Tag Archives: friends

Random Amusing Memories

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Some of my best memories are of my kids as they were growing up, their friends, and my nieces and nephews. I really miss those days. I was younger, not disabled, and they were the best years of my life.

I’ve found myself being reminded of several events this past few days. I’ll see something on tv, read something, or see a photo that reminds me of something from the past. Sometimes it makes me laugh, and sometimes brings a tear to my eye. I’m sharing a few of those memories with you today.

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My son’s first day of Kindergarten didn’t go as planned. He wanted to wear his new Batman flip-flops to school and I didn’t see a problem since the weather was still very hot. The flip-flops looked something like these pictured. Within 2 hours of being in school, one of the flip-flops broke. He was devastated. When I went to pick him up that day, his teacher told me that it ruined his entire day.

via Amazon.com

That very same teacher, when my son was an adult and out of school, saw my son and I in the Walmart parking lot. She yelled, “Chuck, is that you?” My son yelled, “No!” I must have laughed for 30 minutes!

I recall one April Fool’s Day, my son and his then-girlfriend decided to play a prank, and it was a good one. I had no clue what they had done until mid-morning when I went to get a fork for my pancakes. I was completely shocked as the drawer was completely void of knives and forks! “What the hell happened to all the silverware?” I yelled. I walked into the living room and there they sat with smirks on their faces holding back the laughter the best they could. Suddenly, something caught my attention from above and I looked up. Lo and behold, every knife and fork we owned was taped to the ceiling!

Another April Fool’s Day, my son thought it would be pretty funny to hide the car. (He was old enough to know how to drive.) He moved the car behind the shed, out of sight. It was after lunch before I looked out the window and noticed the car was gone. I thought someone had stolen it!

I was 35 for 5 years before my kids did the math. Yesterday, my daughter pm’d me and asked what I would like for my birthday this year. I replied, “Oh fuck. Do I have to have another? I’m too fucking old already,” to which she replied, “What? You’re only 35!” Of course, I laughed my ass off just being reminded of those years when I got away with being 35 years old!!

From the ages of 6 to about 12, my daughter would wake up in the middle of the night, and sit with us in the living room. She always had this glossy-eyed, out-of-sorts look on her face, which told me she was sleep-walking AND that she actually got up to go pee. We would sit and carry on complete conversations with her, until I told her she should go to the bathroom. She would get up and go, and then head right back to bed. The next day, she wouldn’t remember a thing!

One time, my son and I were going to Walmart and it started to rain – POUR down rain – just as we got there. We decided to make a run for it. He was only about 4, so I was holding his hand. I hit a giant puddle of water and landed face-down, taking my son down with me. We got up, soaking wet, and my poor little boy looked up at me and asked, “Why’d you do that for, mommy?”

A friend of my son’s came over one day after school. I think they were in high school at the time. I don’t recall what we had that evening but the friend stayed for dinner. Afterward, he told me that he’d rather I take his plate to the sink, because he didn’t want to break our good China! It was very thoughtful of him but I assured him, they were Dollar Tree plates and definitely NOT good China…although they were probably made in China! We all laughed. It was pretty funny at the time!

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Well, there’s a few random memories that are now documented in type, so I won’t ever forget…unless my blog gets deleted. Ugh. I’ll bet you have some pretty funny (and fond) memories, too.

Spider Guts and A Special Delivery

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It was Monday morning. I was limping along like an old lady who just got her ass kicked by a kangaroo. I headed out of my bedroom and stopped dead in my tracks. My biggest fear (ok, not biggest but one of them) was right before me, headed in my direction. Slowly (and I mean slowly because I’m old and crippled…and the kangaroo, remember?) I reached for my handy flyswatter. I took aim and gave that blasted spider a smack!

I must’ve smacked him just right (or wrong) because spider guts spattered me in the face! I’m so thankful I was wearing my glasses! Ewwww! All I could do is yell, “Oh, my Gawd! Oh my Gawd!” I also yelled, “That’s never EVER happened before!” Thankfully, I have a box of tissues handy and grabbed one. I start wiping off my left cheek, which took the spatter. How the hell does that even happen? I was standing up, granted I’m not very tall, but I’m still 5’2″ and waaaaay bigger than that freakin’ spider…and seriously it wasn’t even that big of a spider!! Dad comes through about then and says, “What the heck did you do?” I told him and he says, “What are the odds of that happening?” I respond, “I know, right?”

I was so grossed out by the spider guts, as anyone would be I think, that my mind kept coming back to the incident. Even after washing my face with soap and water, rinsing my hair and changing my clothes, I was still freaked out. Hours later, it was still popping up in my brain. Just stop, Deb. You washed your face. The gut-spitting spider is dead and gone. It will never happen again. That didn’t really help any…great Goddess please help me forget this horrible incident!!

I was soon to forget about the entire thing because just after lunch Dad went out for the mail and brought in a package addressed to me. It was from my good friend, TheHuntress915. She made my day and helped me to forget about spider guts! I was now focused on reading, Mexican hot chocolate, and trying on my new t-shirt, which was part of an effort to raise money for the victims of the mass shooting on Aug. 3, 2019.

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As I sat down to write something in my blog tonight, my mind was completely blank, as it has been for the past couple of weeks. But then I remembered my special delivery and those blasted spider guts! Now, I’ll go shower, put on my new shirt and sit down to read my book a little. I’d make some hot chocolate but the milk is sour! Ewww!

My Empathic Heart Is In Pain

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I’m having a difficult time connecting with friends I once connected with, or so I thought. Looks like their sense of what is right and what is wrong has been highly compromised by their support of Donald Trump.

Normally, I accept differences of opinion but this goes far beyond a difference of opinion. This is more about a person’s moral compass. This about another side that was tucked away; away from others, away from me. I’m seeing a side of people I never knew before.

I have to remove myself from these people, these friends, because they’re tearing my heart out. Their racist remarks make me think ill of them. Their lack of compassion towards others breaks my heart. Their willful ignorance of the facts and touting “fake news” because the mighty orange one said so makes me want to scream. Their sources of information come from websites/articles not even written by professional journalists and they seek only sources that agree with what they already believe to be true.

These friends, some I have known most of my life and others maybe a decade or more (or less) think the Muslim women in Congress should “go back to where they came from” and they totally disregard that these women are AMERICAN CITIZENS! A person’s religion or skin color does NOT make them unAmerican.

There are those who believe every government conspiracy that comes across their Facebook feed in a meme without any fact-checking. And I don’t mean fact-checking on fly-by-night websites either! To research the truth, one must go to multiple sources and use critical thinking skills. Oh, wait. Some folks aren’t capable of critical thinking! They take what they are fed. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think the government, OUR government, is always truthful and transparent. However, just because you don’t understand how something happened doesn’t automatically shout cover-up!

Some friends believe that immigrants shouldn’t be helped. I know we can’t help them all, but the pure hatred some show and speak towards those fleeing from violence and oppression is terrifying to me. How can my friends be so hateful? And what about those affected by the hurricane in the Bahamas? Is there a reason why they shouldn’t be helped? They have nothing and we have everything!!

My empathic heart is in dreadful pain. It’s exhausted. I’m exhausted. I can’t bear to listen to or read another hateful word. So, I shall close myself off from those who cause me this pain. It’s bad enough to hear hatefulness spewing from a man who is supposed to represent this country. That man does not represent me.

grayscale photo of woman covering her mouth using her hands

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

 

A Shout Out!

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My circle of friends has always been small. Even when I was younger, from grade school to high school and beyond, I had only a few very close friends. It was easy for me to make friends, but I rarely fit in. It was just more comfortable for me to step away rather than to keep up the facade of belonging. Does that make sense? I kept friends who were ‘easy’ to be friends with; those who weren’t trying to keep up with others, those who marched to the beat of their own drum. They were different and so was I.

Since the explosion of Social Media, I have made some great friends whom I will most likely never meet in person. However, Social Media can be such a toxic place. Too many opinions, too much self-righteousness, hatred, intolerance, and definitely too much ignorance. It can be overwhelming and exhausting.

I have discovered over the past few years that the world of blogging is so much easier to manage. Yes, there are opinions, and all the things I mentioned above, but the engagement is different; the people are more welcoming and accepting of different opinions…and even if they don’t agree they rarely falter in their respectfulness, at least in my experience. More often than not, bloggers tend to be ‘nicer’ as if they were taught simple manners, where so many on Social Media are classless pigs.

I never expected to make such wonderful friends in the world of blogging. Never. And to think that a “professional” blogger once told me that it was a mistake to have a personal blog! If I had ended my blog at that point, instead of writing what I know (my life) I would have never made such great friends!

It takes me a great deal of time to compose a blog post, always concerned with the way I’ve tried to convey my thoughts. I sometimes feel that my words are sloppy or that perhaps someone will misunderstand what I’ve written. My blog friends are very supportive and I would have “hung it up” years ago if it weren’t for them.

This post is a shout out to those friends I’ve made here on WordPress. These are friends who have made me feel that what I have to say is important, even if they may not agree. They understand my struggles with chronic pain and mobility issues or what I’ve been through in the past. Some can identify with my weight loss struggles and others completely understand what my life was like when they read my Ex-Files series. Some have enjoyed Shit My Dad Says, while others wait patiently for the next chapter of my novel, Spike. (I promise I’ll get that next chapter out asap!)

I want to thank my readers, my friends, for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, and for being the great people you are! I absolutely appreciate you!

purple petaled flower and thank you card

Photo by Giftpundits.com on Pexels.com

Accepting Others For Who They Are

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It shouldn’t be hard to do. We are all human. We all want the same things in life; love, happiness, acceptance, excitement, success, and the list goes on.

I always wondered how I would feel if one of my children came out as gay or transgender. I had no clue how things would change and it was worrisome. I knew I would still love them, of course, but had no idea if life as we knew it would change into something unfamiliar. In the world we live in today, it’s not hard to imagine the danger and hatred someone coming out might experience.

My children are not gay or transgender, but a very close family member has just come out as transgender, whom I will refer to as X. I can only hope everyone has been accepting and non-judgemental towards X; from what I have seen I think it’s been quite positive. X has family and friends who have been very supportive. I can’t imagine the difficulties this young person must have gone through, and how magnified that would have been without the support of friends and family!

In 2015 there were 21 transgender deaths. In 2016, 23 deaths were reported. Last year, 25 transgender deaths in this country! If that’s not bad enough, these people, THESE HUMAN BEINGS, were killed by acquaintances or partners, and some by total strangers! Over 2/3 of homicide victims are transgender women. Oh, and transgender people of color are 6 times more likely to experience police violence.

I don’t know about you, but this is unacceptable. We are all human beings. Some are thin, some are fat. Some have long hair, some are bald. Some are blond, some are brunette. Some are white, some are black. Some are gay, some are straight. Some are transgender. Get over it. These people have rights, just as anyone else. They are not animals and shouldn’t be treated as such.

How would you feel if it were your child? Your niece or nephew? Your cousin? If you would denounce them, then you don’t deserve them! Accept them for who they are. Treat them as you always did. Love them unconditionally.

Why should it be any different? Family is family. A true friend stands by a friend no matter what. Be supportive. Be kind.

It may take some time getting used to, and you may mess up pronouns and/or use the wrong name. It may even be a bit uncomfortable, but LEARN to ACCEPT and LOVE everyone for who they are.

Aunt Debbie