Sunday, February 14, 2010
ANYONE HAVE THE MAGIC PILL?
Well, believe it or not, I finally took about 200 people's advice and got on ADD medication. It is a miracle. Within an hour of the first dose of Adderall, it was as if a veil had lifted. I saw things much clearer. I felt grounded. I was not depressed nor did I feel hopeless.
That is the good news.
The bad news is the euphoria lasted for less than 6 days. The problem with clarity is it allows one to see clearly. To see clearly how I have been living a life in a fog, not really in control and fiscally very irresponsible is extremely painful. I now understand why people thought I was flaky, flighty, whacky, and lived my life by default. Out of touch with reality.
How discouraging to be older than dirt and find out I had to start over.
This got me full of determination to GET MY ACT TOGETHER. So I set out on a mission to amass any info from Google about how to get my act together. Low and behold, Amazon has a book. I ordered it.
We will see.
That is the good news.
The bad news is the euphoria lasted for less than 6 days. The problem with clarity is it allows one to see clearly. To see clearly how I have been living a life in a fog, not really in control and fiscally very irresponsible is extremely painful. I now understand why people thought I was flaky, flighty, whacky, and lived my life by default. Out of touch with reality.
How discouraging to be older than dirt and find out I had to start over.
This got me full of determination to GET MY ACT TOGETHER. So I set out on a mission to amass any info from Google about how to get my act together. Low and behold, Amazon has a book. I ordered it.
We will see.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER
Get Your Act Together: A 7-Day Get-Organized Program For The Overworked, Overbooked, and Overwhelmed
It ain't gonna happen. In this lifetime anyway. I bought the book. I read the book. I highlighted the book. I made notes. I memorized one line and realized I had bought and read the first book in 1970. Did all the stuff THEN and it didn't happen, so at 74 1/2 years old, with the right brain cells multiplying and any left brain cells I have are evaporating, I don't have a chance.
Soooo, here is what I have decided. I am going to pretend. I am going to pretend I am left brained. I am going to create a structure. I thought of becoming a nun or joining the military but that's not gonna happen soon. I checked into retirement homes ... A good idea was to become Amish.
So far, in the past two days, I have accomplished more than I usually do in a month. Now let's see how long it lasts. My ideas are simple. Keep tuned.
I am going to copy people with left brains and see what they do and then adapt it to me. That is what a right brained person does ... create.
Who knows, Maybe I WILL GET MY ACT TOGETHER.
Let's hope I win the lottery. I will share.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
ONLY IN THE MOVIES
Our celebration for Jake at the Bulls game didn't turn out quite the way I had envisioned.
The fantasy .... There were 16 of us who had red T-shirts with a salutation on them. The concept was to sit together in a lump so when Jake looked up into the stands he would see this mass of cheering red figures.
The reality ... Not everyone was able to come ... We didn't all sit together ... we were in the very very top rows in a humongous stadium , and during the induction the recruits never looked up. Not at all like the movies.
There was however, enough media stimulation to cause seizures in anyone who may be susceptible. Several hundred TV monitors. flashing lights, a Las Vegas act during half time where a girl climbed a pole, which was held and balanced by man and spun around horizontally hooked onto this pole by her hair.
During time outs they had animated races, my favorite being 3 characters from Dunkin Donuts who ran around a simulated track. We each had a booklet with a prize if you won. The cheering for the bagel was more intense than any we heard during the game.
The very good news is, after the induction ceremony, the young men came up to our section to sit together during the game. So we had lots of opportunity to show our support for Jake up close. It was heartwarming to see the parents and families of these young men, there for final hugs, tears and best wishes as they went off to boot camp for 9 weeks.
It was not only cool to have this take place at The United center, and I learned that the Bulls support this division by paying for uniforms and other goodies. Thanks Bulls.
Actually, I don't think I saw too much of the game. Oh Well. It was difficult deciding which monitor to watch since we were so high up I had trouble seeing the floor. It was much more interesting to see the interaction of these recruits and their families. A beautiful young couple stood, velcroed in an embrace together for at least an hour. They will be missed
THANKS AND BE SAFE
Monday, February 1, 2010
ANCHORS AWAY JAKE.....
This is the first time I have ever experienced a close friend or family member leaving for the military. I have pictures of my father in WW1, my brother in WW2 and I know and celebrate many families who are Military, especially my daughter-in-law Jennifer's family. It has been a very interesting journey to be involved with Jake, whom I have known since infancy. He is now 18, 6 foot 2, football star, kind loving brother, son, grandson, who, while not a blood relative, is one of my surrogate nephews.
As the "fuzzy headed liberal" that Mark calls me, I have not been one to embrace the idea of war, and as most others, I do not like seeing our young men and women going to war. On the other hand, I DO honor and respect their choices, appreciate their sacrifices and commitment to keep us safe. Whenever possible I will walk up to a young person in uniform and thank him/her personally. If I am flying and have a first class seat I will sometimes offer it to a young person in uniform. It may seem self-serving but I hope it lets that person know we care.
There were 17 of us, ages 7-74, at the Wadsworth farm in Crown Point, Indiana for Jake's send-off to the Navy luncheon. We all had bright red T-shirts, which we had made, with a "cute" transfer ironed on. It took many hours for this project since I had to learn how to do it as I did it and Mary kept going to the store to get more stuff as well as iron them all. The good news is we will wear them again on Tuesday night at the Bull's game when Jake is inducted. Dorky as the shirts are, it was fun. Dorky as it is he will be able to look up into the stands and see this mass of red shirts celebrating him. Wishing him well and all the other young men. Knowing how much we care.
The luncheon was at 11am, and the recruiter was due at 12:30. After eating delicious food, taking pictures and lots of hugs, we waited and waited for the recruiter to come pick him up. That may have been one of the hardest parts both for Jake and his family. Finally, at 2:00 he came. We went out enmass to the car hoping not to embarrass him too much. Well some, we will not name, may have hoped to embarrass him a bit.. This was the real moment ... after months of anticipation, preparation and waiting... he joined 3 other healthy strapping, young men in a Ford Escort. They were leaving their world of teen-age stuff and entering into a major life changing experience. They would have their hair shaved off, stripped of jewelry and... the biggies ... no texting, no facebook, no cell phone, no ipod, no computer, no civilian clothes for 9 weeks. My guess is, at that moment, giving up all the addictive tools of communication teens use today is even more disturbing than the thought of going into active duty.
I am happy he had a 2 hour ride, while crammed into that car, at least he was with 3 other young men on the same journey. He is not alone. He will share what they have in common and have lots of time to learn more about each other.
GOOD LUCK JAKE. WE ALL LOVE YOU AND WILL WELCOME YOU HOME SAFE. YOU ARE OUR SUPERSTAR.
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