An Ode to Mom

March 20, 2011 ~ JodiLea

In case you wondered where the #@!! I’ve been, or if I flaked out of the postaday2011 challenge, I assure you that you haven’t read the last of me. I spent last week at my mother’s bedside instead of my laptop. I can blog anytime, but mom would soon be gone forever.

This week I have the time to blog, but I am writing something else. An Obituary. Mom passed away on Tuesday, so I am already behind on this assignment. Sunday’s local newspaper will have one obit. I am writing a different obit for mom’s hometown newspaper in West Virgina. She has family and many friends back there who deserve to know.

I knew my mom since I was a little kid, so this should be a snap, right? Ha!

I think the closer you are to someone the harder it gets. Perhaps you know too much and the problem is narrowing it all down. And how much is enough? I could not afford to write all I wanted to in California ($7.00 per 25 characters). West Virginia had a flat rate for whatever you wanted to send them, so guess who will read more and see a photo to boot?

The obits are almost identical. A couple of things were left out and some added to the one being published in West Virginia. I needed to filter out stuff that her kin would not approve of her [women] doing (i.e., gambling, fast cars …). I also added the High School she graduated from.

Don’t forget about the most important part of an obituary: the survivor list. Why must we be recognized in an obituary?. Because we are stuck here without our dearly departed (who are not going to read the newspaper anyway), and we want everyone to know we’re hurting.

I love and miss you mom!

Nita McGuire — Nita Joyce (Browning) McGuire 1937 - 2011

I Know What You’re Thinking

March 9, 2011 ~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

The Thinker Topic #65: “If you could read minds for a day, would you?” Hell yes! I would LOVE to read minds. Can I have more than one day? What a wonderful opportunity to check out how other people think about stuff, what thoughts pop into their heads, and most importantly, are they as nutty as I am?

Finding out how people really feel about me would be scary, but worth all the other things I would find out. I am a very ~~curious~~ nosy gal. I inherited this trait from mom, along with weak teeth and shapely legs. (All three traits have gotten me into trouble now and then.)

Knowing which co-workers I annoyed would be useful information. So would being able to keep 2 steps ahead of my boss. My sister would love me to stop asking her questions all the time. Getting info from her is like prying the remote control away from mom. Speaking of which, reading mom’s thoughts would save her a lot of breath and effort now.

Being able to know what my hubby is thinking would be so helpful. Every time I ask him, “whatcha thinkin’?”. He answers with “Nothing”. According to him, he never thinks. I know this is not true. He just doesn’t want to tell me what he is thinking about. Drives me crazy!

Reading minds would keep me out of trouble. Did you know that some forms of nosiness are actually felonies? Trust me on this one.

The Spring Cometh..

March 6, 2011 ~ JodiLea

Daisy This morning was perfect. Warm, no cold breezes, and clear blue skies. I doubled the length of my usual walk (1 lap around the block) before I realized it. So I walked a third lap because I was having such a good time, and I wanted to finish the song playing on my iPod.

Just an hour’s dose of spring and I am compelled to vacuum out my laptop and sterilize the keyboard and mouse. While doing this I vow to never, ever eat while working again. I may even keep that vow for a couple of weeks this time. It was so gross!

After my little electronic world was clean I moved on to the bathroom sink. I was going to get rid of the clog from Hell today. Two major applications of drain cleaning chemicals later, we can now achieve hot water before the sink fills up. Mission accomplished!

Between fighting crumbs and clogs I did laundry. I started boxing up clothes I didn’t think I would wear in the next 2 weeks. And organize my suitcase. My suitcase looks lived in (and it has been for the past 9 months), and hiding behind the couch were more clothes. Some of them tossed towards the dirty laundry pile, and others folded up and neglected because of weather. Mom will be proud – I finally cleaned my room!

Then I took a 2-hour nap. It was fabulous. I will miss nap time when I have to work in my real office again. The fever will really get bad when I move back home. The weeds I pulled in January will have grown back even bigger than before and I will sit at my PC, looking out my office window, wishing I was in my yard pulling them.

Oh crap. I know what is wrong with me. I have Spring Fever. It used to take at least a few days of springy weather to catch it. Now in a matter of hours it chases me down and infects me.

No antibiotics will cure The Fever. I must let it run its course and accept the fact that my persona with OCD-like seriousness about cleanliness and organizing stuff will be in charge for a while.

I need to warn my family.