Speaking of … being on the edge of living … this is how we roll in good ole China Grove Tejas. Oh my my! Oh hell yes!
I had to take my car to the shop when the stabili-trac and ABS lights came on. Followed quickly by my A/C blowing hot air. Considering the time of year, waiting on the A/C may have been okay but the brakes stuff made for an emergency visit to the car doc.
This caused me to work from home. In sweats! Yay! After the drop off, all back and settled in, all nice and cozy, yet working my fingers to the bone, B tells me we have a herd of cows in our yard. What the what? I didn’t believe him and I had to look. Lo and behold, here is proof:
Rolling, rolling, rolling, keep those doggies rolling Rawhide!
Seven Santa Gertrudis prime. Looks like five but two are behind the tree. As I opened the window blinds, they stopped and the conversation went something like this:
Me: Look they saw me and stopped
B: No, they see the dogs
Me: Why aren’t the dogs barking?
B: It’s their nap time
I proceed to film and narrate but I won’t bore you with that here. I have listened over and over to myself and laugh every time. J-Dub, the Howard Cosell of bovine.
After a bit, the herd started moseying, moving apart. I was on the phone with my co-worker and I wasn’t fast enough to get the action shot from the kitchen window. I only got this:
No funny TV quips today on this most solemn 13th anniversary of an unfortunate event. If I was superstitious, I’d light some candles. Instead I’m spreading sunshine. #grateful
I’ve said before that my mom was a garage sale shopper. I hate paying full price for anything. Re: shoes I wear them until the fall apart. You’ve all seen it right here.
I had a pair of brown boots that I had to throw away since they basically fell apart. I think I had them about a decade. They were cheap to begin with but that’s my MO anyway. Today I was looking for replacements when lo and behold, I received an email about a 3 hour sale. 30% off ANYTHING! I also had a $20 off boots expiring today. I chatted up the online helpers at Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) to see if I could stack my discounts.
Drum roll please – ratta tat tat ratta tat tat ratta tat tat
Full price $199
Compared to DSW price of $119
Clearance $49.99
Minus $20 and 30% (of what I am not sure but I do not care)
Total $16.19 – woo to the hoo!!
I will have them in 4 to 7 days – no shipping fees either.
I stayed in bed until after 9 am this morning. When I mentioned this to my sonshine, I added how I had not done that in years to which he quipped “yep I remember, 5 more minutes … thanks for screwing me up mom” Of course I laughed because in his reply, I heard my own smart ass voice talking back to me. He was kidding not kidding. I was queen of the five minute snooze … weekends only but that was apparently enough to warp my child. Continuing on Pony says “well at least one of your kids didn’t take after you. The good one!” lol. His sister is just like their father.
Now this made me think. Are our children extensions of us or are they their own people? There is no easy answer. I imagine most “normal” people want their kids to grow up into strong independent helpful contributors to society. Most do not expect perfection. Life is perfectly flawed. I wish I had learned that 31 years ago.
I am replaying a #SoCS post that I read yesterday full credit to Author: Na’ama Yehuda in that sometimes there is no unconditional love or acceptance if our children dare be who they are and they know it. Even when we try to hide our desire for them to be who we think they should be as was my case. Though I did not hide it well enough resulting in a pretty dark path for our girl. Now that she has climbed out of the tunnel (that was really never even that bad), I am still struggling. I know better and I can recognize it instantly when others helicopter their kids. I remain a work in progress trying to achieve unconditional love. Even at my ever advancing age because it’s never too late. Acceptance is within my grasp.
Jim gives us lost/found/hide/seek as our prompt. So many choices, so little time. Not really. I’ve got all the time in the world and I’m relishing it. Age has some perks. I picked the song “You Will Be Found” Songwriters: Benj Pasek / Justin Paul from the musical Dear Evan Hansen which I’ll be seeing on my birthday! Can’t wait! It’s a long song but it’s worth it. I’ve added the wiki for more context.
Have you ever felt like nobody was there? Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere? Have you ever felt like you could disappear? Like you could fall, and no one would hear?
Well, let that lonely feeling wash away Maybe there’s a reason to believe you’ll be okay ‘Cause when you don’t feel strong enough to stand You can reach, reach out your hand
And oh, someone will coming running And I know, they’ll take you home
Even when the dark comes crashing through When you need a friend to carry you And when you’re broken on the ground You will be found
So let the sun come streaming in ‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again Lift your head and look around You will be found You will be found You will be found You will be found You will be found
Have you seen this? Someone put a video of your speech online
My speech?
People started sharing it, I guess, and now, I mean Connor is everywhere (Your speech is everywhere) This morning The Connor Project page, it only had fifty-six people following it
Well, how many does it have now?
Four thousand five-hundred eighty-two (Sixteen thousand two-hundred and thirty-nine)
I don’t understand, what happened?
You did!
There’s a place where we don’t have to feel unknown (Oh my god) (Everybody needs to see this) And every time that you call out You’re a little less alone (I can’t stop watching this video If you only say the word (Seventeen years old) Take five minutes (This will make your day) From across the silence Your voice is heard Share it with the people you love (Repost) The world needs to hear this A beautiful tribute (Favorite) I know someone who really needed to hear this today, So thank you Evan Hansen, for doing what you’re doing I never met you Connor, but coming on here, reading everyone’s posts It’s so easy to feel alone, but Evan is exactly right—we’re not alone, none of us. We’re not alone, none of us, none of us None of us are alone (Like) (Forward) Especially now, with everything that you hear in the news (Like) (Share) (Repost) (Forward) Thank you Evan Hansen, for giving us a space to remember Connor To be together, to find each other Sending prayers from Michigan Vermont, Tampa, Sacramento Thank you, Evan Hansen (Repost)
Even when the dark comes crashing through When you need a friend to carry you When you’re broken on the ground You will be found
So let the sun come streaming in ‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again If you only look around You will be found (You will be found) You will be found (You will be found) You will be found
Out of the shadows The morning is breaking And all is new, all is new It’s filling up the empty And suddenly I see that All is new, all is new You are not alone You are not alone You are not alone You are not alone You are not alone (You are not alone) You are not alone (You are not alone) You are not You are not alone (You are not alone)
Even when the dark comes crashin’ through When you need someone to carry you When you’re broken on the ground
You will be found!
So when the sun comes streaming in ‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again If you only look around You will be found
Even when the dark comes crashin’ through You will be found When you need someone to carry you You will be found You will be found You will be found
New Amsterdam is a keeper. The topics are real and gritty. I wish they were real anyway. Stick it to the man do-gooder doctors. They mostly win. If real life were only that simple.
Dr. Kapoor is enduring. My heart breaks for him. He wants to be a grandpa so bad. The psychiatrist Dr. Iggy Frome is my favorite character. Child psychopath age 11 was a subplot on the 10/22/19 episode. I will be sleeping with one eye open tonight. 
Woo to the hoo! New badge alert. Congrats Shelley!! I will wear this badge weekly with pride :).
Here is what’s on tap per the lovely Linda, host with the most:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “dress.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
Free for all alert … not too many rules or incentives like bonus points. Simply “dress” any way you like it. Or not! That was my first thought. Ha! dressing is overrated. I mean c’mon who cares if one has the latest fashion. Sickening to me what people pay for certain designer duds. I could help so many people with that amount of cash. A better use too. My opinion. No need for the peanut gallery to explain to me why I am wrong to be so judging/preachy. My left leaning bleeding heart is showing.
Moving along because I was getting too heavy. Truth! I need to get to a gym. Or sleep again. Or eat right. Or live with what the good lord gave me. Acceptance and all that jazz.
What I really thought about first was “Puttin’ on the Ritz” … “The Young Frankenstein” cover. Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle were hilarious. Not just in this movie either. Classic gentlemen. Dapper Dan’s. Dressed for Success!!
I know the song is ancient and has a history. In the 40s, a second version was released where Irvin Berlin changed some of his lyrics to avoid offending anyone. All very interesting but I am running outta stream. Not sure which end is up and/or where to begin. So much to do, so little time. Wait! Reverse it.
Oh my today is a Gene Wilder love fest. “What knockers!” “Why thank you!” Happy Saturday.
If you’d like to join in with the merry band of prompt respondents, here are rules and ping back.
I stumbled across SoulPancake as part of an incentive at work. Part of our be healthy challenge is to listen to short videos of a variety of topics meant to inspire. Each week a new video is shared. I found myself watching, smiling, feeling better, and making me realize the world is full of goodness despite all that we see that tries to tell us otherwise.
Here was our week one video:
Shaheem’s amazing story is part of our collaboration with The Happiness Stories and director Ron Parida, who presents portraits of individuals who have been dealt life’s toughest challenges, but who choose to persevere and do inspiring things.
J-Dub's Grin and Bear It 