One Less Person To Miss

I just have to tell you.  I am having another love affair.  With FACEBOOK!  I wrote a post last year about Facebook and how I feel about it, has not changed.  It is a place I visit to have fun - catch up with friends, express myself, catch a giggle or two (sometimes a belly laugh), discover new books, music and most importantly - to connect.

Now, amongst my 194 Facebook friends (like --- aren't I so POPULAR?!) I am friends with about 15 people I went to high school with and maybe 6-7 I went to college with.  Each "friend" discovery was a joyful one.  But Sunday evening, during a moment of boredom lull in the Superbowl game I was half watching, I checked my email on my iphone and got a HUGE dose of JOY.  There was a Facebook email from a woman girl I went to high school with, who I absolutely loved being friends with but hadn't seen since the days leading up to high school graduation over 35 years ago.  I experienced a surreal BURST of JOY.  I couldn't believe it.

I immediately emailed her back, became Facebook friends and we caught each other up as quick as we could.  In the days following, I was transported back to high school several times.  I felt her presence from deep inside me and continued to catch little butterfly flutters of joy each time I thought about our re-connection and possible planned reunion.

As I was writing this blog post and found myself describing the last time I saw her - "...but hadn't seen since the days leading up to high school graduation over 35 years ago.", I experience a wee bit of sadness. Why do we do things like that?  Why is it when we are young (especially), we spend months, years even a decade or more with people we call our friends and then casually let them slip away.  I mean, I know I consciously didn't end my friendship with my girlfriend, Rodney.  I just moved on - without her...and I don't think I even gave it a second thought - till now.

Anyway -  the joy wasn't just in re-connecting.  I've re-connected with many people from my past and caught little split seconds of joy about finding them again and having a little window into their lives.  The real joy was that re-connecting with her touched me so deeply.  I actually realized something.

I had missed her all these 35 years.

And where there should have been sadness at that realization?  Actually - there was more Joy than I can describe.  Why?  You ask?

Because I don't have to move on without her again.  Even if we don't revive the friendship to that old level of two teenage girls getting through high school together, I'm ok.  Because she's on Facebook!  And we are friends again!

I will "see" you soon Rod!  So glad we are back together again! ♥♥♥

    

A Bad Day of Fishing...

I was looking for a blank CD tonight and look at the surprise JOY I found.

 God, I love that kid.

Mount Clothesmore

So a year and 9 months ago, I was whining about how much laundry I have.  I have 2 boys - 11 & 9, soon to be 10 and my daughter will be 9 in 9 days.  Wow - look at all the 9s!  Boys take clothes out of drawers and closets and throw them on the floor if they don't work and continue searching.  My daughter just wears too many clothes!!!!  The end result is the same.  To steal a phrase from my friend Missy - MOUNT CLOTHESMORE!

So my girlfriend Karen advised me that the only way to keep up with laundry is to wash a load a day.  Who woulda thunk it?  A lifetime of doing laundry and that never entered my mind!  Duhhhhh.  I was washing clothes all weekend and being MISERABLE.  Never catching up.  Always stressed and feeling like a failure.  I guess I never thought of it because my mother washed clothes on the weekend. (and there were FIVE of us kids!)  I think that's all she did all weekend...

So on that April day in 2009, I started doing a load a day and I have to say - JOY.  Except when I miss a day or two -- NON-joy.  I am obsessive about washing, drying and putting away THAT day.  Life became soooo much easier when I started this routine.

Well - the other night I was out with my chicas (yesssss - cornbag night...) and we were discussing laundry.  I was commenting about my obsessiveness with laundry - that I hang almost every piece of clothing to obviate the act of pulling clothes out of drawers and crumpling them up and stuffing them back in.  (  That is - if I'm lucky and don't find them on the floor pretending to be dirty clothes.)

My chicas were astounded.  They couldn't believe that I put clean clothes away.  Or didn't at least make my kids responsible for it (no way - I'd lose my mind if I tried to do THAT!)

To my shock and delight, most admitted that their families lived out of the laundry room!  Piles of clean clothes decorate their laundry rooms 24/7.  Many said clean clothes never make it to the bedroom.  I was feeling like, "Wow - this is a dirty little secret!"  I had no idea.  Was I crazy making myself crazy doing laundry and putting clothes away????  Are their lives less stressed because of this protest of sorts?

But NO!  I would truly lose my mind if that was what I did.  I have heart failure when I walk into my laundry room and there is a basket of unfolded clean clothes.  But PILES????!!!!!  Just commit me - seriously kittens - it would put me over the edge.

Then one said it.  And the rest agreed.

"But I change all the beds every Saturday."

YOU DOOOOOOO????  Ohhhhhhhhh, uhuh, yup...

Hey!  Have you ever made up a set of bunkbeds????  All right then...

Crazy

I can't believe I have been LABORING with the old "editor" and couldn't figure out why putting together a blog post was such a PAIN!!!!!  I've still been writing in html speak!

I think there may be a little more joy when writing my posts from now on!

I'm so joyful that I am going to share some more internet art!  And in case you are wondering why I pick certain "art"?  Only one criteria - it has to stir something inside me...







You know how much I love the blues...cornflower, periwinkle, indigo, morning glory, aqua, teal (yes, I love blue green too)









This reminds me of Block Island.












This is an Indigo Bunting.  I saw one ONCE!!!!  So beautiful!

I just love this one.  That's why it's here!  (Oh wait - that's why they are all here!  Oh well...)

Aqua and Indigo!  Great combo!

So that's it. The new editor IS easier. But it wasn't
perfect. Or maybe I'm the imperfect one...

Joy is a Net of Love By Which You Can Catch Souls

Do you see that title up at the top of this post? (It is a quote from Mother Teresa.)

I think it might be true! My "net" seems to be catching souls! A few posts ago I told you the "Believe" stories and in my last post I told you about the Joy napkins and over Christmas I received no less than 5 JOY ornaments.

Last week, my friend Judy sent me this photo. Here's what she said:

"Joey, This is on the wall near my computer desk. As I was reading your blog tonight, I happened to notice it. (It's been up there so long...) Now, when I see it, I'll think of you!"

And a few days ago my friend Lynn, who has been immersed in leading her mother through open heart surgery and recovery, wrote me this:

"Joey - my mom is my joy today!"

Last September, my friend Aileen wrote me that ever since she started reading my blog, she tries to always keep the phrase "Catch the joy" in her head so that she watches for those joy moments.

I'm thinking I am having a big ole net full of catch! I, of course, caught joy from each and every catch in my net. Pretty amazing how contagious this can be! Please forgive me if I have missed mentioning a few other "catches" in my net - you know, that age/memory thing!

So, if you go back to my original first blog post, you will recall that while you may not necessarily live a life filled to the brim with joy - life is filled with moments. And you can have 1 joy moment in a day or 1 joy moment in a week, but you needed to savor that moment because that is all you are getting until the next one comes along.

The point is, if you aren't looking to catch a joy moment, then you will miss it. I think my net is catching souls who maybe, just maybe, are on the lookout for those sometimes allusive joy moments. The cool thing about that is, now they each have a net of love trolling their world. And isn't their world part of the world? Ya dig?

And for those who haven't made it into the net yet, "keep knocking, and the Joy inside will eventually open a window and look out to see who's there."

And The Week Isn't OVER

This week is crazy. We've had two snowstorms in 2 days - one a snowmagedden. We have 3 feet on the ground. I do not recall ever having 3 feet on the ground! Amongst the craziness, this week I:

Went to a fitness seminar

talked w/Lori Bootcamp non-stop for 1.5 hours each way

learned something about home insurance

moaned about being very sore

reveled in being very sore

washed even more bedding

made soup

trained beautiful women

laughed

played scrabble

texted with my lovies

worked out

woke up to an unexpected snowstorm

ate hershey kisses

canceled too many classes

yelled at my kids

shoveled snow

did I mention washed more bedding

bought a new microwave

did I mention Scrabble

had coffee "and", with Diane

ate quiche

didn't read - sniff

cleaned closets and drawers

laughed with Lynn

did I mention hershey kisses

discovered beautiful, inspiring blogs

watched 2 beautiful snow storms

laundry, laundry, laundry

kissed my dog ALOT

went back to using a paper calendar

made yummy shrimp tacos

worked on my relationship with my cat

cried

worked out again

washed drapes

complained about school snowdays

missed someone

saw TWO pileated woodpeckers

found a new wrinkle

was grateful

laughed at myself

had a long discussion inside my head

loved

contemplated my reading hiatus

watched my beloved Parenthood

more laundry

pretended to love a new wrinkle

Just stuff...

and of course, I caught joy!

PS - Joy is beginning to spread. I will blog about that soon. But know that my friends are starting to connect me with joy! And you know what? I think - they might be catching some as a result. My friend Joan sent me this pic and message the other day:

This is for you, Joey...I just realized the napkins I bought for the Parent-Child Dance were made for you! Check it out!

And you know I caught joy from that!

If You Can't Stand The Heat...

If you saw me right now, you would tell me to close my mouth because quite frankly? It's STILL hanging open. Never mind OMG.

OH

MY

GOD!!

So - this is the scoop. Last Thursday night, not to be DRAMATIC or anything BUT - I almost killed my family. (who meeeee dramatic??? I prefer to be called "colorful" - thank you very much.) but...

DID TOO ALMOST KILL THEM!!!!

Is anyone familiar with a cornbag? Ok - so for those who are not, it is a cloth bag filled with corn (not popcorn smartasses) that you warm in a microwave for 2-5 minutes and then you can use it in a variety of different ways. For example, you can use it on an aching back. You can put it in your bed and warm your freezing feet (my personal favorite) and actually you can freeze it too and use it as a cold pak. (Funny that this cornbag photo to your left has flames on it! You will see why in a minute. Yikes!!!)

Anyway - I threw it in the microwave and instead of punching in FIVE minutes, I inadvertently punched in FIFTY minutes. 20 minutes later my house was filled with toxic smoke, my kids were awaken out of a sound sleep, choking and could not breathe and the nightmare began. Long story short - I opened all the windows, got the smoke out, went to bed, only to wake at 5am to a house filled with smoke AGAIN and a cornbag combusting away in the microwave. As soon as my husband went to remove the offensive evidence from the microwave, it BURST into flames. Aghhhhhhhh.

We were left with a hideous, toxic odor in the house that literally made us sick. We spent 2 days buying and trying everything we could to erradicate the smell. Unfortunately, it was embedded in the carpets, bedding, drapes, clothing...just an insurmountable amount of work. Speaking of bedding, ironically, I had just taken 13 blankets and comforters to the laundry mat that very day of the fire. (Now THAT was a sight to see. I haven't been in a laundry mat since 1984! Do you think I even know how to "work" the laundry mat? Don't ask. Only ME...)

Anyway, I have spent the last 5 days tackling one room at a time, washing EVERYTHING. I feel like I have gotten alot of the smell out of the house but we keep running into pockets of that horrid, putrid smell. The microwave is ruined and the whole wall that the oven and microwave is built in to REEKS. And yet, what appears to be an amazing thing - has happened.

On Friday, I called my insurance agent and they kind of made me feel like I was being a babypoo-poo'd what happened a little bit and said they were very busy with all the roofs caving in from our wonderful winter of snow and ice and it would be a while before an adjuster would get back to me. Me - being the meek, humble girl that I am, (oh you be quiet all you naysayers!) I was like, "ok! no problem!"

Yesterday I got a facebook email from my friend, Aileen, encouraging me to call them back. She explained that she had been in a similar situation and the insurance company paid for a complete cleaning of her house to clear the smoke out of everything and also they replaced appliances etc. Well - after 5 days of attacking this problem and feeling like I was on a treadmill, I decided to push the insurance company. Couldn't they just come in and clean the ceilings that were smoke damaged?

Well!!! OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!

Who knew there was a whole other dimension to insurance claims then just calling the agent? Without going into boring detail, I am not only getting my house completely cleaned from top to bottom - carpets, walls, ceilings, bedding, all clothing (and I mean ALL clothing - every stitch from every closet) and drapes dry cleaned, I may get even more! We are negotiating new cabinets & appliances. WHATTTTTT??????????? I KID you not!

Do you even NEED to ask where the JOY is in this situation????? I am positively giddy!!!

As an aside - Aileen is someone I met wayyyy back in 1984. Actually, I knew who she was way back in high school! But she does not remember me in high school although I remember her cuz she was very cool!! (those schnows! Secret code!) Anyway - for a few years after college, I ended up in a community where my abode was behind her abode. We didn't socialize or really know each other well but spoke occasionally and waved. We actually worked in the same place but not at the same time during those years. So it is very amazing to me that we have become facebook friends and forged a connection these past 2 years. We seem to be a bit kindred!

So Aileen, thank you sooooo much! If you hadn't written me volumes in your emails today, about your personal experience (and I mean volumes, folks!), if you hadn't continued to push me with every email, I never would have made the follow-up call to the insurance agent. I honestly thought we were on our own for this one. So if nothing else, I'm getting my house scrubbed and sterilized!!! Let's see what else! You rock, girlfriend!♥♥♥