My entire family is insane.

February 21, 2021 – Where’d my mojo go?

I’ve looked all over the house. I’ve checked every closet, every cabinet, every cupboard. I pulled out all of the canned goods and boxes of cereal and looked behind them. I removed every garment one-by-one to see if it had nestled between them. I looked inside each shoe and boot to determine if it had coiled up and took a long nap inside one of them (just like my son’s snake did). No luck! I climbed through the access panel in the ceiling and crawled into the attic. Other than some cobwebs, a digital antenna, a couple of boxes, and a lot of blown insulation, I came up empty. The crawl space, predictably damp, dirty and disgusting, was even more disappointing. There was a lot more going on in the crawl space but nothing related to my mojo. I almost wish I hadn’t gone down there because as a result of so many face-to-face encounters with creepy crawlers, I can look forward to nightmares for weeks to come.

February 20, 2021 – The beauty of anonymity.

Have you ever thought about what it must be like to be a celebrity or a public servant or someone widely known based on their talent or stature? Personally, it sounds awful. To face public scrutiny continually because you’re ‘famous’ for one reason or another? No, thanks! I know there has to be an ‘upside’ to it all but I cannot imagine that it outweighs the ‘downside’. I kid you not, when I pulled up my email account today, several of the ‘news’ articles that were featured on the main page were about different people facing some type of scandal because of their public lives. There was Kevin Federline’s take on Britney Spears’ conservatorship, Ellen Degeneres discussing how her wife kept her anchored during her scandal last year, Fox News ripping Ted Cruz for fleeing to Cancun during the recent deadly storm, Bill Gates weighing in on Trump’s possible permanent Facebook ban, and the domestic violence allegations involving Marilyn Manson taking a new turn.

February 19, 2021 – Snow Daze

I’m not sure about you, but I feel like I’ve been transported to Siberia. The snow just keeps coming, even when the sun comes out. It makes no sense at all! I am beginning to understand why people become ‘Snow Birds’. If I had the money, I would, too. Speaking of birds, I think my 3 amigos (hummingbirds) are really beginning to question their decision to stick around here instead of heading to Mexico or Central America for the winter. Just as I did, they must have thought we were going to have a mild winter but have learned otherwise (the hard way). I don’t know how they’re managing to stay alive, but so far, so good. I just keep rotating out their syrup and ensuring it doesn’t freeze so they don’t starve to death. Anyway, when I see snow, I see work coupled with annoyance! It’s not like when I was a kid and snow meant no school + loads of fun.

February 18, 2021 – Change is hard!

My life has been in a constant state of transition since my transplant. I am trying to do better and be better and not merely ‘exist’ any longer. The thing is, ‘existing’ is easy. It requires very little effort. Before my transplant, a typical day consisted of going through the motions, eating, sleeping, ‘waste’ management, and whatever else I wanted to do that required minimal effort. Watching the ‘boob tube’ (my stepdad’s word for television) probably came in second to sleep. I could lose hours, even days, lounging in front of the TV and binge-watching movies or television shows. A ‘triple feature’ night was not uncommon in my household, although I was the only one that seemed to get excited about watching three movies back-to-back. I have seen so many movies that I have lost track. In recent months, I have found myself reverting back to my old ‘viewing’ habits. I am pretty sure it all started around Thanksgiving, the holiday that reminds me that Christmas is just around the corner.

February 17, 2021 – Excuses, excuses.

Alright, my friends, I have decided it’s time to stop making excuses. As hard as it is for me to step up and agree to participate in something, I am actually going to say ‘yes’ this time. Right now, I rarely leave the house and unfortunately, I’m beginning to prefer being home to being ‘out in the world’. Even though I find staying home for inordinate amounts of time quite enjoyable, it’s not healthy. People need people. And today, while I was in the middle of viewing another episode of ‘Community’, a show I absolutely love and just discovered, one of my tribe members called and left a message. In the message, she asked if I’d be interested in rejoining the art gallery and told me it’s time to ‘put down the pen’ and ‘pick up the paintbrush’. Sigh. I love my ‘pen’ (which is actually a keyboard and so much better than a pen), and I already made a commitment to post on my blog daily for 365 days straight.

February 16, 2021 – The advantages of owning a used car.

Do you own a used car and it’s still got a little ‘life’ left in it? Do yourself a favor, unless you’re taking it to the shop continuously for repairs, hang onto that gem! Yes, there are serious incentives to purchasing new vehicles. When you drive a new vehicle off the lot, what a rush! The car looks and smells amazing. You feel powerful when you get behind the wheel and take it for a spin. It starts right up when you turn the key and oh, baby, it runs like a dream when you take it out on the road! Your ‘old beater’ has got nothing on this beauty! Unlike your ‘old beater’, everything works like it should. There are no more ‘doors that stick’ or ‘wonky locks’ or stained upholstery that (no matter how many times you’ve had your vehicle’s interior detailed) refuses to come clean. Your new car’s interior and exterior is pristine, inside and out. There are no scratches or dings or nicks or dents. It is truly a sight to behold!

February 15, 2021 – When things don’t go as planned.

As some of you may know by now, sometimes my big mouth gets me into trouble. I like to refer to it as ‘open mouth, insert foot disease’. If I didn’t have a big brother that also suffers from this ‘condition’, I imagine I’d feel pretty alone in the world; however, because I do, I’m comforted knowing that it isn’t just me getting myself into predicaments since apparently I don’t know how to stop when I’m ahead. There are at least two of us. I’ve mentioned before how I’ve been ‘afflicted’ with this condition since I was very young. My brother (Clover) and I have nearly the same bizarre sense of humor so it’s no wonder he gets into as much trouble as I do because of his oversized orifice. In case you need clarification, I’m referring to the one on his face, the one directly below his nose. Just as I have, he’s had people accuse him of unbelievable things that were completely out of character, but because he often says things that don’t ‘land well’ or he snickers at the wrong time, he tends to become the fall guy.

February 14, 2021 – Entitlement

I’m talking about a rather ambivalent word today, ‘Entitlement’. One way to define it is ‘having a right to something’. I have no problem with that; that’s a good thing. We all have a right to certain things. According to the International Bill of Rights, each and every human on this planet has 1) The right to equality and freedom from discrimination, 2) The right to life, liberty, and personal security, 3) Freedom from torture and degrading treatment, 4) The right to equality before the law, 5) The right to a fair trial, 6) The right to privacy, 7) Freedom of belief and religion, and 8) Freedom of opinion. That’s not the type of ‘Entitlement’ I’m referring to. The aforementioned rights are reasonable and every human being that resides on this planet should be afforded those rights. What I’m referring to is the type defined as ‘the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment’. That is when the word takes an ugly turn.

February 13, 2021 – Natural Born Prankster

We all need levity once in a while, especially at work. Day after day, we spend hours alongside our coworkers, working side-by-side on an assortment of tasks or projects in order to earn a living. Often what we do is physically exhausting or mentally exhausting and sometimes both. I’ve been fortunate throughout my life because nearly every job I’ve had has been indoors. With the current cold spell, I cannot imagine having to do anything outside. When I was out walking the dog earlier today, as I rounded the corner, I saw some men working on a construction project at my neighbor’s home. Another mile down the road, I came across yet another group of men repairing someone’s roof. When I witness people out trying to earn a living in the bitter cold, I feel so incredibly fortunate. And let me tell you, it was cold today. The ‘high’ was 23 degrees!

February 12, 2021 – All Creatures Great and Small

I think I made a terrible mistake! The last two days have gotten so cold that all of the syrup has frozen solid in the hummingbird feeders that I have dispersed throughout my yard. I keep bringing them inside until the syrup turns from a solid to a liquid but it’s below 20 degrees today and no matter what I do, the syrup keeps freezing. I went on the internet for answers and there are a few things I can do, but had I been a responsible ‘birder’ in the first place, I wouldn’t even be in this predicament. If I had done my research and removed the hummingbird feeders in late fall, my three resident hummingbirds would have migrated south along with their other fine, feathered friends and living the good life. But because I didn’t educate myself as I should have, my three amigos have decided to stay put and should anything happen to them (i.e.; freezing to death or starving), it’s going to be my fault! And I’ll never forgive myself.