Skip to main content

Bad attitude on display

Chris needs a cornea transplant! Do you have a spare?

My father-in-law spent the weekend in the hospital. He’s fine, full recovery and all that, but I keep thinking, selfishly I admit: I’m not ready for this kind of thing.

My car requires $700 worth of repairs. We don’t just have $700 lying around. I guess we’re going to be eating a lot of rice and beans and Cheerios (not all mixed together) in the coming weeks.

I’m turning almost-40 (i.e. 39) tomorrow.

I’m really tired of the cold weather. My fingers haven’t been warm since before Thanksgiving.

Mallory is resisting, with all her strength and might, learning her multiplication tables.

Neither child can go more than five minutes without complaining about some kind of bodily pain. My finger hurts! My stomach hurts! My nose hurts! My foot hurts! My complete lack of sympathy has yet to staunch the whining.

I always thought that by the time I was almost-40, I would just have $700 lying around. Hmph.

(I don’t mean to go on about the $700. We’ll make it work. It just sucks.)

My boss is taking his grandson to Disney World in March and is telling me about all his plans, including making reservations for not one but two Character Breakfasts. I am consumed with guilt for not making similar reservations when we went, even though the reason I didn’t was that such dining experiences were hugely expensive ($40 per child, $60 per adult, see above re: not having $700). My kids don’t know what they missed and had a fabulous time anyway. Why do I let such things bother me?

I’m taking the day off work tomorrow, and for some reason I volunteered to help out in Phoebe’s classroom. Instead of, say, spending the morning in bed with a book, or something relaxing like that. Why did I do that?

The next time I post, I’ll be almost 40. And less whiny, I promise.

Comments

aimee said…
Let's hope that all the bad stuff for the year has happened and nothing but good stuff awaits. :)
mimi said…
we all deserve to be whiney every now and again. And don't feel bad, I don't even have a spare $50 laying around. And my middle knuckle on my right hand always hurts because it has arthritis. I am only 40, this should not be happening! Sigh...
Karen said…
I think that there are some things that one is never ready for - e.g. a cornea transplant. And I don't think that I could easily come up with $700.00 right now either.

But I do hope that you enjoy spending time in Phoebe's classroom tomorrow. And I also hope that you have a great 39th birthday.

Popular posts from this blog

I ask you

This is my garden: Or rather, this is the patch of soil that was my garden last summer. It produced millions of tomatoes, dozens of green peppers, a handful of cucumbers, and two puny watermelons. I do not wish to repeat last summer's vegetable bounty, because most of said bounty went to waste. Nor, however, do I want this patch of soil to remain brown and bare throughout the summer, because it's unattractive. So, what do I plant here, in the shrubbery/flowery vein? Keep in mind that I do not have a green thumb. Also, I don't want to spend a lot of money. Also, this area is in full sun most of the day. And it's really hot. And sometimes we get rabbits. Any advice? To thank you in advance, I give you these goofy photos of my children and their homemade parfaits (which Mallory persisted in calling "specialinis").

the closet

Amy has challenged me to list 8 things that are hidden in the back of my closet. I try not to actually look to closely at the back of my closet, so these are my closest guesses: 1. At least three no-longer-needed diaper bags. 2. An outfit that I've been meaning to return to Land's End for at least six months now. 3. One of our wedding pictures, which has a broken frame which I keep meaning to replace. 4. Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes. 5. Possibly a pair of fuzzy slippers. I miss those fuzzy slippers. Maybe I should brave the mess and go try to find them. 6. Baby blankets. 7. A few small toys that I meant to stick in the girls' Christmas stockings. Maybe next year. 8. And I'm guessing, a bunch of mismatched socks. My closet isn't very interesting, I'm afraid.

The Golf Course

There was a miniature golf course in my grandparent’s house. There were, in fact, lots of cool-if-kitschy things in my grandparents’ house. There were swinging saloon doors between the kitchen and the master suite. There was a toilet seat made of transparent plastic, with ticket stubs from horse races embedded therein. There was a globe wine bar (pictured!). There was a mounted goat head (the goat was named Bucky) on whose antlers my granddad hung his golf caps. There was a stuffed pheasant whose chest feathers were smooth as silk. There was a kitchen bar of green marbled formica and swively kitchen chairs of red pleather. There was an automatic ice dispenser on the refrigerator, which was a rare and awe-inspiring thing in the 1970’s. There was a mirrored tray holding bejeweled perfume bottles with atomizers in the guest bathroom. There were two huge oil paintings – one of my aunt, with beautifully frosted hair, holding a Pug, one of my older sister as a toddler sitting on a John De...