Monthly Archives: June 2015

25Jun/15

I’m Offended…

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Are you offended by this cat? Maybe you like dogs and cat pictures offend you. Maybe you don’t like the cat sticking its tongue out. Whatever the reason, if you are, my advice is this..”get over it.”

Why is everyone so overly offended these days about literally everything? And also why do we rush to change whatever is offending them so they won’t be offended by it ever again. Until the next thing comes up that offends them.Yes, I know I used the word “offend”.. a LOT(and you will continue to see it even more). But there certainly are a lot of things offending people for some reason.

Who are all these people that get so upset over just about anything? When did we create a nation of people that are so self important that their opinion is the only “right” one? And then the offending thing is removed from existence so the people who were not offended can never have it again.. And many times it is one person who it bothers causing millions of others to be left wondering what happened. Where is the freedom in this? Why does one person get to have their way at the expense of others?

But it happens, and more and more all the time. If someone is upset over something, by all means let’s get rid of it all together. I guess I was raised in a different time, a time when if we were upset with something we were told to just deal with it. And we did and we moved on. It didn’t become a national issue and we didn’t have to get rid of said item. It wasn’t forever banished from the face of the earth.

For those wondering, I am not speaking to the recent “items” that are in the news this week. This trend didn’t just start today, it goes back many years. I think my first time dealing with it was while working at a major department store when I was told not to say “Merry Christmas” to the customers because “we may offend someone”. I was literally blown away by this. Who was I going to offend by telling them to have a “merry” whatever?

I myself am offended by a lot of things. I’m offended by having to be so politically correct and being absolutely afraid to say certain things without someone getting upset. I’m offended that we have to put warnings about how “hot” the coffee is on a coffee cup. I’m upset that kids can’t play cowboys anymore. I’m concerned that kids playing at a park down the street may cause their parents to be put in jail. I am upset by things and people but I am not calling for all things to be my way. I have to learn to live with the way things are today. Some people just can’t do that. These people are offended by items, books, religion, different people, logos and even food. One person doesn’t like the box the cereal comes in and we can’t get that cereal anymore.

And on and on it goes..why can’t we just “let it go?” More importantly why can’t we just forgive those who made the mistake in the first place. And really, if we want to be offended by something, let’s make it something important. Let’s be offended by hunger, poverty and homelessness. And better yet, let’s do something about it. Things that offend us go away very quickly these days so maybe if we are offended by the right things, something will get accomplished to rid us of these horrible things. A little love, compassion and forgiveness can go a long way towards a possible solution to the problems we face today. It is certainly better than the alternative and most definitely better than being offended by everything we see.

Hey, hope I didn’t offend you….

19Jun/15

“Top 10 Things You May Or May Not Know About Me”

Just a fun blogpost of things about me…

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1. My favorite car that I ever owned was my green 1966 MGBGT. I loved that car. It cost a mint in upkeep but I still loved every moment of owning and driving it. I didn’t get it until the 80’s but I sure got all the fun I could out of the years I had it. I would pile all 3 of my kids in that little hatchback area and off we would go on our adventures. We had some great times in that car. Couldn’t do that now…

2. I have had every job from waitress to restaurant manger. From working at a jewelry store to owning a women’s fashions and jewelry store in downtown Frederick. I owned my own store for 4 wonderful years. I had to close it in 1991 when the bottom fell out and 20 some other stores closed as well as mine. It was one of the saddest days of my life. It was truly one of the best, if not the best “jobs” I ever had. I had always wanted to have my own clothing store and I did it, even if it was only for a little while.

3. I have been married twice to the same man. I have gotten divorced twice to that same man.

4. The guy I was married to was 2 years older than me but every other guy I dated was at least 10 years younger than me. I lived with one guy for 9 years and he was 11 years younger than me. What can I say, I liked younger guys..

5. I got pregnant at 15, 3 months shy of my 16th birthday. It was not an easy time, you didn’t get pregnant and stay in school like they do today. My friends were going to prom and I was in the hospital giving birth to my daughter. I wouldn’t have traded places with them for anything.

6. I had all 3 of my children by the time I was 23. We grew up together. I for the most part raised them by myself. Sometimes working 3 jobs to take care of the bills and to get them the things they needed. Sure, I made mistakes and maybe wasn’t there as much as I should have been, but I did the best I could. There was no manual that came along with the whole single parenting thing. Their father chose not to be involved in their lives when they were all still fairly young. Again I would not change any part of having these 3 wonderful kids in my life. They give me a reason to get up in the morning. We have had our ups and downs but we love each other unconditionally…and in our book..Family is forever.

7. I moved to Maryland from PA 30 years ago. I needed a change after the second divorce and needed there to be some distance between us. My live in boyfriend at the time got transferred to MD with his job and I decided to go with him. I have never regretted for one moment my decision to move here. I love it here. I am close enough to my friends and family as I am only an hour away. I moved from Frederick to Thurmont 7 years ago when I wanted to be a little further out in the country. I also have always wanted a big “old” house. Mine was built in 1890.

8. My first journey into entrepreneurship was at the age of 12. I wanted a dog, a poodle to be exact. My parents said I couldn’t get one unless I paid for it. I did babysit but that didn’t get me even close to the amount I needed so I talked the neighborhood kids into donating money to my cause. They all did, much to their parents chagrin. But somehow I got my poodle. I just had to have that kind of dog for some reason and now I don’t even like that breed.

9. I am sure most people know this one..I have curly hair. Naturally curly hair, way to curly for my liking. I have ironed it, I have straightened it. I have cut it short and let it grow very long. I even wore a wig in the 70’s when that was the rage. It was straight. I loved it. Nothing I ever did has changed it. Everyone said, “just wait until you have kids, it will get straight.” Well I am here to ditch that myth. I had 3 kids and my hair is curlier than ever. If anything it is curlier than it was when I was younger. Maybe I will get another wig or cut it very short and be done with it.

10. And last but certainly not least, I have always wanted a place at the beach, by the water. After all the recent hurricanes and bad weather I have revised that dream somewhat. I still long for that beach house but my beautiful view of the mountains will suffice for now. At this point of my life I have many friends who live close to a beach. I  will visit them.

Oh, and one last thing…I absolutely hate the white thingys in eggs…

 

 

12Jun/15

“Memories”

“Pressed between the pages of my mind”….

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The title of this post is a song by Elvis Presley (for those of you too young to remember) and it sums up the way I have been feeling lately. It seems like everything I see, hear or smell these days reminds me of something or someone from my past.

Last week I wrote about how everything we did back in the “good old days” seemed better. And I asked the question, “were they really better or were we just missing the people who are no longer with us.” I still don’t know the answer to the question but it brought up some other things to think about. Memories.

The memories I am talking about today are the ones caused by a certain smell or something as simple as seeing kids playing on the beach. I saw lots of them on our recent trip to Chincoteague this past week. Families holding hands and jumping over the waves together. I was instantly taken back to the days when my kids and I went to OC, MD and we were playing in the water and jumping the waves. The memories all came flooding back and a few slipped down my cheeks.

It seems I can’t get through a day when something I do or see doesn’t remind me of a memory from my past. I have always had some of these moments but now they seem to happen more frequently. Sometimes they make me smile and sometimes they make me sad. And don’t even get me started on music…a song can instantly take me back to a different time and place. Some of those moments are forever etched in my mind but you will have to wait to hear about them.

The reason for all these flashbacks to a simpler time could be that I now just have more time in my day to reminisce. When the kids were little I was so busy trying to just get through each day that I didn’t have time to simply enjoy the moment. This is no excuse, but I think we get so caught up in life and are so stressed trying to provide a home and get everything done that has to get done we are just too tired to enjoy the little moments along the way.

I also think as we age we learn to appreciate things we once took for granted. When you are young you have the sense that you are invincible and that things will always be the same. But things do change, buildings are torn down, people move away and we lose those we love. I will see an old house alongside the road and think to myself, that house used to have a family living there, where are they, what happened to them? Were they once happy? Did they enjoy the moments of their life?

All we can do at this point in our lives is make new memories, enjoy each day and keep going forward. We can love those close to us and let them know how important they are. And we can try to make a difference in their lives and make each moment count by spending time with them. Time spent with those we love is the best time of all. And think of it this way, one day in the not too distant future, we will be their memory. Let’s make it a good one.

Someday, many, many years from now, when people reminisce about me I want them to think that I simply made them laugh.

How do you want to be remembered?

“Memories, sweetened thru the ages just like wine, memories, memories, sweet memories.”

 

04Jun/15

“The Good Old Days”

Were they really as good as we remember?

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A day doesn’t go by where I don’t hear someone say, “well, things were better back in the old days.” Or they mention something used to taste so much better when they were a kid. I am as guilty as anyone, I do it myself. Just recently we went to something we had been going to for over 25 years. I couldn’t wait to go again. We were there for a half hour and left. “It just wasn’t the same.”

The picture I have on here is from Atlantic City, NJ. It is me and my dear, sweet sister Rhonda on the boardwalk looking at the pigeons. I posted it in a group I belong to on Facebook just the other day when we were talking about Atlantic City and The Steel Pier. Someone had posted a picture of the Diving Horse and it made me think of this picture. Atlantic City was “the” place to go back when I was growing up. The boardwalk and beach were pristine and my parents took us every year. Now it is a place to go to gamble and instead of seeing a beautiful boardwalk you see closed casinos and stores. “It just isn’t the same.”

Was it better back then? Do I remember it correctly or am I just remembering how wonderful it was because I was with my parents and sister?  Does the fact that all of them are no longer here cloud my thinking? Is it that things have changed or is it the people we are missing?

But what about the food? Oh yes, truly one of the best parts of growing up was the wonderful food. My Grandmothers were both wonderful cooks and I made many cookies and pies with them. One of my favorites were pie. I loved my Grandma Gibbons pecan pie. I was at a diner recently and saw they had pecan pie. It looked just like hers, didn’t look like the stuff you see in the supermarket at all. So I got a piece and couldn’t wait to dig in. “It just wasn’t the same.” It was ok, and of course I ate the entire thing, but it just wasn’t quite the same. Why? Maybe the reason was because I didn’t make it with my Grandma?

Everything changes. I don’t expect everything to stay the same. Time goes on and we are constantly being told that this or that is new and improved. But is it really? Don’t get me wrong, sometimes change is good. I definitely wouldn’t want to be wearing some of the things we wore “back in the day”. I can still feel the pain in my poor feet while wearing my platform heels. Most recently I have been wanting a jumpsuit. I don’t know what made me decide I had to have one, but I saw they were back in style this year and for some reason just had to have one again. I found a really cute one. On sale… So I got it. I forgot why I didn’t like them back in the day when I wore one the first time. You have to take the whole darn thing off to go to the bathroom. And I go to the bathroom a lot more these days..sorry for the TMI…. It is still cute and I will wear it, but I definitely won’t be drinking anything while I have it on.

I can honestly say I don’t know the answer to my question? “Were the good old days really as good as we remember?” And, let’s not forget that someday these very days will be the good old days for someone. What do you think? Are things so terrible today or are we simply missing those people that made the past so great?