Weekly Photo Challenge: Free Spirit

Locked Up Memory
I think my free spirit is in here ↑

Are you one? I certainly am not. I’m rigid, tense, and a “Type A” personality.  I would fantasize about being a free-spirited &  a “fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal”, to quote Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

I wanted to be free from agonizing over my bad skin and chubby thighs. I wanted to flirt with boys. I didn’t dare, because only pretty girls could get away with that. Boys always turn into Play Doh over pretty girls.

I was the friend of the pretty girl. Anyone who was/is the friend, knows the heartache and loneliness I’m speaking of. Being the friend SUCKS. Big Time.

Most boys were nice to me because they didn’t want me to bad-mouth them to my pretty friend. I did get asked out a few times in high school. These dates were accepted in order to appease my mother, who was starting to think I was a lesbian. None of these boys were the boy I wanted to ask me out. He and I did have many conversations though – they went like this:

Him: Do you have a pencil I can borrow?

Me: Oh, Sure.

– OR –

Him: Did you figure out the homework?

Me: I think so (I knew damn well I did, but I would not admit it), I’ll show you what I have.

I was tongue-tied around him, yet I would try to start-up a real conversation between us, unfortunately, by asking him stupid questions. At our lockers one day (we were in the same row – sigh…), I asked him “Do you have any Midol I could borrow?”  That is the kind of stupid I’m talking about, dear readers. Embarrassingly stupid.

All those memories came back, just thinking about being a “Free Spirit”.   Further proving I’m not one.

Yet.

Quote of the Day

I get overwhelmed by tasks that turn out to be more complex and difficult than I thought, which is most of them.  So, this little proverb helps me put things into perspective  🙂

.

The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small
stones.

— Chinese proverb

Bears Don’t Meditate In The Woods…

Firearms

I came across this poster today and it made me giggle. Not because it’s all that funny, but it was a reminder of my own encounter with a bear, armed only with my iPhone. The iPhone would have been more useful than a camera because I could dial 9-1-1. If I was at the top of the tree I could maybe get a bar or two. I am such an optimist! Or is it denial? I get those mixed up all the time.

The odds of any help getting there in time to rescue me are astronomical. Winning Lotto probably has better odds. Bears climb trees faster than grandmothers with acrophobia and a bad back.

Thankfully, my bear left the scene and I didn’t have to climb any trees that day. The next day, while enjoying my morning coffee, I see the bear again!  He is sitting by the same tree  No Way! I said out-loud to myself.   All Right – now this is just too much for even me to believe. Especially when he was back again the third day…

There must be some shadow/light combination that makes those trees look like a bear during breakfast. Sure enough, when I looked out the window an hour after breakfast, he wasn’t to be seen. I felt embarrassed, yet relieved, to discover my meditating bear was not real.  Now, if I really do see a bear, who will take me serious enough to check it out?  Not hubby or hubby’s friend.

Hubby has a gun safe in his shop. There are modern rifles, WWII era rifles, and various pistols locked in it. If I’m going to hike the trail into the forest by myself (cause hubby is too busy to go) I want to be armed with more than just my iPhone. More than imaginary Bear Repellent, even.

Well, dear readers, don’t y’all worry. Skittish grandmothers won’t be hiking through the Stanislaus National Forest with firearms. Dammit!

Hubby refuses to give me the combination.