"You Have Chosen....Wisely...."

If you recall, when I first began blogging, I stated in my 'bio' that I'm pretty good at a lot of things, but not really excellent at anything.  And that I'm OK with that.  Well, I'm not very good at change. Change involves taking chances, stepping outside your comfort zone, trying something you've never tried before.  I like my safe, comfortable little world, living in my snow globe of familiarity.  This trait hovers over both small and large decisions.  So why am I pondering this right now?  Because I got my hair cut.  And I mean, CUT.  I've never had my hair this short, ever.  I've contemplated it MANY times over the years, particularly during my child-rearing phase, when it was a pain to take time to fix and a pain (literally) to have it pulled by small hands.  But two weeks ago, I did it.  And I knew myself well enough by now to realize that I had to take certain steps to make sure I followed through.  The main step was to advertise it.  I told all my kids, and my 4 ya-yas, and my mom, that I was getting my hair cut, and cut off.  My cute little stylist even asked me as we got started, "Did you tell anyone you were going to do this?".  I told her yes, because I knew if I didn't, I'd chicken out.


I guess, in a way, my new haircut is a metaphor for my life.  I feel like it's a weakness to dislike change.  I'm old enough now to realize that changes happen, and that, more often than not, they  improve my life, not the opposite.  I also think that being resistant to change indicates a certain lack of faith.  One of my favorite scenes in any movie is from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Indy takes a leap of faith from the lion's mouth.  He is staring across a seemingly endless, and impassable, abyss that he must cross in order to save his father's life.  (My fear of heights makes this scene particularly intense).  He closes his eyes, raises his foot, and lurches forward to apparently imminent death.  But he stops dead just a foot away.  There it is....a stone bridge that blends into the mountainside so well that it appears invisible.  I can relate.  And, sadly, most of the time I probably turn around and look for an alternate route.  Thankfully, I cannot say that I've ever been faced with a choice that is life-threatening, or life-altering, for me or anyone I love (I mean in a negative sense!  Marriage, having children, etc.; those life-altering choices have been VERY positive!)  I think I'm getting better at choosing to change, and I don't just mean my hair.  I have been better about taking risks, and hopefully have improved at taking care of the people in my life.  I am 52 years old, and still a big chicken, but I understand a little better that the changes in my life, whether chosen by me or not, have molded my character and my life.  They're gonna keep coming, whether I like them or not...I might as well take that leap of faith and embrace them.  


Oh, and I think I'm gonna like my new hair.  It makes me look more like a grandma, but hey...that's another change that I have embraced with enthusiasm, so why not look the part?  

Efferdent and Pinwheels

I have always been a list person.  I've made lists of what to pack on trips, classes I needed to take, and endless grocery lists and dinner menus.  And, as a grown-up (which I have been for a couple of years now), I have been fairly faithful in making lists to manage my adult life.  I've listed chores, calendar events, and more frequently, those never-ending dinner menus and grocery lists to get my family through from one paycheck to the next.  This leads into the explanation of my post title today.  (It takes very little to amuse me sometimes, and this story is one of them.)  Whenever I enter the amount of my most recent 'list' purchases, I make an abbreviated note in my check register to remind myself of what the funds were used for.  So, the other day I went into the store specifically for denture cleaner, and while there I made an impulse buy of three cute little patriotic pinwheels.  I went home, put the Efferdent into the bathroom, stuck the pinwheels in the dirt of the front yard, and.went to make that notation in my checkbook.  I wrote "Efferdent and pinwheels"....and started to giggle.  What kind of a combination is that?  How on earth could those two items possibly be related?  Well, I know how they go together.....and now you do, too.  Further proof that even the most random things can be linked, if you know all the details. 
                                   

Blog Challenge Last Day: Weird Quirk of Mine

To my knowledge, I have never been described as 'quirky'.  Maybe one weird quirk does not 'quirky' make.    (pause, pause, pause, think, think, think-think, think, think)----OK!  I got one!  I will usually come up with a song for just about any occasion.  Someone getting married?  I will burst out into "Going to the chapel and we're--gonna get ma-a-arried"!  Or maybe we're talking about a friend...."You ain't never-- had a-- frieeeeeend liiiiike MEEEEEEE!" (And I'll probably add the bwa-da-das!).  Last night we were watching some of the Olympic trials, and I'm thinking about "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free!.....God Bless the U-S-A!!"   Put me to the test sometime...if you haven't actually heard me start singing part of a song that I somehow feel fits the situation, then it's probably just because it's playing in my head, not out my mouth!  Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, and apparently, I'm self-medicated!  
As this blog challenge ends, I want to thank you all for coming.  Can't really tell you what this page will contain from here on out, but I hope you stay tuned!  Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!