This husband of mine…
Proposed…eight years ago…after a trip to a pumpkin farm…met online…using that app Ourtime…had tried the other popular site…listing all those characteristics single me thought might be appealing…here I am…education…career…family life…likes…dislikes…blah blah blah…pick me…choose me…love…me…met some nice guys…but none…the right fit… Years passed…single me gave it one more shot…this time…looking at it from a different perspective…why should single me…try to sell herself…why can’t single me…search…for what she wants in a relationship… And so she did…said hey Ourtimers…this old gal…is looking for…a Christian…caring father…responsible…kind…trustworthy…got matched…with an old guy who made his heading as…honest…faithful and loyal…I care about people…took a jaunt to a cute little town…to celebrate 6 years of marriage…got gold member parking…thanks to living in a hotel for a month…saw Belly Blob Barbie…and just enjoyed…being us… And so it is in life…sometimes…it’s ok…to ask for what YOU need…for what YOU want…for what…will make YOU happy…and you never know…those things…might just be what those special people of yours…desire…too… And this husband of mine agrees…
0 Comments
This old gal…
Couldn’t believe that song…Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious popped into the head…couldn’t believe that when it did…she knew…all…the words…every…single…one…not because she’d sung it recently…it’s been 50 years…not because she liked the movie…12 year old me…thought it was boring… But because…when that little brother of hers…was in third grade…his music program…was a Mary Poppins theme...he was chosen to perform a little line…of…you guessed it...Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious…and that kid…was empowered…sang that song constantly…filled that 800 square foot house…with those um dittles day in…and day out… Not a singer really…hadn’t performed solo before…but when that little towhead took the stage…he owned it…because someone…believed in him…someone…made him feel talented…someone…gave him…a chance… And that baby brother of mine…husband…father…grandfather…has been owning his stage…ever since…cuz you know what they say…if you act like you own it…you own it… And that brother of mine…would agree… When this old gal…
Thinks of that favorite phrase…if you act like you own it…you own it…she first thinks of all her little readers…back in the day…reading for them…not coming as quickly…or as easily…as the curriculum demands…so teacher me made it her goal…to encourage each child…to own it… Not own their mistakes…or their struggles…but to own the fact…that regardless of challenges…they are…a reader…and they will be…a successful reader…that confidence…that belief…had greater impact on progress…than sound instructional practice…although good teaching using appropriate materials…is a must too… And so it is in life…whether you are struggling or not…believe in yourself…strut your stuff…use the gifts you’ve been given…get out there and act like you own it…and in one way or another… You WILL own it… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Cannot believe…how quickly two years has gone…posted the first Retirement Ramblings…a few months after this old gal…drumroll please…retired…36 years of teaching…36 years as a reading specialist…36 years building student relationships…boxed up…and put away…with the turning in…of a key…and a badge… Needed a goal…needed a plan…needed to find somewhere else…to focus all that quirky energy…not sure where the idea of a blog came from…always loved writing…always wanted to write…so wrote the first one…saying good-bye…letting go… It’s fun now…daily Facebook memories…two former posts pop up…writer me…can see how she’s grown…found her rhythm…found her voice…retired me…can see…how she’s grown…found new purpose…found new focus…and found…new connections…and new friends… Was embarrassed at first…sharing stories…being vulnerable…being raw…but those daughters of mine…their mama’s biggest fans…their mama’s greatest supporters…told her…to have confidence…told her…to own it… Cuz you know what they say…if you act like you own it…you own it… And those daughters of mine…agree… Figured out the favorite phrase?… Tune in tomorrow for all the details on how to enter… The Retirement Ramblings Second Anniversary Give Away This husband of mine said…
If you had all the money you spent on gifts…you would be a millionaire…possibly…if you count all the dollars spent on student treats…prizes…rewards over the years…and someone smart invested it wisely…but then…what would that leave… A boring…lonely…unhappy…old gal millionaire…cuz gift giving…is her…love language…always has been…always will be…and it’s not about the gifts…it’s about the search…for the perfect item for a special person…a gift that will make them smile…and let them know…how appreciated they are…it’s all about celebrating…celebrating this…celebrating that…celebrating something…celebrating…nothing…at all… But today…we do have something to celebrate…two years…of Retirement Ramblings…two years…of fulfilling a dream of being a writer…two years…of creating connections…and making…new friends…so non-millionaire me…is having a give away…a fun little gift…highlighting that favorite phrase of mine…created especially for three of my lucky readers… Any guesses what that phrase might be? Tune in tomorrow for more info on… The Retirement Ramblings Second Anniversary Giveaway… And those daughters of mine…agree… This old gal…
Often listens to a podcast…when walking outside…put the phone in the chest fanny pack thing…turn it up loud…typical embarrassing old people thing…cuz one of us…cannot stand ear buds…sometimes tho…the podcast gets lost in the shuffle…as the old gal Alice in Wonderland mind…starts to wander…on the most minuscule of things…and then fall deeper and deeper…into…Ponderland… Saw a peach pit…lying haphazardly on the sidewalk…seemed strange…a peach pit…in town…on a walkway…and so it began…walker me…got curiouser and curiouser…pondering on scenarios with such a result… Was someone just driving along…eating a peach like an apple…tossing the pit out the window when finished…if so…who buys a peach…and eats it like an apple…while driving…and why a peach…yes peaches are tasty…but also juicy…not ideal…for munching on the go…and why the sidewalk…why toss it outside…surely the peach eater…if planning to eat it in the car…had a napkin or something…wrap it in that… And then…walker me…came across the tree…just up the block…arching over the sidewalk…branches reaching down…heavy laden…with peaches…and so much of the muchness going on in the head…became clear…peach eater…was a walker…plucking a treat…while passing by… And this old gal…whirled right back…to reality…and headed home…for she was late…very late…for a very important…date… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Was toodling along…on that daily walk of hers…pondering life…admiring the view…challenging cholesterol…to a duel…walked all the way to the Mighty Mississippi…the sun glistening on the water…the bridge…glorious…in the distance… It was peaceful…beautiful…serene…the renovated downtown…quaint…the buildings…offering peeks into days of old…yet moving forward…gracefully…into the future…when suddenly…the leisurely walk…took a turn…an ominous turn…cuz there…IT was…wasn’t sure at first…had that feeling…hairs standing up on the back of the neck kind of feeling…someone watching you…some…thing…watching you…kind of feeling… Walked around the block one more time…to check IT out…and sure enough…IT was there…watching…waiting…but IT…had nothing on this old gal…for she walks…every day…and when she has to…she can walk fast…really really fast…and that’s just what…she did…zoomed out of there so fast… IT…didn’t see IT…coming… And that husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Ever since Tim the Toolman Taylor…has wanted to live somewhere…where she could pop her head over a hedge…and call…hidey ho good neighbor…have lived lots of places…had a fence here and there…a bush maybe but no hedges…and neighbors…lots of them…but none close friends enough…to earn a hidey ho… Until now…have a hedge…a teeny tiny bridal wreath hedge…and twenty years from now…80 year old me will hobble over there…pop the old head up…and call out to that bff buddy of mine…til then…it’s a shout from the lawn chair when she drives up after work…or a call out to her in her garage…as we unload from the grocery run… This neighbor…is a friend…and this friend…is a neighbor…a text til midnight neighbor…about life…scary noises outside in the night…those crazy cats we share…a hidey ho good neighbor…trusted…caring…funny…the very best kind of neighbor…the very best kind of friend…this old neighbor…knows…it’s been worth the wait… And this husband of mine…agrees… This husband and I…
Had a late night…well not really a late night…actually went to bed early…fell into a deep sleep before ten…but then…we had…some unexpected…excitement…supercalifragilistic…acid refluxdocious…even tho the sound of it is something quite atrocious…if you say it loud enough you’ll always sound precocious…supercalifragilistic…acid refluxdocious… Woke to that man of mine…sighing…searching the medicine cabinet…for those tropical fruit Tums…thought uh oh…one of us is having issues…when jinx padlock…throw away the key…twins we were…this time hitting old gal me…with a vengeance…old people reflux…a monster of its own… And so it was…his and her bonding…sitting up on each side of hideous man chair…til 2 am…in the dark…waiting for those Tums and Prilosec…to do their job…analyzing…evening food choices…reflecting…about life…choices we’d made…choices we wish we hadn’t made…speculating…on the source of lights…illuminating the darkened curtains… Marveling…at how lucky we are…to have found each other…soul mates…BFFs…acid reflux buddies…navigating…this grand adventure …called growing old…together…um-dittle-ittl-ittl-um-dittle-I… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Made it her mission…to explore New Town…on foot…see the neighborhoods…check out the beautiful downtown…challenge that cholesterol…with some exercise…was a little wary…to walk alone…always felt safe in Old Town…but growing up me…remembers gossip…about New Town…miles away…on the river…the unknown causing an inkling of fear… But familiarity…breeds comfort…the beautiful stately homes lining the street to the sparkling water…waving to new neighbors…admiring the historical buildings housing local businesses…and then…there’s the unexpected greetings…those chalk drawings…cheering the walker on…encouraging her…lifting her up…telling her…to adopt…a cat… The women working in the church garden saying hello…waving with a smile…the young man heading to work…nodding a greeting to the old lady…walking by…and step by step…it’s easy to see…New Town…is no different…than Old Town…people are still people…seeing the good…holding it close…takes you that much closer…to being home… And that husband of mine…agrees… |
This Old Gal
Devoted Wife Magical Mom Retired Teacher Embracing life's grand adventures with humor and grace. Archives
July 2024
Categories |