A Weekend of Looking Back

Irv and I were at the grocery store this morning and came around a corner....and holy cow! There was the owner of the company Irv worked for about six years ago! It was so nice to see him. Great guy. We talked for about a half hour.

Irv had worked at this guy's marketing company for about nine years. He was the Operations Manager. The company was booming. Always busy, always growing, great place to work, perfect hours, great pay, wonderful benefits, fun people......and then it happened. The slow down....and then the lays offs. They started slowly at first and then picked up speed.

They had about 165 employees back in the day....they now have 22. So sad.

Irv had a wonderful relationship with the owners and they told him they would give him plenty of notice if his job were in jeopardy.

This was the company Irv thought he would retire from. He loved working there. He did an awesome job for them. He saved them money on everything they did with their facilities. After they moved to a bigger location they gave our family of five a dream vacation to Florida as a bonus for all of his extra hours and help.

When the lay offs got to Irv's level, they held him on with part time hours and pay, but full time benefits...like I said...they were good people. They gave him plenty of notice when the time came. It was so hard. Irv was 50 years old.

We had been keeping our eyes open for jobs, but there weren't many. He finally found one and it turned out to be hell on earth. He stayed a few years and then found the job he has now at a Catholic church and school. The pay is fine and the benefits are fine, but it isn't the amount of responsibility or the challenge that Irv loves. In this economy though and at our age....it's where he will stay for now.

After the pre-reunion get together on Friday night, which I will talk about another day.....and seeing his old boss today....all I can say is that is enough "Blasts from the past" for me for a good long while! I am a "live for today" kind of girl and my head is spinning!

Reflections

When my mom was older, she liked to talk about when she was younger. I loved listening to her stories. Then it dawned on me....when mom is gone...am I going to remember these awesome stories so I can pass them on to my kids? Probably not. I thought how cool it would be to have her record them.

I asked her one day how she would feel about doing that, and she liked the idea. She started to write down some things she would want to talk about on the tapes, but we never got around to doing any recording. I wish we had.

My daughter Tresa gave me a book a number of years ago called, "Reflections From a Mother's Heart". It's to write your life story with a different topic on each page. I have never written in it. I always wondered if it would make me sad, would I be able to be honest, would it be a constant reminder that I am getting older?

We have a video that our kids had made for us for our 25th wedding anniversary. It's a montage of photos with music that takes you through our lives. I have watched it a few times since we got it back in 1997. It's hard watching your life fly by in 20 minutes!

How do you feel about those kinds of things? Do you journal about your life?

I actually pulled that book out that Tresa gave me and I think I am going to start writing in it. I think I will start with easy things like, "Have you ever had a surgery?" or "Share one of your mother's favorite recipes." Then once I am comfortable with it, I'll try pages like family tragedies and the hardest thing you ever had to do....

I know that one day my kids will really appreciate being able to read about the little things that made me who I am today....that quirky lady they call "mom".

I am a firm believer in living a positive and gentle life. I do my best to make other people happy and in turn it makes me happy. I believe we reap what we sow. I am rarely in a foul mood, and I think it's because I just don't allow it. Life is too short, and that isn't how I want to spend my time.

Life's journey.....how will you share yours?

Everyone Should Have a Pair of Stilts

I have always enjoyed looking at my old photos, but starting this blog has had me constantly digging in my photo bins looking for pictures to use for my blog. In doing so, I have come across so many wonderful old photos....and then looking at those tends to take me back in time. Sometimes it's back to my kid's teen years with sports pictures and prom pictures....then it's back to when they were really little....then back to our wedding and our dating years and then back to when I was a kid myself.

I was thinking last night about my childhood and in spite of the difficulties of my dad's physical and emotional health...he was a really cool guy! He had an uncanny way with animals, including wild animals. He nursed many a bird back to health and we even adopted a baby raccoon that lost it's mom.

My parents were very involved with the PTA at our school and even took part in the annual "Fall Follies" and fashion shows that were put on as fundraisers. Our neighborhood was close knit and my parents had many good friends. They would walk over to a neighbor's house for coffee or neighbors would stop by our house. They played cards and headed to the local "tap" for a drink some weekends. It was a good life.

The thing that came to mind last night was when my dad made us stilts. They were made from square wood "poles" with a piece of wood attached for your feet. These weren't the kind that strapped on, but rather the ones you wrapped your arms around to hold the long poles. I remember learning to use them and then walking all over the place with them. It got me where I wanted to go really fast because you could take such BIG steps! Then when the other kids saw them.....they wanted a pair too. Being the generous guy he was, dad started producing stilts for all of our friends, many stilts, and what fun we all had!

So, if you are ever looking for an inexpensive and fun "toy" for your kids...something that won't have them sitting in front of the TV, but rather outside in the fresh air....something really different.....make them a pair of stilts! Great exercise and an excellent way to learn balance! I've even found you some simple instructions right here. Now go make some stilts!

The pictures are my dad (shirtless) and my Uncle Bob when they were building our house in 1955, and the other is me (right), my sister Kay (front) and two of my neighborhood friends in 1958.