KK's Chronicles: February 2009

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Snakes and jellyfish and geckos...oh my!

First, the weather, sure Florida is lovely in the winter, but who can stand the heat in the summer?

Secondly, these people down here are not exactly nice. I remember coming down to visit my mother a few years back. We went to the bank and were waiting in line for a teller. In the other section of the bank was a small waiting room. I watched an older couple come in, the woman was very agile, the man was hunched over and using a walker. All of the seats were taken. The woman motions to her husband to go get a chair from another area. I've got to give him credit, it was quite a feat to get that chair while holding onto his walker. He brings the chair back and sets it down and the woman promptly sits in it. Her husband stood holding on to his walker. No one got up to give him a chair. This is perfectly normal, my mother tells me.

And third, there I am standing near, very near, the hedge talking on my cell. I see a black rope or something entwined in the hedge, I peer over to get a better look...and SNAKE! Yikes, a black 3 foot long snake. It's a good thing the nurse is here because I thought I was having a heart attack. In Illinois, where it is safe, if you see a snake, you can rest assured, it probably isn't poisonous, but in Florida, I just didn't know. I called Mike. He says, as long as it's black, you are fine. So, I ask, there are poisonous snakes around here. Oh, yea, he says, stay away from the brown ones. Don't worry, I will, but what if they don't stay away from me?

As I get ready to head to bed, I decided to open the window. It's getting warm and I thought the breeze would be nice. Surprise, in between the window and the screen, there is a gecko. Well, I don't want it crawling on me during the night so I have to close the window. No problem, it seems to have scurried away. I gently close the window and when it is almost all the way down, I let go, it falls the rest of the way....yes, you guessed it...squish. Sorry, little guy.

Honey, we will not be retiring to south Florida. Sorry.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Cousins

The Little Engineer

Thursday, February 5, 2009

news from the home front

My children have staged a coup!

Mike said, they would not get out of bed this morning. The teachers told us there is no school and we are not going, they giggle from beneath the covers. (I'm pretty sure this was Noah's idea, but again side kick always plays along)

OK, says Mike, time for breakfast.

OK, say the children, but no school!

Get dressed, says Mike.

OK, my angels reply, but we are not going to school, Dad.

And so on it went until they were all the way in their classrooms groaning, Dad, we said no school today.

I think it's cute and clever of them, but then, I am far away and didn't have to do any coaxing.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

It is time to face the facts...

I don’t have a hip or cool bone left in body. Not to mention I now have actual hip pain to remind me that my youth is leaving and old age is on it’s way. Not that I mind being 40, I don’t, I’m fine with it, just like I was fine with 10, 20, and 30. It’s the loss of my coolness that I mourn. You might argue that I was never really cool or hip to begin with, but in my mind….rock star, baby!

Today, I was shopping at Kohl’s, my favorite store (see what I mean), and I noticed grandma on the other side of the clothing rack looking at the same shirt I was admiring. Now, I have to admit this is the second time this has happened to me. You would think I had learned my lesson the first time and not gone back to that blasted store, but remember I’m getting older, so my memory is in question. There I was admiring the clothing with the jewelry sewn onto it, thinking when exactly did I stop shopping at the cool stores? Can I blame my husband? (I always try that first) No, I think it was my children. Not only did they destroy my shape, they stole my money.

Off I go into the fitting room. Another thing I didn’t used to have to do, try on the clothes. I used to know what size I wore and it always fit. Now, maybe the arms are too small, or the shirt shows the belly, or it’s too tight and shows my rolls. I’m painting a pretty picture, eh? So, I have narrowed the pile down from 25 to 4, and now I am agonizing over a jacket. Do I really like it? Is it worth the 18 bucks I’ll have to cough up to pay for this clearance priced jacket. Hm, what to do? And then I think, what? I’m agonizing over 18 dollars? I have completely lost it, I better put this jacket back. I pay and out I go to the parking lot. Guess what? I forgot where I parked the car.

Cool, hip, youth. Good-bye. I will really miss you.