Reading

I've told this story to many people, so I thought I'd put it out there for everyone that hasn't heard it.

I love reading. I used to sit next to my mom when I was little while she read me Little Golden Books, but I wasn't in love with books. Until third grade.

When I started third grade I had a small older lady who was my teacher. Except for her size and the grey bun on her head, I don't really remember anything about her. She left within a week or so and I found out later that she died. Our substitute was a young teacher (possibly fresh out of college - that young)named Mr. Thomas. He initiated a new thing into our daily schedule. Once our lunch recess was over, we would rest our flushed-from-recess cheeks in our hands and have quiet time while he read to us. It would only be a chapter or two a day, but it was the highlight of my day.

It started with The Wizard of Oz. I was mesmerized. I was right with them as they traveled the yellow brick road and into the Emerald City. It was then that I learned that I could travel to amazing places within the pages of a book. I was captivated. We finished that book and Tom Sawyer before the year ended. This jump-start was all I needed. I was hooked on books for life.

Thank you Mr. Thomas.

Power Surges

I am so over hot flashes.

They don't come regularly, or unexpectedly, or too frequently. But they come at times that I can't stop. Yes, I can drink less tea or wine - but those are mini ones. The worst hot flashes come when the heat kicks on in my house. I can't imagine the temperature changes drastically, but my body screams in protest.

I turn my heat down when I sleep so the heat won't kick on as much. But as soon as it does, I'm kicking off covers as my body attempts to regulate the overload. I sleep better in the summer when I can turn the air conditioner down to frigid and never feel the heat.

I am so over hot flashes.

Social Networking

I'm continually amazed by the things that people can invent to put more pressure on their lives. Aren't electronics supposed to ease some of burden? I think that much of what we have available to us to "help us keep in touch" actually takes time away from our lives. And if that isn't bad enough, we're keeping in contact with people we may not have wanted to.

Am I on Twitter - yes. Do I use Twitter - no. I'm a pretty private person (except for putting my every weird thought on this blog.) And maybe it's low self esteem, but I cannot imagine anyone wanting to know my constant thoughts in 140 character bursts. I do believe that it has marketing uses and am looking into that for my job, but the real personal need is so that the narcissist can keep everyone up-to-date with their lives.

I feel almost the same about Facebook and Myspace. I'm on Facebook, and I use it mostly to follow business and organizational contacts. I have a few friends who pester me for pics of my grandchildren every now and again - and I oblige them - but I really am not comfortable using these sites. I've had people who told me that they got in touch with high school friends through Facebook. Good for you. If I didn't keep in touch with someone from high school it was probably because they were no longer important to me. If they had been important in my current life, I'd have kept in touch better. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't a few people I would like to reconnect with - on a temporary, intermittent basis - just that if I didn't I wouldn't feel deprived.

And these sites take time to do it right. I've had people invite me to join Farmville or to get Fish or collect Hearts or whatever little gimmick they've created to keep you coming back frequently to the site. It seems if you don't check in on a regular basis and feed your fish or harvest your crops, they die. At the very most I check Facebook once a day - I think I would fail miserably at these ventures. And they are just another way to use up your time in a totally nonproductive way.

Now I don't want to criticise those who enjoy Facebook as a way to keep in touch with the people in their lives. If this is all they have, I am glad they have it. I just don't need it at this time. I use my cell phone, my e-mail (a lot), and the family blog. If I do want to chat with someone, I typically don't want to do it in front of all your other "friends."

So, if I haven't become your Facebook "friend" - don't worry, I probably still like you . . . just e-mail me.

Ouch!

I think I broke my thumb. I don't know for sure because I probably won't go to the doctor - they don't really do anything with broken fingers and toes anyway.

But, back to the thumb. I was walking in my door last night (but not carrying too much - see earlier post - just a purse, work bag, water bottle, and the mail) and somehow my feet got tangled over something or themselves and I went down on my left knee.

I watched throughout the evening as the knot rose higher and higher on my knee, and knew my thumb was sore, but didn't think anything about it. Then during the night I kept waking up with my thumb really smarting. When I woke up this morning my thumb was about 50% larger than the other thumb. I can move it, but it really hurts to do so.

You don't realize how necessary thumbs are until you don't have the use of one of them. Pulling on socks for instance really requires that you hold the sock between the fingers and the thumb. Holding a steering wheel is another. I'm really thankful that I'm right handed or it could be a whole lot worse. And I hit the keyboard spacebar with my right thumb - whew.

So, unless something changes drastically and I feel the need to revisit the doctor option, I'll just go through the day with my left thumb protruding out away from my hand like a semi-useless appendage. Well, it worked for Fonzi. Aaaay!

More Like Dogs

I'm sure you've many comparisons of how everything is like life. But I think that we should be more like dogs. At least I should be more like my dog.

There is something wonderful about being greeted by dancing. Winnie greets me when I get home from work - or even if I'm coming back from the bathroom - by dancing and prancing around excitedly. She gets herself so excited that she has to shake herself off just to calm down. What an ego boost!

Wouldn't that be wonderful if we greeted each other by dancing and prancing? I'm sure it would brighten everyone's day and improve self-esteem.

The only problem would be that women "of a certain age" - like me - might wet themselves during the hellos.

Apples

I'm eating a delicious apple right now.

I have found that apples are either delicious or horrible. This one is called a Cripps Pink. I'm not sure what that means. Who or what is Cripps? It's not pink. But it's good.

When I was young I'd eat any apple - sour were my favorite. Now I'm particular. It can't be too mushy, or too sour, or too drippy. Unfortunately, you don't know any of those things until you take a bite. Just another instance of when it's too late to do anything about it.

Teenagers

I was listening to NPR again this morning as I was driving to work and it told me something that I'd really suspected all along. Teenager's brains aren't wired right.

Yep, it's official. It would seem that the frontal lobe takes a long time to actually fully attach to the rest of the brain. The frontal lobe, they explained is the one that says: 'Is this a good idea? What is the consequence of this action?' It's not that they can't answer this question, but with the frontal lobe not fully attached yet, it takes longer. So by the time a teen realizes that maybe this might not be a good idea, it's really too late.

This connection isn't fully formed even at 21 - so you have college students doing crazy things on Spring Break. Again, shocker.

The newscast didn't say exactly when the neurons that connect the frontal lobe are fully operational or whether it develops differently in men and women. My guess is that some middle-aged men are still waiting for it to happen.