Author: JodiLea

I don't pretend to be who/what I'm not. I will be honest here unless I publish under the category "This could be news," which is 99% fiction and a wee bit sarcastic. ;-) I want readers who come here to have as much fun as I do. Not all subjects can be fun, but most can be funny if I do my job right ;-) My inner child is reflected in my logo and will change at a moment's notice.

Dates of Historical Significance

~ JodiLea

“Star Date: December 15, 1984,” begins a post by one of my favorite bloggers – Bitter Ben.
Out of curiosity, I looked that date up in my journal. Yes, like Captain Kirk, I kept logs.

Even my therapist was “amazed” at the stacks of journals I owned up to. Some were in wire-bound notebooks – the early years. Later on, I got addicted to nicely bound journals (usually found at Ross) that looked like any of the other books on my bookshelves. No one knows that I am still writing in them. This is more effective protection than locked diaries that draw attention to themselves because they are locked and presumably full of secrets.

So, searching for Ben’s special date, I re-discovered some of my own in the search through my past. August 8th, 2008 (8/8/08) – I am descending into a serious depression and don’t know it. I am freaking out about being overwhelmed at work AND home – I have too much to do for one person in the allotted time. To save money, my project is not allowing overtime. The dude in charge of customer support (tech support that I care for) retired. He will not be replaced. Translation: Jodi will have to do (or delegate) everything. The “new” girl takes over the tasks that the retired guy left behind and starts to boss me around. She works for me. She probably senses that I am losing it.

Man! Reading those logs made me nervous. Was I really that close to a nervous breakdown? Oh, yes. No wonder hubby wanted to retire ASAP. I must have been driving him crazy, griping about work constantly. I caught on to the depression factor when I stopped wearing make-up and getting my hair done.

In 2007 and 2008, I probably would have given into depression if it was not for my granddaughter, then a toddler of 3 years, loving me. The knock-you-down kind of love that they express when they see you and run full out to hug you. Agape. The Spanish word for the purest and unmotivated/unselfish love.

August 8, 2023 – (8/8/23) Maui caught fire, and Lahaina was destroyed. I had our 35th-anniversary trip all planned out. Guess where?
What is it about August 8th? I need to do some research about that date to see if it shows up in my historical records again. My hysterical records are probably a more fitting description.

Thanks for listening!

To be continued…

Midweek Weirdness

~ JodiLea

I hate the term “hump day” – a pet peeve I’ve had since childhood.
Why am I telling y’all this? I have no idea. It has been a weird day today (Tuesday). I need a vacation in the worst way, and so does my husband. I had our 35th wedding anniversary trip all planned and confirmed. We were going to stay in Maui – our original honeymoon location.

Then tragedy struck, and Lahaina was gone. I spent the past few days mourning and unable to come to terms with the fact that I needed to start from square one for a new location. I started thinking about Baja & Cabo, and when I woke up today, I got on my computer and began to change my reservations. I was on hold for many minutes several times this morning.

Please pray that nothing bad happens to Cabo San Lucas.

Please.

Brain, Interrupted

~ JodiLea

I realize I am stressed out by the way others react to me.
Daughter: “Chill, Mom.”
Granddaughter: “Can I help you, Grandma?”
Husband: “Calm Down.” (the poor man has not learned in 35 years)

I can no longer blame my job for the stress because I’m retired. Truth be told, I am the cause of my own stress. It doesn’t matter what I am stressing about – it’s everything. There is way too much clutter spinning around in my brain. I decide I will do these things today and get them done. I write these things in my daytimer. I should look at my daytimer more often during the day. The day somehow gets away from me, and here I am, rewriting the tasks for tomorrow.

For example, take yesterday. Things began well. I virtually attended the Sunday meeting because I had issues with my denture. I rushed to get out of my jammies and into one of my favorite summer dresses. When the meeting ended, hubby wanted to turn in the patrol car he had signed out for the weekend. This meant I had to drive downtown to the fire station and pick him up. Great! I should have mail at the post office next door to the firehouse. And I did.

My little PO box was full of mail, a dress, and an undergarment. 2 lockbox keys yielded 3 large boxes from Amazon. I chastised myself for not waiting to get the mail until I had picked hubby up. I made 3 trips to my car because I had to carry my keys in one hand. I knew my dress had pockets, but I could not find them. This was because my dress was inside-out. Sigh. What else was wrong, I wondered. I never even looked in the mirror before leaving the house. Disheveled is a kind way of putting it. Of course, hubby did not comment. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him.

When we got home I was exhausted. All that brain activity wore me out. I had planned to quilt and do some organizing, but had to move those things over to today. So far I am writing and waiting for the dentist’s office to call me back. At least my dress is right-side out.

Oh, in case you are curious, I decided on shopping.