Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Nolan riding his bike in the street under Daddy's supervision.

My mother might refer to me as a vagabond. And she may be partially right. I've never really felt "at home" anywhere I've lived.

But I prefer to think of myself as a free spirit, albeit a restless free spirit. I have written about my "flitting around" lifestyle even before I was living out of a suitcase, in a poem called, Gypsy Spirit - Bohemian Heart.

My restless spirit won't let me stay in one place for very long, and I've moved so many times over the course of my life that my mother has had to start new pages in her address book just to include me.

Spending time with relatives and friends means overnight trips for me, because almost everybody I love lives too far away from me. I can't see well enough to drive at night, so I have to be home before dusk. As a result, if I want to spend more than just a couple of hours with family and friends, I have to spend the night – and I love it.

Every time my son and his wife have called me out to San Diego or Quantico or wherever they are living, and every time relatives and friends have invited me to their homes, I drop everything I'm doing so that I can spend time with them (as long as they don't own cats or dogs {allergic}).

Today I leave a suitcase packed in my room at all times because I travel back and forth from Urbana to Bourbonnais every week, first to watch Audrey and Nolan in Urbana, then to watch Taylor, Kaden, and Zac in Bourbonnais.

People ask me, "How do you do that every week?" And I think to myself, how can I not? It appeals to my gypsy spirit, my bohemian heart, and my vagabond lifestyle.

Side Story: While I was packing my suitcase yesterday Audrey asked me if she and Nolan could ride their bikes in the street. Mommy and Daddy stand in the street with them and watch them ride their bikes, but Mommy and Daddy weren't home, and I'm not at all comfortable with them playing in the street with or without adults present, so I told her that no, they couldn't.

She kept insisting, but I really didn't have time. I was packing for my trip, washing my bedding, and trying to set up a DVR on my bedroom television set.

"P-L-E-A-S-E," Audrey insisted.

"Audrey, I really don't have time. I have to pack, I'm doing laundry, and Audrey, to be honest, I'm not at all comfortable with you and Nolan playing in the street."

Immediately Audrey offered some help, "I can get you a blanket."

And that completes Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, l.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

One of my favorite friends of all time, from the time we were in grammar school, is my Beatles-loving friend, Denise.

Her father, God rest his soul, drove two hysterical teenagers from the south suburbs of Chicago to Comiskey Park (White Sox Stadium) to watch the Beatles in concert one hot August day in 1965. I wrote about that experience in my article, Commemorating John Lennon's 70th Birthday, October 9, 2010: The Day John Lennon Waved at Me.

But beyond being Beatles buddies, Denise has always held a special place in my heart. Years and even months may pass, but we always manage to pick up where we left off.

One year, when she was pregnant with one of her sons, I recommended a name for him – Ker. She was not amused. Their last name was Plunk.

And that completes Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, K.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

I'm not really a fan of made-up jokes. I prefer natural humor, humor that just happens – reality humor – and comics who exaggerate funny incidents that really happened or that could happen, like Ellen does on her television show.

My favorite comics on Last Comic Standing related actual anecdotes from their own lives and then embellished them with amusing details. Reality is funny.

The makers of the predictive auto correct mode for our cell phones must have known that. Either that or they had backgrounds in the humor industry, too, because it appears that our predictive text messaging system has been playing jokes on us since it first came out with auto correct.

Today, Blog Reader, the joke is on you. Well not actually ON you – FOR you. If you have auto-correct on your smart phone, you'll enjoy reading Auto Correct Mode Makes For Funny Smart Phones Text Messages (click the link for some hilarious accidental text messages). WARNING: reading the links I've provided in that blog can be quite addictive, and you'll probably be able to relate to LOTS of them.

Like so many others who've looked at what they've written after they've pushed SEND, I have created HUGE text messaging mistakes. Every time Auto Correct changes my flawless ;) message into something that is sometimes X-rated(!), I have to ask myself if the creators of predictive auto correct foresaw what would happen.

Remember that old saying, "laughing all the way to the bank"? I think the inventors of predictive text did. And yeah, the joke is on us.

That completes Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, J. 


Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge
 

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Nolan, my 3-year-old grandson, is a movie freak. If he could, he would watch DVDs all day, every day.

Every morning, he searches through his parents' hundreds of DVDs to find one he wants to watch that day. Sometimes he sifts through my twenty or so DVDs to find his favorite.

My movies, the few I have, are almost exact duplicates of what his mom and dad already own, but mine are Grandma's, so somehow that makes my DVDs different and he sometimes wants to watch my DVDs.

The moment Nolan finds the movie he wants, he puts it into the DVD player and enters the magical world of whatever show he is watching.

So I was a little confused when he asked to watch "Idiots in the Attic." I had never seen "Idiots in the Attic," and I had never heard of "Idiots in the Attic." But I had to admit, I was quite amused by the title.

Brittney (his mom) and I laughed just thinking that somebody would create a movie entitled, "Idiots in the Attic." Then his mom realized that what he was trying to say was, Aliens in the Attic.

Yeah, Aliens in the Attic actually exists. Click the link to read about one of Nolan's favorite movies.

And that completes Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, I.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

So many times throughout my life, I hear the comment, "I just want to be happy," but what does happiness mean exactly?

The Oxford dictionary defines Happiness as a feeling of showing pleasure or contentment. Joy, on the other hand (from the same Oxford dictionary), is a feeling of GREAT (emphasis mine) pleasure and happiness.

How do you know when you're happy? Through smiles? Through laughter?

Apparently happiness comes through contentment. As we struggle through our days, focused on errands we have to run, meals we have to prepare, laundry we have to wash, children we have to bathe, groceries we have to buy, carpets we need to vacuum, counters we need to clean, jobs we have to complete, events we have to attend, and appointments we have to make, we lose ourselves in our day-to-day lives.

By Friday night, we are often too exhausted to feel happy – unless we have plans for the weekend. During the week, though, many of us feel depressed that every day we experience the same routine: get up, get ready, go to work, work all day, come home, work all evening, go to bed, get up…

But we are also often unaware of how lucky we are that we have errands to run, food to eat, clothes to wear, children to hug, and all of the other reasons we should feel blessed to be alive.

We need to pay more attention to those times we smile and laugh, and we need to recognize and take advantage of those moments that bring joy into our lives, because the more we focus on happiness and joy, the more joy and happiness we'll experience.

What would make YOU happy right now? Here is an example of one unexpected answer I received to that question:

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner one night, asking my grandchildren for suggestions, when my phone vibrated with a text message from my oldest daughter, Keeley, wanting to know what the road conditions would be like for her on her four hour trip.

My grandson, Kaden, was talking to me at the same time, trying to resolve the what-to-have-for-dinner dilemma, insisting that all of my dinner problems would be resolved if only we had Chinese for dinner. I kept telling him, WHILE I was texting Keeley, that neither his mother nor I could afford Chinese.

As I continued to check road conditions for the town my daughter was passing through on her way to Bourbonnais (her destination from West Frankfort), my phone rang. It was my son, so I interrupted the text to take the phone call.

After my son and I talked for a few minutes, Greg asked to talk to his kids. Only Kaden and Zac were home, so before I put them on, I said to Greg's sons, as I walked toward them holding the phone, "I have a surprise for you. What do you think it is? What would make you really happy right now?"

Fully expecting them to notice the phone in my hand, and hoping Greg could hear his sons say, "My daddy! My daddy!" what happened instead – and I shouldn't have been surprised – was Kaden's response: "Chinese."

I have to tell you, that comment brought a smile to my face and laughter to my voice. Smiles and laughter give me joy. And experiencing joy makes me happy.

That completes Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, H.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Growing up, my sisters and I weren't allowed to sit at the grownup table. The first time I was invited to sit with the adults was after I had already given birth to my oldest daughter.

I was living with my parents when they called me to join them at the GROWNUP table. I panicked. Sitting with the GROWNUPS was my cousin, who was my age (his wife had also given birth that year – our babies were only 3 months apart), my aunt, my uncle, and my parents.

My discomfort was probably more than just a little apparent when I said NOTHING to ANYBODY the WHOLE TIME. I felt like an alien, who spoke a completely different language, dropped onto this planet and forced to communicate in the language of GROWNUP.

I was terrified. What if I said something stupid? What if nobody understood me? What if GROWNUP language was different from ORDINARY PEOPLE language? So I grabbed my baby and talked to her.

Years later, you would still find me on the floor playing with the babies (we have lots of them in our family). Out of habit, I tend to stick with the kids. Though I must confess, I'm now more comfortable with adults than I was years ago (took me over 50 years), and I can now speak to adults in coherent sentences.

As I end this blog, I have only one request for parents – please ask you kids to join you in adult conversations BEFORE they turn 18 – PLEASE!

And that completes Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, G.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

FAMILY – parents, grandparents, siblings, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear dear FRIENDS who just happen to have different parents.

In my mind, when I think of family, I tend to glorify days of old. I imagine people spreading out their table cloths, inviting family and friends for dinner, cooking giant meals, sitting and praying together, and then congregating on their huge wrap-around front porches, Grandpa on his rocking chair, cousin Billy strumming his six string, Grandma and all the females talking while cleaning up the messes, and little kids playing on the ground around the porch.

However, we didn't have a large front porch. All of our grandfathers died by the time I was six, and cousin Billy never played the guitar. I have completely romanticized my childhood. Except for the parts about the women cleaning up (while the men watched football or baseball or threw horseshoes in the back yard) and the kids running around (a common occurrence), the rest of it was pure fiction.

But in thinking about family and friends, I've realized that we often take family and friends for granted. Empty promises – "Let's get together soon," become filled with soccer practice, dentist appointments, work meetings, and a variety of other functions that pull people in every direction but toward the most meaningful situations they could experience.

One day we turn around and retirement swallows us whole. "What happened to my life?" we wonder. Where did it go?

It went to soccer practices, dentist appointments, work meetings, and a variety of other functions that prevented us from truly connecting with loved ones.

Family and friends deserve our love, our affection, our respect, and our attention. And it is up to us to recognize that we need them as much as they need us.

From this day forward I vow to reserve dates in my calendar for my Family and my Friends. I hope I never again hear myself saying, "Let's get together soon" without having a specific date in mind to follow through with our get-together.

I just recently got together with my mother, one of my daughters, and a dear, dear friend of mine. I rarely get to see Nancy, so the day was very special for me. That my mother and one of my daughters were there, too, made it all the more special.

Call your friends. Call your family. Make time to be together. Yesterday I was 19. Today I'm nearing 60. Take time before time takes you – or one of your loved one.

And that completes Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, F.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen