Sunday, September 30, 2012

The First Annual.......

On the first day of autumn, a sunny day with a bright blue sky, we celebrated the life of a good friend. I wrote some months ago about my friend who was dying. He as been gone now for 6 months and has left a big whole in the lives of his wife, family and friends. After his passing, his sisters wanted to gather all his family and friends together to do something that he would have enjoyed. Volleyball!!

For years and years we all got together every Sunday and played volleyball, drink a few beers, sometimes bring some food and play ball. As soon as the weather started warming up in the Spring he would start calling people to say "We're going to the park for some volleyball". We would hardly ever miss a Sunday and we would continue into the fall until it just got too cold. We even played in pouring rain. Sometimes if it was raining we would put up a dollar apiece and whoever got the muddiest, and it had to be from falls going after the ball, would win the pot. We once had a long debate on the difference between raining, drizzling, sprinkling or just misting. We were quite the scholars.....really.

Things could get kind of competitive at times, tempers flared on occassion, people got injured, but at the end of the day, any disagreements were forgotten about, injuries soothed and we all would often sit around and shoot the breeze til dark. We played in the same spot for so many years that the grass was killed off there for a long time. There was always a core group that was there every Sunday and then there were those who would come every now and then, other friends would drop in, and as far as my friend was concerned, everyone was welcomed.

So in honor of him, his family decided to have a cookout and volleyball games at the same park, in the same spot as we did many years ago. These people are some of my oldest and dearest friends and I felt honored to be included in this event. They cooked out burgers and hot dogs, everyone brought a dish, one sister brought fried chicken. They had pasta salads, beans, macaroni and cheese, soft drinks, beer, and much, much more. It was all very, very good.

It was so nice to see everybody, and to see how everyone's children have grown into adults, I had to ask who some of them were because I hadn't seen them since they were little, plus all the new additions, it was quite a crew. The little kids played badminton while the adults played volleyball. It really was a perfect day.

And at the end of the day, his family spread some of his ashes just down the hill from the volleyball court.I think he would have liked that. It was quite moving. Everyone stood quietly, watching, lost in their own thoughts and memories. My eyes welled up with tears watching and I am sure I was not the only one.I was standing next to his son who naturally was very emotional.  After a few moments of quiet reflection, one of his sisters asked if anyone wanted to say anything, but I think everyone was lost in their own thoughts. But his nephew came up with the perfect ending for the ceremony.  He said "If Duke were here, he'd say 'c'mon, dammit, we got time for one more game before it gets dark".  And that is exactly what he would have said. We all smiled and went back to the party. Now that was the perfect ending.

His family has talked about making this an annual event. I certainly hope so. It brings back old memories and creates new ones.

Kathy

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Last Week's TV Review

Before I talk about some of last week's TV shows, I want to mention that I am going to try to learn a new dance, the Cupid Shuffle. For those who don't know what that is, it is kinda like a line dance similiar to the Electric Slide (which I don't know how to do either) set to more of a hip hop beat. I went out with some girlfriends last night for music, dancing and beer and this dance came up and everyone jumped in, but me. It really looks like fun, but I kept thinking they were saying the Cuban Shuffle and wondered what it had to do with Cuba? My friend set me straight on the name and sent me a instructional video, so we will see if I can muster enough coordination to learn this. But I don't understand what it has to do with Cupid either :-0

Okay, now I want to talk about some of the TV shows that I watched last week. I think I have pretty eclectic taste in shows that I watch, ranging from Masterpiece Mystery on PBS to reality shows, nature shows and the History Channel and Foodnetwork. Whether comedy or drama, I love 'em all.

SONS OF ANARCHY: This is the story of a Motorcycle Club in a small town in California. These guys are a pretty rough bunch while they try to keep their small town of Charming, just that, charming. This is the 5th season for the show on FX, Tuesday nights at 10pm. I've been watching since the 2nd season. The club runs guns and other illegal activities. The leader of the club is Jax (who is hot, hot, hot). after he ousts the previous leader who was his mother's husband. His mother is Gemma, who is all motorcycle mama, she lives the life and she doesn't take any crap from anybody. Last week, one of the club members, Tig, had his adult daughter kidnapped by a rival gang, doused with gasoline and set on fire while he was forced to watch, it was quite gruesome. It was done in retaliation for Tig accidently killing the head of the rival gang's daughter.
I love this show.

REVOLUTION:  This is a brand new show and I usually have a hard time watching new shows cause I am so committed to my regular shows, it's hard to make room. But his show caught my eye because it seemed like it could be along the lines of LOST. I was a HUGE fan of LOST and most people either loved it or hated it. Anyway, the previews of Revolution reminded me of that show so I thought I would try it out. I watched the first episode and it was interesting, it started out with all the power in the world going off, but then jumped ahead 15 years to how these people were living long after that. The lawlessness, living conditions, the fear. I wanted to see how they coped through the initial blackout. Maybe the show plans on show flashbacks and flash forwards but I'm not sure I want to hang around for all of that. I'll watch a couple more episodes and see how it goes. Has anyone else watched it? What do you think?

HONEY BOO BOO:  I'm sorry, but I have gotten sucked into watching this show. I watched the first episode and thought, good lord, and vowed to never watch it again. But.......like when you pass by an accident and you can't help but slow down and look, that's what happened with this show. In their defense, they all do seem to genuinely love each other, they get along, their house is clean, they have fun, they do things together as a family. The little girl, Honey Boo , is funny and comes off with the best one liners and as a FB friend said, her one liners are "disturbingly accurate".  This past week they had a former Miss Georgia come and try to teach Honey Boo Boo (Alana) some manners. Well, that went over like a lead balloon. Between her farting, letting food fall out of her mouth while she's eating and saying inappropriate things, it seemed to be a hopeless cause. They let it be known that they are rednecks and proud of it. I can certainly say that they do not lack self-esteem. Next week is the season finale and I have to see it through to the end.

Happy Watching

Kathy

Sunday, September 2, 2012

In A "Funk"

I have been in such a funk lately, restless, distracted, stressed, not being able to accomplish a task. You might say that maybe I'm depressed but that's not it. I'm not upset or angry. Actually, I think I just feel overwhelmed and I need a change. And sometimes I just need to wallow in my funk for a while, then I'll feel fine.

I think not having a car has started getting to me. Not to be able to just get up and go out on the spur of the moment, to run errands on the weekend, run to pick up something quick for supper when I don't feel like cooking, meeting friends has started getting old.

I'm tired. With my son working at nights, I can't seem to go to sleep until he leaves for work. I'm afraid he will fall asleep and be late for work, he goes to school during the day and is tired, so I can't relax enough to drift off until I hear him leave. Then 4 1/2 hrs. later it is time for me to get up for work. So on the weekends when I should be working on projects around the house that need to be done, I just don't feel like doing it. I just want to relax. So the projects are stacking up and the more I put them off, the more stress I feel about  not getting them done. It's a vicious cycle.

I've had the opportunity to go out with friends several times this month and it has been so much fun. I want my weekends to be filled with that kind of fun plus relaxation at home, not always having something that needs to be done. I guess after 25yrs. of housework, laundry and cooking, the thrill is gone! But I want a clean house and I do love to cook, but I don't like to come home from work and cook everyday like I have for years. To be fair, my son mostly does his own laundry now and if I don't always have cook, he can fix himself some basic things or eat out. That does help. I'm just over it, but it needs to be one.

I have even been too exhausted to blog for the last several weeks. When I sit down in the evening to watch some TV and get online, it's not long before my eyes get heavy and I start nodding off. I haven't even had time to work on some of my other writing. And the more I get behind on things, the more stress I feel. So then I just end up doing nothing, like today. I piddled around most of the day, which is what I really wanted to do, but then my to do list keeps getting longer.

I am not a multi-tasker, I like to do one task at a time then move on to the next. That's why, as my list gets longer, I feel more pressure to get things done. And as a single mother/woman, it all falls on me, there is no one to hand off to, no one to share the load, no one to help with the decisions.

These problems I have talked about are not really "problems" in a world of wars, terrorism, natural disasters, social problems and good lord, upcoming elections, but they are what is causing my funk.
It's not the first time I've felt overwhelmed and I'm sure it won't be the last. I will wallow in my funk for a while longer, revel in my misery and then I will pick myself up and pull myself together and life will be good again. Sometimes it just takes awhile. More fun would be helpful too......I'm just sayin'.



Kathy