“I Hope Everyone’s All Right”

This morning I was driving down a busy four-lane street when I saw an emergency vehicle with its lights and siren on coming from the opposite direction. As soon as I saw it I pulled over. Sounds simple, right? Isn’t that what you’re legally supposed to do, not to mention morally? I did not slam on my breaks, I signaled before I stopped, but apparently I was alone. Cars were passing me looking at me as if to say, “What the hell are you doing?” Granted the truck was two traffic lights away, but it wasn’t like it was a mile away. Were these drivers in that much of a hurry? A few seconds later it turned left at the light I was two cars away from and everyone did finally stop. An ambulance came next and as the light turned green I actually wondered if the cars around me were going to let the ambulance (with lights and sirens on) go first.

I pull over as soon as I see and hear the sirens. My rationale is simple: That’s what I would want all drivers to do if I were the one in need of the emergency vehicle’s services. I strive (and like to think those who know me would say I succeed) in living my life doing “the right thing” for the simple reason that it’s the right thing to do. I have witnessed cars continue driving obliviously when near emergency vehicles, even prohibiting them from going through intersections.

I am blessed/lucky to have never needed the service of an ambulance but if I do I hope it is given the right of way on its way to help me. You never know where they’re going to turn or even really how fast they are approaching.

So, I ask you, when do you pull over when you see or hear an emergency vehicle approaching from either behind or toward you?

Fitted Sheets

Last night while I pulled a fitted sheet out of the dryer I thought to myself, I wish I had the patience to fold this the right way, like my mom once taught me. Then I proceeded to fold it loosely which resulted in a flattened ball of fabric. My final thought was, Why bother taking the time when it will eventually be pulled from corner to corner on the mattress, forcing it to be 'ironed' out. Yep, there are things that I still think about using my fifteen-year old brain that is buried under 8 years of higher education.

Catching Bugs

When I was running this morning a bug flew into my mouth. As I was coughing and spitting I thought, “I wonder how many bugs I have eaten in my life, or anyone has eaten for that matter?” Has any bug I ever swallowed gotten me sick? After all, we get sick when we “catch a bug”. So, have I ever really caught something from catching a bug? Thankfully this particular bug caught a phlegm rocket straight out of my throat, thanks, in part to another “sick” bug already taking up residency.

Random Thoughts of the Day

Saw a woman at the playground today with the oddest shoes. Picture a pair of black flip-flops and then add a boot to the back and ankle (no heel). Bazaar. I tried to find an image online, but am not even sure how to look for such a shoe.

If I could go back I would tell myself to live simpler and buy less. I am by no means a hoarder, but it is much too hard to get rid of “things” after random memories are attached them. I empty my closet and drawers on a somewhat regular basis, but I still have “TOO MUCH STUFF” (My favorite quote from Mama Bear from The Bearenstain Bears.

With all these “You know you grew up in (insert town) when…” pages being created on Facebook makes me feel torn between growing up in two towns or not growing up anywhere. It also makes me want my kids to live in the same town from K-12….maybe.

I think you should be able to look someone up online with just their name and birthday.

I often forget that time spent with “old” friends is irreplaceable.

Everyone should sign their first AND last name in yearbooks. So many years later my mind is being erased of memories I never thought I’d forget while I was living them. For those that aren’t in my yearbook I’m having difficulty remembering your FIRST name.

How appropriate and random that this was today's comic. I love Luann.

My Hometown

Definition of hometown: “the town where one was born or grew up, or the town of one’s present fixed residence.”

I’ve been away from home for 11 days on a road trip that spans a number of states. I am currently in my hometown, I think. See, I have lived in WI for 11 ½ years now in the same town. My husband says we can just round up, which I suppose is true since we don’t plan on moving before January. OK, with that let me start over. I’ve lived in one town in WI for 12 years. This is the longest I’ve lived in one town in my life. It’s also the town I consider to be home. I often wonder if this is because of the stage of life I am in. I am involved in the community, which makes it easier for me to feel a part of the community rather than apart from it. My kids were both born here and it’s their hometown so maybe that also has something to do with it.

** Tangent ** about the towns I’ve lived in, in my life. Born in New York. A few months shy of my 2^nd birthday I moved to CT. Ten years later I moved one town away, but it felt more like a different state. Nearly six years later I moved to Alabama for college. I spent one summer back in CT, but I always think back on my six years in AL and begin counting from my first year of college. By the time my high school graduation came around I had already mentally checked out of CT. After AL, came WI. 

So, here I am back in CT. A state that feels foreign to me.

I had a bizarre experience the other day when I took my family to Mystic Aquarium. I know I’ve been there before, in fact I recall being there with my husband and son 5 or 6 years ago…I think. Even with that aside I went with my mom years ago (code for I have no idea how far back). Nothing about the drive, the entrance to the aquarium or the aquarium itself looked familiar. For all I know I was at an aquarium in Rhode Island the other day. The entire visit I was consumed with the thought that I was in a sci-fi movie where my memory was erased and replaced with a microchip that was wearing off. I enjoyed watching my kids have fun and enjoyed moments, but the bizarreness of the whole thing was reignited in every area of the aquarium.

Growing up in CT meant traveling to NY to visit family and as I got older, to go out dancing. In NY you only had to be 18 to get into clubs, in CT the age was 21. I have few memories of “exploring” CT as a kid. There are, however, two things that ignite “hometown” feelings. One is something I’ve mentioned before; food! The other came to me while driving across New York State a few days ago. I love the rocks. I see them as slate, which reminds me of the foyer in my first CT house. It’s hard, dark, granite type rock crumbles WI limestone in an instant.

I am long past driving by the houses I grew up in; the truth is I was long past that within two years of moving away. I have no desire to take my kids on a tour of where I went to school. I did drive by my junior high school that is now a middle school, but it wasn’t out of nostalgia, it was just the most direct back road route from Carvel. It really does all come back to food when I’m here.

But I will gain 5 pounds in a week and I have been collecting rocks to bring back (I’m driving after all) from my Dad’s property aka “woods”. I do enjoy the windy, hilly, woods-lined streets of CT. I enjoy them so much it bothers me a little that my husband and kids all get carsick while riding on them.

For me, my hometown is “the town of one’s present fixed residence” or is it? I’ll be back in my hometown in another week and when someone new asks me where I’m from I’ll say, “CT” and then I’ll think about the food and the slate, rather than places and things.  Yet, whenever I visit CT it’s never long enough.

Where’s your hometown and what comes to mind when you think about it?

Things That Make Me Smile (in no particular order)

1. Hearing a song that fits my mood; even if I’m feeling mad.

2. The feeling I get AFTER I run.

3. Holding a baby.

4. Making people laugh.

5. Running into someone unexpectedly.

6. Meeting new people and hearing their “stories”.

7. Volunteering with and for kids.

8. When a kid I know, any kid, sees me and says hi to me first. I get the “they like me, they really like me feeling.”

9. Laughing so hard I cry…the smile stays longer than the laugh.

10. Karma.

11. My husband and kids.

12. Good manners.

13. Small world stories.

14. Massages.

15. Using things that used to be my mom’s or grandmother’s.

16. Hearing my kids say something that I know my mom would love to hear.

For now this is all I’ve got, but I am grateful that there are so many more.

My Many Signatures

My signature, like yours, has evolved over time.

It began when I first learned to write in cursive. In elementary school I worked diligently to make each letter look like its model hanging on the wall above the chalkboard. In junior high my name changed many times, therefore my signature changed. It evolved to include the last name of the whatever boy I liked. In high school I no longer cared about the model letters and began to experiment with my letters’ personalities. And yes, there were more boys. Somewhere during these years I also created a signature to be used when I was famous.

Now I have two signatures I consistently use; one written and one electronic. When “they” invented the electronic signature pad for stores my signature, along with my name changed once again. I’ve always been tempted to sign it Donald Duck or Kermit the Frog, but instead what I have done is changed my name to a single letter: D.

I also promise the investigators that this signature can only be replicated when writing at a 45 – 90 degree upright angle.