Category: Junk Drawer

The Long Awaited Approach

~ Lenore Diane ~ 7 Comments

“Finally.” She thought to herself. “Tuesday night is here again.”

She looked forward to Tuesday nights. Tuesday nights got her through the week. Tuesday night was ‘Pool Night’. Time for her to hang with her guy friends and be a self-proclaimed pool groupie. Whether she was headed to Good ol’ Days, Cheers, Diggers or Whiskers Pub – wherever the game took place on Tuesday night, she was there to watch them play.

She had fun hanging with her two guy friends, but her eyes were mainly gazed in the direction of the tall and silent stranger. Also on the pool team, he always hung back from the crowd. He was mysterious. He was handsome. He was tall. And, she was nervous every Tuesday night, wondering if she would see him. Pool night wasn’t the same, if the tall stranger wasn’t there to play.

She inquired to her friends about him, but he was a mystery to them, too. “He doesn’t talk much.” One of her guy friends said. “But, he is a great pool player.” She agreed. He took his time with each and every shot, landing more balls in the pocket than not.

Weeks passed, and she continued to watch him from afar. She told her girlfriends about him, and she dreamed about him. Too nervous to approach the tall and handsome stranger herself, she hoped he’d one day reach out. She hoped he’d one day notice her, the way she noticed him.

Another Tuesday night and she was headed to Dos Copas. And, like every Tuesday night, she had butterflies in her belly, anxious to find out whether or not her handsome stranger would be playing. She walked into Dos Copas and smiled, as she noticed him standing by the pool table, getting ready to play.

While getting a beer, her friend grabbed her. He was having a bad night. Girlfriend issues. He wanted to get her feedback on what had taken place earlier in the day. When it was his turn to play pool, he did not do well. His bad pool game made his already bad mood worse. He stormed out to the patio, and she followed him. Suddenly, someone stepped in front of her.

“Hi. My name is Rob.” She looked up, startled. It was him. It. Was. Him! The tall and handsome stranger had approached her! What should she do? His eyes were so blue. Her legs became weak, as she lost herself in his blue eyes… She shook her head and tried to snap herself back to reality. She did her best to compose herself . She took a deep breath, and she responded to him.

Four years later, she stopped talking long enough for him to ask her to marry him. 8yrs later, she’s still talking, and he’s still with her.

:::

Newly engaged

The past 8yrs have been far from complacent and peaceful. My husband and I have had our good times and bad times. Unfortunately, we seemed to have more bad times than good times; and admittedly, the bad times were due (mostly) to my own low points. However, with the help of friends, family, medication and counseling, Rob and I have made it 8yrs. And, because we made it through some horribly horrible times, I am confident we’ll make it the rest of the way – together.

Once I asked him how long it took him to notice me back during the pool playing days. He told me he noticed me instantly. He said he couldn’t get over how much I talked. Apparently, while standing alone in the corner, he could see (and hear) I was a talker. 12 years later, I haven’t changed.

Rob balances me. While my mind races from one point to another to another, Rob can always be found stationary and stable. He is my geostationary satellite. I am thankful this tall and handsome stranger approached me. And, I am thankful I stopped talking long enough for him to ask me to marry him.

October 12, 2002

We’ve made through some rough and rocky roads, and I suspect we’ll have a few more bumps along the way. Much to my dismay, Rob is still not perfect. And, much to Rob’s dismay, I am still talking. (Okay, okay – I’m not perfect either. ‘Whatever’.) But, we are each other’s forever after, and I am so glad he didn’t leave when I asked him to leave. And, I am glad he asked me to stay, when I said I was leaving.

Happy Anniversary, Rob. I love you.

Looking Up

~ Lenore Diane ~ 2 Comments

 

The position of the sun on Oct. 9th around 1:55 pm EST.

 

As I type, I am watching a live streaming video from the geostationary satellite EchoStar 11. Located along the equator over water to the West of Central America, video from the satellite is available through Dish Network’s Earth station. We don’t have cable or satellite at home, but I am not home. My husband and I went away for the weekend, escaping to the mountains.

And now, my husband has joined me on the couch. We are giddy with the data at our fingertips. We are literally sitting side by side, watching the earth on the TV screen – tracking the progress of the earth’s movement with his laptop and various government websites.

“Hey, Dear! I’m waving! Can you see me?” I say, as I wave to the TV. “Wait. I guess you can’t see me, because I am inside. Do you think if I go outside you could see me?”

“No,” my husband replies. “But, if you go outside and yell, I bet I could hear you.” HA! Oh goodness. I love this man.

We are watching as the sun’s light begins to fully cover this particular part of the world. He’s checking data for the daytime and nighttime skies, excited about what we can see when we look up to the sky. In fact, while the sun shines over head, we just walked out to the deck to find a sliver of the moon and the planet Venus, as the two are slowly setting in the Southern sky. Currently, the moon is in the ‘new moon’ phase, so it is not visible at night. However, because my husband is a celestial geek, he found out where to locate the moon during the daylight hours, prior to it setting with the evening sun.

Though I think it is pretty neat seeing the moon during the day, I think seeing a planet during daylight hours is neater. The planets and stars are always overhead; but with the ‘lights on’, finding the celestial bodies is more difficult. And later tonight, around 8:35 PM EST, we are going to look up at the nighttime sky to watch the Hubble Space Telescope move across above us.

Throughout our years together, Rob and I have watched Muir, the International Space Station (with and without the Space Shuttle attached to it) and several space shuttles fly overhead. I realize I may be boring you with my talk of the moon, satellites, stars and planets. However, during moments like these, I am reminded of the fact my husband is my soul mate.

Back inside watching the Earth channel, I reach over and pat my husband’s hand, telling him I love him. I smile and say, “I find being with you now and exploring the skies more intimate than sex.” He laughs. Then I say, “It’s not as messy either.”

Again, he laughs, and he says, “What do you mean? There are cookies all over the place.” I look at him confused, “We aren’t eating cookies.” He looks at me and smiles, “Internet cookies. They are leaving crumbs all over our computers.” I love this man. I truly love this man. I hear him laughing louder, as he says “We’re also spreading viruses. ITDs.” I look at him, and he continues “Internet transmitted diseases.” Soul mate. He is my soul mate. I love him.

Frazzled This Friday

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

I must tell you, I am frazzled today. Completely frazzled. Too much to do in too little time. Busy, busy, busy. Did I mentioned I am frazzled? How about busy? Anyway … as I walked down the driveway to put a letter in the mailbox, I realized something. Of course, now that I am back inside the house and typing – I forgot what it was I realized. No doubt, the something was earth shattering and life changing.

The letter I put in the mailbox is to one of my sisters from my 5yr. This past weekend, he drew her a picture and sent the picture to her in the mail. She received the picture, and she sent him an email. I printed the email, stuck it in an envelope and put it in the mailbox after the mail had already been dropped. When I brought him home from school, I stopped at the mailbox and pulled out the mail. “Look!” I said to him. “You received a letter!” A smile appeared on his face.

After reading the letter, he immediately went to his work table and started to write another letter to my sister (on the very same letter I printed). With my help, he folded the ‘updated’ letter and got it ready for a new envelope and stamp. The letter is in the mailbox, waiting for the mailman to pick it up and take it to my sister. And, I am certain, when my sister receives her latest letter from my 5yr old, a smile will appear on her face. There is power in cards and letters . . .

:: I interrupt this post to say, “Forgive me please, if you’ve already heard this stuff from me.” As my thoughts fill my head, I am wondering if this is a repeat. I blame my frazzle day for any repetitiveness. I blame feeling frazzled for any redundancy. I blame – well, you get my point. Please, continue …

Last week, a friend of mine went to visit her Mom and Dad. Her Mom is battling cancer. I have been sending my friend a card every single week, letting her know she is in my thoughts and prayers. Knowing she was going out of town for a week, I decided I would send her Mom some cards, too. Then, I decided I would reach out to some “Facebook” friends, and see if I could get them to send my friend and my friend’s Mom some cards. A well-wishes writing campaign, so to speak.

Though I can’t tell you how many people participated, I can tell you my friend and her Mom were overwhelmed with the number of cards they received. My friend and her Mom were quite touched with the outreach. In fact, my friend wrote “My Mom was in awe of your friends and all the cards we received. It was fun … Thank you!”

For me, the best part of that writing campaign was the fact that my Facebook friends participated. Many of the gals I included in my outreach were mainly Facebook friends. What I mean by ‘mainly Facebook friends’ is that I don’t see or talk to these gals on a regular basis. Some of the gals I do not truly know, we simply share some sort of connection – either by school, work or other Facebook friends. Still, many took part in my request to share some positive thoughts with two people who mean so much to me. How cool is that?!

Today’s world is a different world. And, every single generation will say the exact same thing. The world changes and will continue to change. Many changes are for the better, though some changes are for the worse. With each and every change comes responsibility. And perhaps, with the internet, comes a time for greater responsibility. We can use the internet to reach out, lend a hand and show support; or, we can use the internet to spread ridiculous rumors, vicious videos and hurtful hate-speech.

Last week, Facebook served me (and my friends) well, and I am grateful. Maybe you could start a small writing campaign of your own. Regardless of a person’s health, personal cards and personal letters are sure-fire ways to bring a smile to the face of the receiver. A telephone company used to have the slogan, “Reach out and touch someone.” Well, I think it is high time to reach out and touch someone the old fashioned way … snail mail.

A special note of thanks to my Facebook friends for participating in the writing campaign. Mission accomplished.