Displaced Beachbums

After three years as a stay at home mom (SAHM), I’m opting back in to the “out of the home” workplace. I start on Monday and I’m more than a little apprenhensive about getting back into the groove. I’m not used to keeping to a schedule. Even though I keep busy with volunteer work, it’s not the same ~ schedules can be changed in the volunteer world, not so much in the “paid” one.

First thing I need to get is a watch ~ I haven’t worn one in years!!

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Normally, I wouldn’t talk about someone’s deficiencies at work; mainly because I’m the first to admit I’ve had my share of goofy mistakes. But, the other day, when a repairman came to the house to fix the faulty flourescent light in the kitchen, I started thinking I was on a candid camera show. It just got worse and worse the more he got involved in the light repair.

After apologizing for the delay (it’d been three weeks), he explained he went to the wrong house a week or so ago and the woman there said “Light is fine” and he never bothered to double check the address. Nice of him to admit it. Then he got the cover off the light, had the wirecutters ready and the wires pulled. Meanwhile, the power is still ON. Just as I was about to say “Do you want me to cut the power?”, the door bell rang and thank goodness it was the supervisor coming to help. 

OK, we cut the power then they started doing the rewiring. When the supervisor said “cut the yellow wire” the other guy said “I’m colorblind, can you tell me left hand or right hand.”  Really? Is this a joke? How did he plan to fix this without being able to see the difference in wires. Then he admitted he did the same job once before but the woman at the house was an electrician so she walked him through it. I was trying very hard not to laugh at the conversation. He was such a NICE guy and so honest about the whole thing. 

Thankfully, as they were leaving I heard the supervisor say “You need to let them know you can’t do anymore electrical jobs because you’re color blind.”  That’s the best advice I heard all day!

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I’m the one who hangs the clothes back in the closets after washing them so I know both Favorite Man (FM) and Favorite Girl (FG) have favorite clothes that get worn over and over again. The other clothes are neglected and collecting dust in the closet, but I can’t get either one of them to purge the unused items.

The other day I was watching a organization show and saw a tip for figuring out what clothes are NOT being worn without too much effort. Since I can’t get either FM or FG to go through their closets, I’m going to give this a try. Here are the basics:

Hang all hangers “backwards” in the closet. Then as clothes get worn, washed and put back, hang it right side in the closet. After six months to a year, check the backwards hanging clothes & give away to charity. Of course, this doesn’t apply to “special occasion” clothes.  Click here for additional information from Peter Walsh, organizing guru.

Has anyone tried this? I’ve sold the idea to FG and we’re starting the project today, but I haven’t even approached FM, he likes symmetry and is going to have a hard time even seeing the mismatched hangers.

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Sunday was All Soul’s Day which is celebrated on 2 November and follows All Saints Day (1 November). During my 5th grade religious education class, my co-teacher and I attempted to explain the importance of All Soul’s Day. 10 year olds have such a different perspective and our American culture deals so differently with death than other countries. A few of the children were shocked that in most other cultures, it is customary to go to the cemetary on All Soul’s Day in order to honor those who have died.  

All Soul’s Day is a Roman Catholic day of remembrance for friends and loved ones who have passed away. The day follows All Saint’s Day in order to shift the focus from those in heaven to those in purgatory. It is celebrated with masses and festivities in honor of the dead. The Feast of All Saints remembers those Saints who are in the glories of Heaven while the Feast of All Souls reminds us of our obligations: to live holy lives and to pray for those souls of those destined for Heaven. Our project in class was a paper tent which can stand up with a prayer on one side and the other side had: Departed Family, Departed Friends and Forgotten Dead. The children could write in the names of those they would pray for during the month of November. 

In Mexico, the Day of the Dead, is a three day feast. There are a lot of customs associated withThe Day of the Dead celebration. In the home, an altar is made with an offering of food upon it. It’s believed that the dead partake of the food in spirit and those still living eat it later. The offerings include flowers such as marigolds, which are the traditional flower of the dead and an adorned candle is placed for each dead soul. The offering also includes incense, mementos, photos, and other remembrances of the dead. Being a three day feast, it’s quite elaborate.

I remember when we lived in Germany, All Soul’s Day was a day where the Germans would dress in their finest clothes, visit the graves of those who died and spend the day together with family. The cemeteries in Germany are so beautiful and meticulously maintained.

Here at our church, it’s a lot more subdued. We wrote the names of family and friends for the priest to read during the Mass. Because there were so many names he read the first name and then said “and others.” So, when he said “Bill and others” I knew he read my list which started with my Dad.

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Sometimes, I say something that is misunderstood ~ who hasn’t?

Yesterday was another example of how my perspective is a little different from others. I volunteered to help at a Charity Craft Show and a woman came up to the cashier table & referred to the Assistant Manager as “sweet” ~ I jumped to her defense and said “She’s not sweet.” Yes, her defense because I don’t think calling someone “nice” or “sweet” is necessarily a compliment. It says to me you don’t know the person very well or you have no other adjective to describe them. Think about when someone tried to set you up on a date, the kiss of death was always “He’s very nice.”

Sweet & Nice in the business world will get you no where. Kindness in the workplace is appreciated but if you get tagged with sweet, you might as well get a new job.

Were I to describe the woman called “sweet”, I would say energetic, great mom, thoughtful, helpful, etc. But when I said “She’s not sweet” and saw the look on the faces of the other women, I played it off as kidding around. It would have taken too long to explain what I really meant ~

I do know several sweet people ~ both men and women. I like them and enjoy their company but they’re not the ones who become my close friends. I prefer a little edge to a personality ~ someone with depth and isn’t afraid to show it.

How do you like to be described?

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We’ve had a full week of beautiful Indian Summer weather. The trees look stunning with their gorgeous yellow, orange and red leaves. The sky has been clear blue and the temps unseasonably high. At the football game yesterday, I got a suntan and even broke a sweat in the 77 degree heat. And today, I mowed the lawn with short sleeves at 6:00 pm. Certainly a big change from last year’s cold and rainy October. According to the weather folks, we’ve got until Thursday and then it’s back to mid-50s.

I plan on enjoying the heck out of it while it lasts…

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FM’s Battalion has been awaiting the arrival of the new Chaplain. In the Army, regardless of each Chaplain’s denomination, they serve all soldiers even those who may be agnostic, atheist or Wiccan. It’s a really tough job especially when there are 800 soldiers involved. 

When I heard the Chaplain had 6 children and one on the way, I pretty much wrote off any chance his spouse would be participating in any of the Battalion social events. And rightly so. No way would I begrudge her not participating because, if I had 6 children under the age of 11 years old, NO WAY would I have any energy left for socializing.

Much to my surprise and delight, they both attended the Formal Ball we had last week AND they were both at the Hail and Farewell on Thursday. She looks fabulous, has lots of energy and, to be perfectly honest, had me in complete awe! This couple is still living in temporary housing (a hotel) and yet not once, at either event, did I get even a hint of martyrdom. Really impressive.

The Hail and Farewell is a monthly dinner to welcome and say goodbye to those in the Battalion. When a new person is being “hailed”, FM says a little something about where they just came from, hobbies, family life, etc.  When he introduced the Chaplain and his wife, FM said he had the original number of children wrong, they have seven children already and number eight is on the way! Wait a minute…not just seven children ~ they have seven BOYS!! And a little girl on the way.  Isn’t that wonderful!?!

Now I can’t help but wonder what the heck I’m doing with all my extra time…

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