to everyone and am going to be permanently put on the list on helping anyone else in need in the future. I am looking forward to being on the other end of the service thing.
Two: I have a pretty fantastic community too. School teachers making sure my kids are dealing okay with everything. School administrators letting me get a parking pass for my daughter at the high school even though she is a junior and passes are for seniors, just so she can be mobile during my recovery and better able to help me out. The list is longer, but you get the idea...there are genuinely nice people in this world.
Three: I still really need to work on showing gratitude. My whole life I have had a hard time showing excitement about anything. At birthdays, Christmas, baby showers, etc. I have had to psych myself up to force a cheerful expression. On the inside I can be happy and grateful, but I've always had trouble showing it on the outside. So I tend to come across as not very grateful or excited, which is usually far from the truth. Which probably makes all of the above mentioned genuinely nice people maybe not quite as thrilled about giving me service. It is hard to serve people who give the impression of maybe thinking that service is somehow 'owed' to them. Which is how I am afraid I come across sometimes...although that is far from how I actually feel.
Well, that was depressing enough.
I just want to thank everyone who has asked about me, prayed for me, thought about me, helped me. Even if I haven't demonstrated sufficiently enough, I am grateful. You have all cheered me up, eased my mind, and helped me in more ways that I can count.
For a physical update on me, I am almost done with the tissue expanding part of my reconstruction. My surgery to complete all this is scheduled for December 17th--mainly because I really want to get it done before the end of the year so I don't have to cough up the insurance deductible again--but also because it will make it easier for family to shop for me for Christmas :) I'm getting new boobs for Christmas so I've got bras and shirts on my list. :)
The feeling is coming back in my chest--the nerves are healing and putting themselves back together--which means that I actually have more pain at the moment after each tissue expanding appointment than I did after the mastectomy surgery. Which is unpleasant. But I should only have one or two more of those appointments left since I am close to the size I am shooting for.
Everything seems to be going well. No more cancer and a bra size I never in a million years would have thought I would wear without dr. assistance--and since that wasn't ever happening as an elective surgery (I'm not a fan of pain, even for vanity), I'm perfectly fine with this being my 'silver lining'. If I had to get cancer, at least I get a bigger chest out of it. :) I do wish my nerves decided to take longer to heal so that I couldn't feel this expansion thing quite so well, but I can't have everything.
So thanks to you all for your thoughts and prayers. They were felt and needed. And even if I don't look it on the outside, on the inside I am filled to the brim with gratitude and appreciation for you.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Why Women Need Mammograms
For those of you who are on facebook and are a friend of mine there, remember that status I put for myself at the end of July when I mentioned getting a mammogram?
Women don't want to get them because they hear all the stories about how it squishes the heck out of your chest (it isn't pleasant), or they don't want to bother with them because it will take too much time (for the record, from the moment I walked in the front door to the minute I walked out only 30 minutes had past...that isn't a lot of time).
Well, funny thing, mammograms...
They actually find cancer sometimes.
Which is what happened with me.
Kind of a bummer to go to your very first mammogram and find cancer. I went in because A. I'm over 40 now and I figured I should go, B. My maternal grandmother had breast cancer, so it made me paranoid since I'm in that over-40 age category, and C. I had a gland under my left arm that was bugging me, so since I was already paranoid, I figured I would go make sure that wasn't something to worry about.
It wasn't.
The Breast Care Center folks called me back after a few days and told me that they had found something on the right side that they needed me to come back in to have another mammogram and an ultrasound to check.
Being the genius I am, I did ask "Are you sure it isn't on the left side?" Like they wouldn't know how to read the charts....but my left side was the one that was bugging me, so I had to ask. Right?
I went back in for a 2nd mammogram and ultrasound. This time the radiologist checked the results immediately and I was then scheduled to come back in for a biopsy. They needed to check two areas--one that looked like calcium deposits, and one that was a dark mass.
The dark mass turned out to be just a benign lump of nothing.
The calcium deposit looking thing turned out to be a "Ductal Carcinoma in Situ" or DCIS. You can go here to read about what that means exactly if you want.
Basically it means that I have the very beginning stage of breast cancer in my right breast. So early that it would have been at least 3 years before I felt anything, so I am also textbook as to why women should get mammograms even when they don't think there is a problem.
Treatment for this is a lumpectomy and radiation. Being the worrier I am, however, I have opted instead to have that breast removed. So I will be going in for a mastectomy on Wed. Aug. 26th. Not a double, like I was also seriously considering. I will wait and if anything ever shows up on that other side I'll have that taken care of at that time.
I wanted them both taken when I was still in panic mode. But I know that right now my left side has no cancer, so I've dialed back the panic and will just go into it a bit slower.
Two good things come out of having a mastectomy....1. I won't need radiation with the whole breast gone, and 2. my insurance covers reconstruction when it is cancer caused, so I get to upgrade my chest size. :)
Silver linings and all that, right?
I've also pulled the "cancer card" a couple of times, and people are pretty darn sympathetic--which is nice when you are trying to get dentist appointments for a child before I go have surgery. They have no room for another appointment, but when I say "Oh, Thursday won't work because I'm going in on Wednesday for cancer surgery" they seem to be more than happy to work something out.
(I felt a bit bad about using the cancer card on that one, but I hadn't tried it yet at that point and was a bit amazed at the immediate sympathy I was able to garner on that one )
Besides getting to have a bigger bra size out of this whole fiasco, the other thing I am looking forward to is getting and wearing this t-shirt:
Women don't want to get them because they hear all the stories about how it squishes the heck out of your chest (it isn't pleasant), or they don't want to bother with them because it will take too much time (for the record, from the moment I walked in the front door to the minute I walked out only 30 minutes had past...that isn't a lot of time).
Well, funny thing, mammograms...
They actually find cancer sometimes.
Which is what happened with me.
Kind of a bummer to go to your very first mammogram and find cancer. I went in because A. I'm over 40 now and I figured I should go, B. My maternal grandmother had breast cancer, so it made me paranoid since I'm in that over-40 age category, and C. I had a gland under my left arm that was bugging me, so since I was already paranoid, I figured I would go make sure that wasn't something to worry about.
It wasn't.
The Breast Care Center folks called me back after a few days and told me that they had found something on the right side that they needed me to come back in to have another mammogram and an ultrasound to check.
Being the genius I am, I did ask "Are you sure it isn't on the left side?" Like they wouldn't know how to read the charts....but my left side was the one that was bugging me, so I had to ask. Right?
I went back in for a 2nd mammogram and ultrasound. This time the radiologist checked the results immediately and I was then scheduled to come back in for a biopsy. They needed to check two areas--one that looked like calcium deposits, and one that was a dark mass.
The dark mass turned out to be just a benign lump of nothing.
The calcium deposit looking thing turned out to be a "Ductal Carcinoma in Situ" or DCIS. You can go here to read about what that means exactly if you want.
Basically it means that I have the very beginning stage of breast cancer in my right breast. So early that it would have been at least 3 years before I felt anything, so I am also textbook as to why women should get mammograms even when they don't think there is a problem.
Treatment for this is a lumpectomy and radiation. Being the worrier I am, however, I have opted instead to have that breast removed. So I will be going in for a mastectomy on Wed. Aug. 26th. Not a double, like I was also seriously considering. I will wait and if anything ever shows up on that other side I'll have that taken care of at that time.
I wanted them both taken when I was still in panic mode. But I know that right now my left side has no cancer, so I've dialed back the panic and will just go into it a bit slower.
Two good things come out of having a mastectomy....1. I won't need radiation with the whole breast gone, and 2. my insurance covers reconstruction when it is cancer caused, so I get to upgrade my chest size. :)
Silver linings and all that, right?
I've also pulled the "cancer card" a couple of times, and people are pretty darn sympathetic--which is nice when you are trying to get dentist appointments for a child before I go have surgery. They have no room for another appointment, but when I say "Oh, Thursday won't work because I'm going in on Wednesday for cancer surgery" they seem to be more than happy to work something out.
(I felt a bit bad about using the cancer card on that one, but I hadn't tried it yet at that point and was a bit amazed at the immediate sympathy I was able to garner on that one )
Besides getting to have a bigger bra size out of this whole fiasco, the other thing I am looking forward to is getting and wearing this t-shirt:
I keep thinking that because I have an "easy" type of breast cancer, that I don't really get to put myself in the category with all the other women in the world who haven't been as lucky and have to go through so much more than just a surgery or two. I don't need chemo, and since I'm opting for mastectomy I don't need radiation...so I don't think of what I'm doing as "fighting" cancer. I have to remind myself that yes, I do have cancer..and yes, when I have it removed from my body I will have fought it and it will hopefully not return and I will be a cancer survivor.
So this shirt, while it made me laugh...also reminds me that what I have could kill me. And probably would have if I had waited on the mammogram until I felt something worrisome in that breast. Or at least it would have been a longer, harder fight.
Not to be melodramatic--I don't like to do drama--I really do hope that if you are a woman reading this who hasn't had a mammogram yet...or who hasn't had one for a long time, that you will make an appointment and just get it done. Or if you are a husband of a woman who is 40 or older, encourage your wife to go in and have a mammogram.
Peace of mind is worth a little squishing and some of your time.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Writing it All Down So I Don't Have To Become a Scrapblogger
You know, when you aren't blogging like a scrapbook of your life but are trying to just write about random ponderings that have entered your head at any given time, you can have long dry-spells between entries.
I haven't mastered the skill of writing down thoughts to blog about as they come to me. I drive down the road and have a couple of dozen "great" blog ideas come to me, but by the time I get home...nothing.
Or worse, I get the idea for a decent blog and sit down at the computer to get it all typed up--I even get the first couple of paragraphs and I can feel my head jumping ahead certain directions as I type that I am hoping my fingers can keep up with--and then kids come in either screaming, fighting, or bleeding (or any mix of those three), and by the time I turn back to the computer the idea is completely gone. Zip. My brain is shockingly blank.
When that latter one happens I usually keep muddling through hoping for a new grip on my previous brainstorm.
What usually results from that muddling is about 75% of what you read here on my blog. Rambling, miscellaneous quotations, and usually a lot of head-scratching "what-is-she-talking-about?" type bogging.
I have 4 unfinished blog entries waiting in my "Edit Posts" area for me to get a clue and hammer them out.
THIS blog entry will probably have 67 re-writes and will still make no sense, but what the heck?
[Not that you would know it reading this after I've put it all together, but I just got sidetracked with a little yogurt mishap and my 4 year-old. All is well now--and as a bonus the room now smells like strawberries... What was I talking about?...oh, yeah...]
Sometimes I think it would be easier to blog like a scrapbooker/scrapblogger type, but then I remember that I don't really have a life either and would be stuck with just as much material to write about that way so I might as well stick to what I know. Or what I do anyway, since I can't always claim 100% knowledge on any given topic that I've spouted off about.
I also don't have fun or interesting photos to help my scrapblogging.
And what the heck, let's go for broke: I don't LIKE scrapblogging. But I do enjoy rambling masses of confusion.
I suppose all this means is that I either need to start writing down topics of discussion for my blog when I get a half-way decent idea, or I continue on as always.
You all know me well enough to know which way I'll go with that one.
And do you know what? I'm okay with being that predictable. Better to be predictable than me forcing you to all look at photos and read about saccharine stories of my perfect children or tell you about the results of my latest dentist appointment, right? :)
[What was I talking about? I started laughing about the perfect children thing and my mind blanked again....Ya...Nope, I've got nuthin'...]
I haven't mastered the skill of writing down thoughts to blog about as they come to me. I drive down the road and have a couple of dozen "great" blog ideas come to me, but by the time I get home...nothing.
Or worse, I get the idea for a decent blog and sit down at the computer to get it all typed up--I even get the first couple of paragraphs and I can feel my head jumping ahead certain directions as I type that I am hoping my fingers can keep up with--and then kids come in either screaming, fighting, or bleeding (or any mix of those three), and by the time I turn back to the computer the idea is completely gone. Zip. My brain is shockingly blank.
When that latter one happens I usually keep muddling through hoping for a new grip on my previous brainstorm.
What usually results from that muddling is about 75% of what you read here on my blog. Rambling, miscellaneous quotations, and usually a lot of head-scratching "what-is-she-talking-about?" type bogging.
I have 4 unfinished blog entries waiting in my "Edit Posts" area for me to get a clue and hammer them out.
THIS blog entry will probably have 67 re-writes and will still make no sense, but what the heck?
[Not that you would know it reading this after I've put it all together, but I just got sidetracked with a little yogurt mishap and my 4 year-old. All is well now--and as a bonus the room now smells like strawberries... What was I talking about?...oh, yeah...]
Sometimes I think it would be easier to blog like a scrapbooker/scrapblogger type, but then I remember that I don't really have a life either and would be stuck with just as much material to write about that way so I might as well stick to what I know. Or what I do anyway, since I can't always claim 100% knowledge on any given topic that I've spouted off about.
I also don't have fun or interesting photos to help my scrapblogging.
And what the heck, let's go for broke: I don't LIKE scrapblogging. But I do enjoy rambling masses of confusion.
I suppose all this means is that I either need to start writing down topics of discussion for my blog when I get a half-way decent idea, or I continue on as always.
You all know me well enough to know which way I'll go with that one.
And do you know what? I'm okay with being that predictable. Better to be predictable than me forcing you to all look at photos and read about saccharine stories of my perfect children or tell you about the results of my latest dentist appointment, right? :)
[What was I talking about? I started laughing about the perfect children thing and my mind blanked again....Ya...Nope, I've got nuthin'...]
Monday, June 29, 2009
Career Choices and Growing Up
My teen aged daughters are getting to the age where adult pressures are starting to work their way into their lives.
They are being asked frequently by friends, neighbors, & teachers the dreaded question of "What are you going to be when you grow up?"
Since I still don't know the answer to that same question, I've been interested in watching my girls' thought processes as they work on their own personal answers.
When first asked that question, my oldest daughter told her friend that she plans on marrying a rich guy who will let her stay home and go shopping. Since the friend who asked her that question was of the male variety, he was a bit offended at her attitude and asked other pertinent questions like, "What will you do if he dies? Or if he loses his job so you have to help support the family?...etc."
That actually helped get her thinking back to reality and she has since decided that she wants to be a middle-school p.e. teacher.
I'm not sure how she made the leap from 'kept woman' to 'gym teacher', but it works.
My 5 year old daughter, when asked about her future she said "When I grow up, I'm going to be a woman. And I'm going to marry a man who always says 'Yes'."
I guess she liked my oldest daughter's first "career" choice.
In thinking about careers and how one decides what direction to take on that path of life, I thought of some jobs that I wouldn't mind having...and a few I would absolutely hate.
Everyone knows that a meteorologist on the news would be a fairly low-stress job. You study the weather, you make your predictions based on the years of knowledge you gained at school, and then when it snows after you promised sunny skies your job is still secure because you are dealing with 'Mother Nature' and not an exact science. In other words, you can be horribly wrong and still keep your job.
I could totally love a job like that.
What people might not know is that being something like a comedian would be really hard. Sure, to your friends you are funny. Your co-workers laugh hard enough to do spit-takes during lunch breaks at something you say. You even find yourself thinking funny things more often than not, and trying not to suddenly laugh out loud at something that struck your fancy.
But think about it. A professional comedian is always expected to be hilarious. Someone says they are a comic for a living and the person they are introduced to says "Really? Say something funny."
Talk about pressure.
Or they are on stage at a comedy club and the crowd that night just doesn't 'get it'. The best joke in his repertoire gets blank stares or courtesy laughter when two days before in Des Moines that same joke brought down the house.
Even a meteorologist can be funny in his delivery of the weather, but he doesn't get hecklers insulting his mother because his 30% chance of showers ended up being more like a 30% chance that you won't have your basement flooded in the deluge of water pouring from the skies.
I know my examples are cliche.
Everyone makes jokes about meteorologists and their uncanny ability to get the weather wrong. Those same jokesters also think that being a comedian would be an easy job--sleep late, think funny things all day, get paid to stand on a stage and make people laugh at the stupid things your brain came up with that day.
I suppose I should have picked two more obscure occupations to blog about and avoided the cliches...
But I was feeling cliche-like today, so I'm going with what works for me. :)
I'm glad my oldest daughter decided on a career to focus on. She is already a giant step ahead of me in that sense.
My kids are growing up with focus and direction. I am realizing THEY were my focus and direction, and now I need to do some growing up too.
I hate that.
I have put off deciding what I want to be when I grow up until the very last possible moment.
If I could get a job as a professional procrastinator, I would be their most excellent employee.
Until that "dream job" opens up, I guess I will figure out what I like to do and go from there.
Maybe it isn't too late to grow up to just be a woman...and teach Doug to always say "Yes". :)
(Right...and maybe the weather guy will hit 100% accuracy on his forecasts this year...)
They are being asked frequently by friends, neighbors, & teachers the dreaded question of "What are you going to be when you grow up?"
Since I still don't know the answer to that same question, I've been interested in watching my girls' thought processes as they work on their own personal answers.
When first asked that question, my oldest daughter told her friend that she plans on marrying a rich guy who will let her stay home and go shopping. Since the friend who asked her that question was of the male variety, he was a bit offended at her attitude and asked other pertinent questions like, "What will you do if he dies? Or if he loses his job so you have to help support the family?...etc."
That actually helped get her thinking back to reality and she has since decided that she wants to be a middle-school p.e. teacher.
I'm not sure how she made the leap from 'kept woman' to 'gym teacher', but it works.
My 5 year old daughter, when asked about her future she said "When I grow up, I'm going to be a woman. And I'm going to marry a man who always says 'Yes'."
I guess she liked my oldest daughter's first "career" choice.
In thinking about careers and how one decides what direction to take on that path of life, I thought of some jobs that I wouldn't mind having...and a few I would absolutely hate.
Everyone knows that a meteorologist on the news would be a fairly low-stress job. You study the weather, you make your predictions based on the years of knowledge you gained at school, and then when it snows after you promised sunny skies your job is still secure because you are dealing with 'Mother Nature' and not an exact science. In other words, you can be horribly wrong and still keep your job.
I could totally love a job like that.
What people might not know is that being something like a comedian would be really hard. Sure, to your friends you are funny. Your co-workers laugh hard enough to do spit-takes during lunch breaks at something you say. You even find yourself thinking funny things more often than not, and trying not to suddenly laugh out loud at something that struck your fancy.
But think about it. A professional comedian is always expected to be hilarious. Someone says they are a comic for a living and the person they are introduced to says "Really? Say something funny."
Talk about pressure.
Or they are on stage at a comedy club and the crowd that night just doesn't 'get it'. The best joke in his repertoire gets blank stares or courtesy laughter when two days before in Des Moines that same joke brought down the house.
Even a meteorologist can be funny in his delivery of the weather, but he doesn't get hecklers insulting his mother because his 30% chance of showers ended up being more like a 30% chance that you won't have your basement flooded in the deluge of water pouring from the skies.
I know my examples are cliche.
Everyone makes jokes about meteorologists and their uncanny ability to get the weather wrong. Those same jokesters also think that being a comedian would be an easy job--sleep late, think funny things all day, get paid to stand on a stage and make people laugh at the stupid things your brain came up with that day.
I suppose I should have picked two more obscure occupations to blog about and avoided the cliches...
But I was feeling cliche-like today, so I'm going with what works for me. :)
I'm glad my oldest daughter decided on a career to focus on. She is already a giant step ahead of me in that sense.
My kids are growing up with focus and direction. I am realizing THEY were my focus and direction, and now I need to do some growing up too.
I hate that.
I have put off deciding what I want to be when I grow up until the very last possible moment.
If I could get a job as a professional procrastinator, I would be their most excellent employee.
Until that "dream job" opens up, I guess I will figure out what I like to do and go from there.
Maybe it isn't too late to grow up to just be a woman...and teach Doug to always say "Yes". :)
(Right...and maybe the weather guy will hit 100% accuracy on his forecasts this year...)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tristi's July Writing Challenge
Tristi Pinkston--author extraordinaire and all-around fun gal--has posted a writing challenge on her blog for the month of July. Check out her blog here and see what I'm talking about.
I have accepted her challenge and have decided that my goal for July will be to write every single day--without fail--except for the week I spend at YW girls camp. During which time I will be at least THINKING of what I want to be writing...and perhaps even scribbling out notes and plot twists on the backs of paper plates.
During the month of July I will be posting on my blog about my progress. I won't necessarily count that as my writing for the day though unless it is more than just a simple blog entry. You'll see what I mean when I get to that point.
When you check out the details of Tristi's challenge, look to the link on the right of her page and go browse her regular blog. You'll be glad you did. :)
I have accepted her challenge and have decided that my goal for July will be to write every single day--without fail--except for the week I spend at YW girls camp. During which time I will be at least THINKING of what I want to be writing...and perhaps even scribbling out notes and plot twists on the backs of paper plates.
During the month of July I will be posting on my blog about my progress. I won't necessarily count that as my writing for the day though unless it is more than just a simple blog entry. You'll see what I mean when I get to that point.
When you check out the details of Tristi's challenge, look to the link on the right of her page and go browse her regular blog. You'll be glad you did. :)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Kady
My oldest daughter has now been 16 years old for 5 whole months. These are a couple of photos of her:
She hasn't been on a date yet, and while that is just fine with me I think it is starting to bother her a bit.
Luckily she isn't thinking "What is wrong with me?" but rather, "What is wrong with these dang boys? Are they afraid of me? Do they think I will laugh at them if they suggest going out?"
She can be a bit intimidating to boys, so I vote for her response too.
I do have to admit that she was sort of asked out on a date last week but couldn't find anyone to double-date with so she had to cancel. (That is a rule here...no single dating until she is 18...and I didn't even have to say anything to her about it. She just took care of it with no argument--shocking, huh?).
When I asked her if she called a particular good friend of hers to see if she could find a date and double with her, she looked at me like I was insane. "NO!" I asked her why not, and she replied that she is too good of friends with her and would probably end up spending most of the date chatting with her girlfriend instead of her date.
(Again, I see nothing wrong with that...but what do I know?)
When I told her that the idea of going out with a group of people you like is in part to help you if your date ends up being horrible--at least your friends would help salvage a decent time--she just sighed and said "I'm not looking for great advice from you."
Note: She did actually notice that it was great advice. From me. Her mother. The one human that most teenagers pretend to not know and are sure have no common sense. I'm writing that down here for all to see.. :)
A lot of boys like my daughter. She, unfortunately, is a practiced flirt and quite fickle. So I don't think any of the boys believe that she really likes them enough to say yes if they were to ask her out.
The advice I give her on that one is not listened to very well. (NOT a shocker)
Have you noticed that as an adult giving opinion and advice and telling stories of your own teenage years to your kids, that because you have the 20/20 hindsight your advice is brilliant and your stories make you sound like you actually had a clue as a teenager?
I don't tell many stories about my flirting gone bad. Or about when I didn't listen to my mom's advice. Or anything that I might have done at their age that I would ground them for life for if they did it themselves...
The stories I tell are more like how to act really well when you see the dumbest movie in your life and your date goes on and on about how great it was...He paid for it. It was free to you and only killed half your brain cells and took up two hours of your life that you will never get back, so suck it up and pretend you enjoyed it a little.
Or, if you ever go to a batting cage with a date and you know you can hit the fast pitch balls...but your date is struggling and not hitting any and it is making him upset because his idea to be all manly in front of you isn't working out--don't hit the fast pitch balls either. Trust me. It will only end in tears. Unless of course you never want to date that guy again. Then, by all means...smack the heck out of the ball and watch a boy cry.
I also give great dating hints like, always have at least $20 with you in case your date runs out of money--or in case you mix signals and end up being on a dutch-treat date and didn't know it until he pays for himself and then stands aside to let you pay. (Usually with this type of date, I'd be seriously looking for the batting cages....)
Another less popular hint is that if you are having a really awful time, your mom is always more than happy to get a call from you and come pick you up. Not sure if she would take that advice, but one can hope. And she knows the offer is always out there. And if it is a REALLY bad date, her dad is even MORE happy to go rescue her.
So she has that going for her. Even if right now she might not see it as a good thing.
I hope I have told her enough of my lame-date stories that she realizes that sometimes not dating is better than dating a jerk. I might have to pull out some of my better (worse) dating stories to share with her if she starts questioning herself instead of the boys.
For now, I will just enjoy the time before she starts dating. Enjoy the slow progression of gray hair instead of the influx of gray that I am sure will come when I add "Kady dating" to my list of worries. Enjoy having her think I have a clue when I dole out unsolicited dating advice. Enjoy spending time with her before it starts getting taken up more and more with friends and boys as she experiences life.
And until she starts dating, I think I'll take her over to the batting cages and teach her how to hit a fast-ball.
She hasn't been on a date yet, and while that is just fine with me I think it is starting to bother her a bit.
Luckily she isn't thinking "What is wrong with me?" but rather, "What is wrong with these dang boys? Are they afraid of me? Do they think I will laugh at them if they suggest going out?"
She can be a bit intimidating to boys, so I vote for her response too.
I do have to admit that she was sort of asked out on a date last week but couldn't find anyone to double-date with so she had to cancel. (That is a rule here...no single dating until she is 18...and I didn't even have to say anything to her about it. She just took care of it with no argument--shocking, huh?).
When I asked her if she called a particular good friend of hers to see if she could find a date and double with her, she looked at me like I was insane. "NO!" I asked her why not, and she replied that she is too good of friends with her and would probably end up spending most of the date chatting with her girlfriend instead of her date.
(Again, I see nothing wrong with that...but what do I know?)
When I told her that the idea of going out with a group of people you like is in part to help you if your date ends up being horrible--at least your friends would help salvage a decent time--she just sighed and said "I'm not looking for great advice from you."
Note: She did actually notice that it was great advice. From me. Her mother. The one human that most teenagers pretend to not know and are sure have no common sense. I'm writing that down here for all to see.. :)
A lot of boys like my daughter. She, unfortunately, is a practiced flirt and quite fickle. So I don't think any of the boys believe that she really likes them enough to say yes if they were to ask her out.
The advice I give her on that one is not listened to very well. (NOT a shocker)
Have you noticed that as an adult giving opinion and advice and telling stories of your own teenage years to your kids, that because you have the 20/20 hindsight your advice is brilliant and your stories make you sound like you actually had a clue as a teenager?
I don't tell many stories about my flirting gone bad. Or about when I didn't listen to my mom's advice. Or anything that I might have done at their age that I would ground them for life for if they did it themselves...
The stories I tell are more like how to act really well when you see the dumbest movie in your life and your date goes on and on about how great it was...He paid for it. It was free to you and only killed half your brain cells and took up two hours of your life that you will never get back, so suck it up and pretend you enjoyed it a little.
Or, if you ever go to a batting cage with a date and you know you can hit the fast pitch balls...but your date is struggling and not hitting any and it is making him upset because his idea to be all manly in front of you isn't working out--don't hit the fast pitch balls either. Trust me. It will only end in tears. Unless of course you never want to date that guy again. Then, by all means...smack the heck out of the ball and watch a boy cry.
I also give great dating hints like, always have at least $20 with you in case your date runs out of money--or in case you mix signals and end up being on a dutch-treat date and didn't know it until he pays for himself and then stands aside to let you pay. (Usually with this type of date, I'd be seriously looking for the batting cages....)
Another less popular hint is that if you are having a really awful time, your mom is always more than happy to get a call from you and come pick you up. Not sure if she would take that advice, but one can hope. And she knows the offer is always out there. And if it is a REALLY bad date, her dad is even MORE happy to go rescue her.
So she has that going for her. Even if right now she might not see it as a good thing.
I hope I have told her enough of my lame-date stories that she realizes that sometimes not dating is better than dating a jerk. I might have to pull out some of my better (worse) dating stories to share with her if she starts questioning herself instead of the boys.
For now, I will just enjoy the time before she starts dating. Enjoy the slow progression of gray hair instead of the influx of gray that I am sure will come when I add "Kady dating" to my list of worries. Enjoy having her think I have a clue when I dole out unsolicited dating advice. Enjoy spending time with her before it starts getting taken up more and more with friends and boys as she experiences life.
And until she starts dating, I think I'll take her over to the batting cages and teach her how to hit a fast-ball.
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