I think that Mom just inherently felt this...
People will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how
you made them feel.
(Quoted by Maya Angelou - Found by me in Reader's Digest)
Monday, September 25, 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Something Marilyn Said
So, for those non-existent readers who don't know who Marilyn is...she's my mother-in-law.
Anyway, today, Troy Taylor married Becki Schneider. The ceremony was lovely, and as I usually do at weddings, I cried. I don't know why this happens, I don't consider myself an overly-emotional person, but I guess shedding happy tears is a good thing, so I won't wonder about myself too much. Getting back to Marilyn...
Right before the ceremony was about to start, she turned to me and said, "Jeff seems really happy. I just want to thank you for that." First of all, what a nice thing to say! I am so lucky to have such a loving mother-in-law. Second, while I do believe Jeff is happy, I also believe that people are, for the most part, in a steady-state of happiness. While I think that this fluctuates for short periods during especially difficult, or especially joyful times, I think that eventually you equalize to your innate state of happy (or sad, for that matter). So, while I'm glad that Jeffy is happy, because I'm very happy, too, I think that Marilyn, being that is was she who raised him, probably has more to do with his being a happy person, than I do.
All that being said, and taking into account something Henry Winkler said, ["Assumptions are the termites of relationships"], I will still continue to work on the relationship so not to assume that our marriage will live infinitely on without further compromise, commitment, giving, laughter and loving.
Anyway, today, Troy Taylor married Becki Schneider. The ceremony was lovely, and as I usually do at weddings, I cried. I don't know why this happens, I don't consider myself an overly-emotional person, but I guess shedding happy tears is a good thing, so I won't wonder about myself too much. Getting back to Marilyn...
Right before the ceremony was about to start, she turned to me and said, "Jeff seems really happy. I just want to thank you for that." First of all, what a nice thing to say! I am so lucky to have such a loving mother-in-law. Second, while I do believe Jeff is happy, I also believe that people are, for the most part, in a steady-state of happiness. While I think that this fluctuates for short periods during especially difficult, or especially joyful times, I think that eventually you equalize to your innate state of happy (or sad, for that matter). So, while I'm glad that Jeffy is happy, because I'm very happy, too, I think that Marilyn, being that is was she who raised him, probably has more to do with his being a happy person, than I do.
All that being said, and taking into account something Henry Winkler said, ["Assumptions are the termites of relationships"], I will still continue to work on the relationship so not to assume that our marriage will live infinitely on without further compromise, commitment, giving, laughter and loving.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Darien Lake Bust….Continued
Well, as someone related to me mentioned…
We did have one good night of camping at Darien Lake, and it all started out with a small wager (in case I haven’t mentioned this, my family likes to gamble). The group decided to take bets on what time the park ranger rent-a-cops would come a-knocking at our campsites. This usually happens sometime shortly after “quiet-time” starts. Anyway, everyone picked a time, and threw a couple of bucks in the pot. When it got close to the cluster of times that everyone chose, the group started to get a little rowdy.
Now, at this point in my story, I have to admit, that I couldn’t bring myself to join in the game. Can’t we have fun without causing stress to our fellow campers (not to mention the rent-a-pigs)??? Oh, well…apparently I’m too old to be camping with a bunch of mid-twenty-somethings. Oh NO! Does this make me in my late twenties??
Back to the story…
It seems that the person who really wanted to win this not-so-big pot of money was the Markie Boy. He actually succeeded in catching the roaming rangers attention, and they did come over to ask him to quiet down, but this was just the beginning. [I’m not actually sure who ended up winning the money.] He then proceeded in his quest to becoming the most annoying drunk ever. I’m probably exaggerating here, but it makes my story so much better. Mark continued to yell at the top of his lungs, wrestle with Goober, who wanted nothing to do with him, and chastise people who were going to bed. Finally, after just about everyone was in his or her tents/campers trying sleep, Mark turns his radio on full-blast.
After several people shouted at him to turn the volume down, he suggested that if they cannot sleep through the noise, then they are not tired enough to be in bed. The next thing I know, Richie and Mark are having a cell phone conversation. Unfortunately, I could only hear one side of the discussion, and this is what Rich said, “Oh, I know you don’t mean that buddy, I’ll just see you in the morning.” He was so sweet towards raving, mad Markie Boy! I giggled in my tent until I finally fell asleep.
We did have one good night of camping at Darien Lake, and it all started out with a small wager (in case I haven’t mentioned this, my family likes to gamble). The group decided to take bets on what time the park ranger rent-a-cops would come a-knocking at our campsites. This usually happens sometime shortly after “quiet-time” starts. Anyway, everyone picked a time, and threw a couple of bucks in the pot. When it got close to the cluster of times that everyone chose, the group started to get a little rowdy.
Now, at this point in my story, I have to admit, that I couldn’t bring myself to join in the game. Can’t we have fun without causing stress to our fellow campers (not to mention the rent-a-pigs)??? Oh, well…apparently I’m too old to be camping with a bunch of mid-twenty-somethings. Oh NO! Does this make me in my late twenties??
Back to the story…
It seems that the person who really wanted to win this not-so-big pot of money was the Markie Boy. He actually succeeded in catching the roaming rangers attention, and they did come over to ask him to quiet down, but this was just the beginning. [I’m not actually sure who ended up winning the money.] He then proceeded in his quest to becoming the most annoying drunk ever. I’m probably exaggerating here, but it makes my story so much better. Mark continued to yell at the top of his lungs, wrestle with Goober, who wanted nothing to do with him, and chastise people who were going to bed. Finally, after just about everyone was in his or her tents/campers trying sleep, Mark turns his radio on full-blast.
After several people shouted at him to turn the volume down, he suggested that if they cannot sleep through the noise, then they are not tired enough to be in bed. The next thing I know, Richie and Mark are having a cell phone conversation. Unfortunately, I could only hear one side of the discussion, and this is what Rich said, “Oh, I know you don’t mean that buddy, I’ll just see you in the morning.” He was so sweet towards raving, mad Markie Boy! I giggled in my tent until I finally fell asleep.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Kitchen Update and Other Facts of Life
This week, we continued work on our remodeling project by tearing out the carpet and particle board subfloor in the hallway. We also began laying the new plywood subfloor that will suffice as an excellent anchor for our 3/4" oak floor. Needless to say, any time you have to do demolition, you end up with an absolute mess. Until we started this project (back in January), I didn't have an appreciation for how messy things could get. Layer upon layer of dust saturated the house for weeks after we actually finished the demolition portion of the job. Anyway, I'll be glad when it's all over.
Dad arrived home safely from Las Vegas. He came home with less money than he went with, but he had a great time, and that's what matters. He also indulged in the Rio Seafood buffet, which makes me very jealous! We're trying to plan a Thanskgiving holiday to Key West, Florida....I hope it actually happens.
Dad arrived home safely from Las Vegas. He came home with less money than he went with, but he had a great time, and that's what matters. He also indulged in the Rio Seafood buffet, which makes me very jealous! We're trying to plan a Thanskgiving holiday to Key West, Florida....I hope it actually happens.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Darien Lake Bust
Our plans for a fun-filled three night camping trip over Labor Day weekend to Darien Lake were cut very short by a weakening, but still strong enough to ruin a weekend Hurricane named Ernesto. He made his way up the coast into PA and NY sometime Saturday morning. We woke up in our tent (on a comfy air mattress) to the sounds of rain pelting tent canvas and wind flapping the protective tarp. This continued all day and sent us headed for home two days early.
However, the trip wasn't a total loss. Jeff got to shop at Guitar Center in Buffalo and purchased a new electric guitar. This was his bargaining chip when installing our new kitchen. Maybe I should have waited until he was completely finished before letting him buy the guitar?
However, the trip wasn't a total loss. Jeff got to shop at Guitar Center in Buffalo and purchased a new electric guitar. This was his bargaining chip when installing our new kitchen. Maybe I should have waited until he was completely finished before letting him buy the guitar?
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