Category: Junk Drawer

A Collection of Collections

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment
A veritable plethora of collections

Most everyone collects some thing or another. Some people collect stamps, some collect antique cars and some collect shells. Many people collect many different things, and you wouldn’t be taken aback if someone told you, “I just added the best Simpsons stamp to my stamp collection.” However, you might politely excuse yourself from talking with someone if s/he said, “Today, I found the coolest fingernail to add to my collection!” Actually, if someone were to tell you about their fingernail collection, you might spit out the beverage you were sipping and run away. Fast.

Yes, some collections are better received than other collections. I ended my Bells and Bunnies post mentioning the Tooth Fairy, which made me realize my son is nearing the age where he will begin losing his baby teeth. As I considered my son losing his teeth, I wondered how my husband and I would handle the whole ‘Tooth Fairy” thing. I also wondered if I would keep the baby teeth my boys lose. I vaguely recall coming across a collection of baby teeth in my Mom and Dad’s room. I know the baby books my Mom put together of my siblings and me contained locks of hair.

Collecting and saving baby teeth and locks of baby hair seems a common practice. I have not saved any locks of hair from the boys, and it remains to be seen whether or not I’ll save the boys’ baby teeth. However, I do have the boys’ belly button stubs. (Should I have warned you prior to sharing?) Why do I have a ‘collection’ of belly button stubs? I haven’t a clue why I kept the stubs. Perhaps it is part of the delirium of parenting newborns. Sleepless nights can make for the start of crazy collections. You pregnant Moms out there – consider yourself warned.

I wonder. Will Joe come to me at the age of say – 17 – and say, “Hey Mom! Do you still have my belly button stub? I want to show it to my girlfriend.” One can only assume that the girlfriend would soon become an ex-girlfriend, screaming in horror as she runs out the front door. “That’s odd.” Joe would say, while watching her run away. “My buddy, Jeff, thought it was really cool.” I can only hope that Charlie would be nearby during the ‘belly button stub sharing’ incident, so he wouldn’t make the same mistake with his girlfriend. Then again, he might use it to rid himself of an annoying girlfriend.

Rest assured, two belly button stubs are not the only thing I have collected over the years. I have a collection of glass ornaments from my days working at a glass gallery, and I have a collection of pictures, picture frames and picture magnets. In addition, I have a collection of watches, though none of the watches have working batteries. So please, though I collect watches, don’t assume I will be on time all the time. I also have a collection of single socks with holes in the toe and/or heal. Why I continue to keep socks with holes and no mates is beyond me. And sadly, I can’t blame it on newborn delirium.

I’m not entirely sure at what age the collection bug hits, but I am guessing it happens early. Already, Joe has his ‘farm’ collection, which consists of hand picked stuffed animals and nick-nacks. Joe keeps his collection on the shelves of his headboard; the shelves are overstuffed, and Joe knows immediately, if one of the animals or nick-nacks is out of place. And, I see hints that lead me to believe Charlie wants to start a collection. He gathers many little things and keeps the items in a box or bag. But, Charlie’s attention span is not quite as fine tuned as Joe’s attention span. The contents of Charlie’s boxes and bags change daily. So far, the boys seem to have ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’ collections. No fingernail collections in this house! Sadly, they haven’t asked to see their belly button stubs. No worries. I can wait.

Bells and Bunnies

~ Lenore Diane ~ 1 Comment
Joe, the reluctant bunny.

I am currently reading David Sedaris’ ‘Me Talk Pretty One Day’. I find David to be a humorous guy, and I am enjoying this book. Last night, I read his story about taking French lessons while in France. The Easter holiday was being discussed in his class, and he learned that the French believe the church bells fly to Rome on Good Friday, returning on Easter Sunday with goodies for the kids. Really? Bells? I was intrigued.

This morning, I accessed the internet first thing, because everyone knows, if you read it on the internet it must be true. Whereas, an author of a book has the freedom to embellish. Though if the author’s book is also on the internet, does this mean there is no embellishment and it is 100% true?  I wonder. And, I digress. My apologies. As I was saying, if you read it on the internet it must be true, so I accessed the internet to find out the facts of the Easter holiday celebrated in France.

Bells. Bells are the equivalent of the American Easter Bunny. In my internet research, I found that the predominant religion in France is Roman-Catholic, and there is a church in every village or town. Furthermore, the majority of churches have bells, which ring through out the year, marking various events and the passage of time. Apparently, on the Thursday before Good Friday, all church bells in France are silenced in acknowledgment of Jesus’ death. And, the children are told that the bell’s chimes have flown to Rome to see the Pope.  On Easter morning, the bells ring out once again, noting the Resurrection and claiming that Jesus is alive again. With the ringing of the bells, children wake to look for decorated eggs hidden in homes, playgrounds and gardens. The children are told the eggs were brought back to France by the bells returning from Rome. In addition, it is said that in some parts of France, children look for small chariots full of eggs and pulled by white horses.

As a child, I never understood why a bunny would come to my house on Easter delivering eggs. Sure, I loved the candy, and I love the hunt for eggs. But, I didn’t understand it. And, I can’t say I found it as easy to believe in the Easter Bunny as it was to believe in Santa.  At least Santa had opposable thumbs, enabling him to fill stockings and work the reigns on the sleigh. The Easter bunny? Yeah, I wasn’t buying that, even at a young age.

After finding out about the Easter tradition in France and the ‘belief’ that the bells deliver eggs, I have a greater appreciation for faith. “Faith is believing in something common sense tells you not to” is a quote used frequently when discussing a belief based on faith. Common sense certainly tells me that a bunny is not going to come to my door on Easter morning, just as a man in a red suit is not going to come down my chimney on Christmas Eve. However, neither the Easter bunny (or bell) nor Santa are true examples of faith from the religious – more specifically, the Christian – standpoint. Instead, and I am not suggesting this is breaking news, these creations exist to bring attention to the greater meaning of the faith-based holidays. Perhaps, these creations are a sugar coating on a pill that would otherwise be bitter to swallow. Really, I haven’t a clue why humans created Santa, the Easter Bunny or even the Tooth Fairy, though the tooth fairy is not religiously based. What I do know is that I am more likely to believe a fairy is going to fly into my bedroom window, leaving a prize under my pillow in exchange for a tooth, than I am to believe a bell is returning from Rome with eggs for me. Bells? Really? Makes me laugh.

It only takes money

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment
Charlie and Joe

If you talk about buying something in front of Rob’s Dad, don’t be surprised if you hear him say, “It only takes money.” Apparently, Rob heard that statement numerous times as a kid and young adult. During our weekend getaway, Rob and I romanticized about buying this thing or that thing, spending another weekend here or going there, etc. Suddenly, I heard myself say, “It only takes money.” We laughed.

The two of us had a fantastic weekend, living a life that wasn’t familiar to us. We are home, now, and our life is all too familiar. Within days of getting home, I received a bill from a health care provider, letting me know what portion of the charges I would have to pay out of pocket. The amount I owed was much larger than I was anticipating, but I knew we’d manage. Then I went to pick up the boys from day care.

See the picture? Cute kids, eh? Notice the one on the right has glasses. Well, the glasses he is wearing were broken recently, and we have been putting off getting the glasses fixed. Fortunately, we keep a spare pair of glasses. Unfortunately, when I picked up the boys, Joe’s spare pair of glasses were handed to me in a plastic bag by Suzann. Apparently, Joe was seeing how much his glasses could bend. Well, his spare pair of glasses didn’t bend – they broke.

Yesterday, when I returned home from getting my boobs squished and squashed (ie Mammogram), my husband mentioned he had news for me. He suggested I sit down. Hmmm . . . this didn’t sound good to me. “Well,” he starts. “I am just about finished with our taxes. And, it looks like we owe.” We owed last year, which floored me, because we don’t make much money. I always attributed owing taxes with a tax bracket higher than ours – much higher than ours. “How much?” I asked. My eyes grew wide when he told me. It’s under $1,000, which is nice, eh? Still, I started adding these bills up in my head – glasses, taxes and health care – Oh my!

I failed to mention that I had gotten quite mad the night Joe broke his glasses. As a Mom, I hated seeing his eyes cross. And, as the payer of bills, I hated thinking of the unexpected expense. As these things kept swirling around in my mind, my anger grew and I started yelling at Rob. He was a trooper. He kept asking, “Ok. But, why are you yelling at me?” And, as he asked, I said to myself quietly, ‘I know. I shouldn’t be yelling at you. It isn’t your fault. But I am mad, and I don’t know what else to do about it.’ Honestly, I kept saying that silently in my head, while Rob continued to ask, “But, why are you yelling at me?” I knew I was in the wrong, but my external voice and my frustration were more powerful. Yelling was the easiest thing to do. I’m telling you, in my opinion, that proverbial high road is a hard road to take. Especially, when you are caught in the heat of the moment.

For the record, I did apologize to Rob for getting out of line. I made it clear, none of this was his fault. I made it clear that I goofed. And you know what? Apologizing never gets any easier. Humble pie tastes icky, though it needs to be eaten.

Anyway, so Rob had just shared the news about the taxes, and I felt the rage growing again inside of me. I remained in control this time, though. I stood up and I told him I needed time to process all of this information. I went upstairs, and I started craving food instantly. UGH. I swear, if I was a smoker, I would have lit up a cigarette. And, if I was a heavy drinker, I would have had at least three beers. Instead of smokes or booze, I feel the tug of food. Ice cream is usually the first thing that pops into my head. And, once ice cream is in my head and on my mind, it is hard for me to quiet the urge without submitting. Do I sound like I am exaggerating? I assure you, I am not.

I went to my computers – work and personal. I tried to busy myself with work, and I tried to busy myself with surfing. I was still frustrated. Then, after one of several Facebook refreshes, I saw a note from Angela. She is my Facebook friend who is active with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Team in Training. You can click on their website to find out more about the awesome organization. Briefly, Team in Training raises awareness of blood cancer by running marathons, half marathons, etc. And, my friend Angela is one of many runners running with a purpose. If you want to learn more, you can check out my post about Angela’s efforts and how you can help by clicking here.

Angela sent me a note, letting me know her web page had been activated. And, as I clicked on her website, my outlook on my financial frustrations seemed to subside. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like dollars just manifested into our bank account and our financial problems were gone with the wind. That would be silly. Quite cool, for certain; but, it would be silly. And, let me be clear, I was still frustrated. However, my perspective changed. Rob and I will figure out a way to pay what needs to be paid. It’s not as if we don’t have money. And, I know there are many people who are in boats similar to ours, as well as people in bigger boats and people in smaller boats.  And, there are people that have no boats. So, I get it could be worse. And, being reminded of people who face life-threatening battles each day, really keeps things in perspective.

I blogged once about how Corey Haim’s death didn’t have a direct impact on my life. Tragic? Yes. Impacting my life? No. Yet, sometimes it is nice to be reminded that even when you are battling your own challenges, others are battling, too. I don’t wish large battles on folks, but I certainly gain a greater perspective on the size of my battles, when I am reminded of the bigger struggles. The fact that Angela let me know her website was up and running, reminded me that things could be so much worse.

Rob and I are fine. Some months are more costly than other months. But, we always find a way to have ‘enough’. And, I am thankful for the fact that we have ‘enough’. In fact, I took the time to donate to Team in Training, because I want to do what I can to make sure others have ‘enough’, too. I also want to work on my temper and self-control. Apparently, it takes more than money to do some things.

P.S. I did not submit to my ice cream craving, while in the midst of my frustration. That was a battle I won. Yeah me!