Last night after work I took Alex to Sylvan Learning Center. Homework program. Afterwards, at 7:20, we drove by the tennis courts to see if anyone was using them. If not, Lewis & Alex would go play. There are 4 courts; Two of them are presently being re-surfaced. When they went yesterday to play, they came home in 10 minutes because the remaining 2 courts were in use. We got to the courts & saw that 1 was available. Alex called Lewis’s cell – He was at Blockbuster. Lewis told him to reserve the court, he would go home, change, get the tennis balls, racquets, water & be there in 15 minutes. 15 minutes! And he was. Alex & I sat on the bench on the court under one of the lights that seemed to be attracting about a zillion bugs, mostly grasshoppers. I was trying to read my book & Alex was watching the 2 guys on the other court play. Grasshoppers kept flying at us. Finally, we went over to stand under the one light that was not working. No bugs. But it was too late by then. I had little bugs in my hair. When Lewis got there, he was carrying his shoes & socks. He really hurried. Then I left. As soon as I got to the parking lot I shook my hair to get bugs out of it, but I still had that creepy feeling. Went home to Sparky while the guys played tennis. I was able to go to bed early, but I had a weird dream about scorpions. The white scorpions were crawling on walls & they were “jumpers” - - like grasshoppers. There were big brown scorpions that were really fast. There were also little scorpions that were all over the place. It was a horrible dream. Fortunately, I woke up before any of them stung me. In reality, Lewis has been stung by scorpions about 3 times since we’ve lived in this house – in the middle of the desert. Since he isn’t allergic to the sting, he just takes Tylenol to ease the pain. Within a couple of days he’s fine.
When I got home from the tennis courts, I noticed our front lights were out. That was weird. They’re on a timer. I couldn’t see into the front entryway because it was all black so how could I get my key in the lock? I turned the car to face the entryway to light it up. I was pretty proud of myself. Then I dug around in the outside pocket of my purse for my keys. That’s where I always put them. They were there alright, but the little key ring was somehow caught on the lining of my purse. Man ! Why does this stupid stuff always happen to me.? I set it down in front of the headlights & tried & tried, with no luck. So I just took the purse, almost inside out at that section, took the key ring & tried putting the key in the door. It took a really long time, but I finally was able to put it in & then turn it. All the while I hear my little Sparky scratching at the door, waiting for her mommy, wondering just where the heck I am. I got in, set the purse down, & then took care of the car. Grabbed Alex’s backpack (which must weigh 50 pounds) & went inside. Played with Sparky for a while, took her out, played with her again & then tried to get my key ring off of my purse lining. I finally managed to get it off, but it took a while.
I started wondering why I’m always in these inept situations. I get my lanyard, sunglasses & iPod caught in my necklace, I get my 4-strand necklaces tangled into each other, I have a 2 layer tank that I still can’t untangle. I roll over my skirt with my chair at work, and I can’t get the right size shoes to save my life. Now I started looking at my life. I never considered myself clumsy. Or inept. I just wonder if this stuff happens to everyone. Maybe not as often. Or maybe I can just focus on it more since I don’t have any REAL problems to focus on. You know, I have a pretty decent life. I have a great husband, great son, great dog, family, friends, & a job. We can afford to buy food & a have roof over our heads. I guess what I’m saying is: If tangled necklaces & clothes are the worst things I have to complain about, life is pretty good. I should just shut up & be happy. And I am. When I look at my life, I see everything I have to be thankful for. And there are a lot of people & things to be thankful for. So I’m going to try not to focus so much on the negative things – like the wrong size shoes, or keys getting stuck in the lining of my purse -- & focus on the positive.
Alex loves tennis lessons & playing with his dad (& he even likes playing with me)
Alex seems to genuinely love high school & gets A+s in everything
We’re all healthy
If my shoes don’t fit, I at least have a different pair I can wear
Lewis loves his job
I have a good job
My sisters are the best
My friends are the best
The rest of my family is the best
My niece is pregnant with twins (& very healthy)
My dog is gifted
August is over
There are a lot of other reasons to be thankful, but I’m going to move on now to something not so mushy.
Samantha, my other niece, is getting married this Sat. To Michael, of course. He is such a nice guy. A really good kid. Kid ! I call everyone a kid anymore. Probably because I have somehow gotten old over the years. I still don’t know what to wear to her wedding.
High holidays are coming up. Rosh Hashanah starts on 9/29 eve; Yom Kippur starts 10/8 eve. I’m in charge of getting food for the dinners. I’ve been contacting various caterers. Most of them have those dates booked already. But I found 1 who can do it. She just hasn’t given me a price yet. But she does deliver, & that’s important.
Listen to this: This one person I work with has one of those little boxy cars that looks like a toaster. Yes, a toaster. I can’t remember what it’s called, but that actually describes it perfectly. Another person here has a car that I think might be a Murano, or something like that. But I think it looks like a big loaf of bread. So when I was walking in from the parking lot this morning, I saw both of those cars & thought that the bread car & the toaster car could make toast. Then I thought how stupid that sounds. I also thought only my 2 sisters would see any humor in that. That’s another thing - So often, it seems, only my sisters have the same sense of humor I do. Is that weird? Sometimes I’ll say something that’s funny, but no one gets it. Then I end up wondering if something is wrong with me. I know a lot of the things I refer to in my potential jokes (or quips) are old – like referring to something in the 70’s or 80’s, & no one gets it. Another reason I know I’m older than everyone I work with. (How often do you hear the word “quips” used in daily conversation?)
Example 1: When Alex was in the 5th grade, his teacher asked Lewis if he would come in, bring some Beatles albums & tell the kids something about the Beatles. He did. I went too. The teacher brought a turntable. First of all, the kids had no idea what a turntable was. Then they saw a vinyl 33 album. Another mystery to them. When Lewis asked who had heard of the Beatles & I thought “What a stupid question” only 3 kids raised their hands -- & 1 of them was my kid. What?! We couldn’t believe that. I really felt out of it then. But we did have Alex late. I was 38 & Lewis was 39 when he was born. All of Alex’s friends’ parents were in their early- to mid-20s when they had their kids. So Alex’s friends’ parents wouldn’t even know most of the stuff we would be talking about because it’s kind of like they were almost a different generation in themselves. They listened to different music & didn’t know about the older tv shows. Okay, I can live with that. But we are also much more experienced. Yeah. We like to tell ourselves that. We’ll just keep it at that.
Example 2: One time when Lewis & I were in downtown Phx for an Eric Clapton concert, we were having dinner at a restaurant before the concert started. Our waitress, a college student, asked us if we were going to the basketball game or the concert after dinner. We said the concert. She said, “Oh, that’s that Eric guy. My parents are there too.” Yikes. When she went away, I asked Lewis if we were old. He said, “Apparently.”
“That Eric guy” happens to be one of the greatest guitarists on this planet, & he’s been reduced to “That Eric guy” by a college student.” Pretty disrespectful.
Because I’m so old, I got to experience the era of Steely Dan. There is no music in the world like Steely Dan. It got me thinking this morning when I was driving to work how lucky I am to live in a world with Steely Dan’s music. The last song I was listening to as I drove into the parking lot was “Pretzel Logic.” What clean guitar on that song! I could listen to it over & over. Oh wait. I DO listen to it over & over. And to think – there are some people in this world who have never heard their music. Pretty sad for them. I listen to music in a strange way. I listen to the whole song first. Then I play 2 or 3 more times & listen to just the words, the next time I play it & listen to just the guitar, the next time I focus on only the keyboards, etc. I am not a person who should listen to music while driving because I focus too much on the separation of sound.
Sept 26 (Fri) – Well, just when I was thinking nothing bad was going to happen anymore, we got news this morning that Alex has to have back surgery. It will be the last wk of school because he’ll have to recuperate for 4 months. Two of his vertebrae are fused together & the 2 above it are almost fused. We take him to the pediatric back specialist every 6 months to see if it’s progressing or staying the same. It’s gotten much worse than it was 6 months ago. It’s better to have the surgery as a child than to wait until he’s an adult. Now I’m a nervous wreck. We always get a second opinion. We’re taking him to the other specialist in Oct. And we have to make sure the most experienced doctor operates on him.
We were planning on going to Hawaii this summer, but we won’t. I don’t care. I have to be with my baby. They’ll have a hard time getting me out of the hospital. I hope they know the mother will be staying there with the child.
Let’s think good thoughts. Like - - Samantha & Michael are getting married tomorrow. That will be fun. Gotta love a wedding.
Sept 29 (Mon) It’s over…..Samantha & Michael are married. I have never seen Samantha so radiant. She was positively beaming. And Michael - - well, Michael is always beaming. He’s one of the happiest guys I’ve ever seen. Always laughing about something. He’s a very warm person. The wedding was a lot of fun. I got some great pictures.
Yesterday (Sun) Alex had his friend Chris come over so they could work on their biology project together. When they were finished, Lewis brought his guitar collection out for Chris to see. Chris is supposedly this amazing guitarist - - especially for a 14-yr old. He played 3 of the guitars & decided he likes the Fender 50th Anniversary Strat the best. So Lewis let him play with it for a while until his dad came to pick him up. And get this - - This 14-yr old kid played some Joe Satriani like it was a breeze. Satriani ! Incredible. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open looking like an idiot, not believing what I was seeing / hearing. Lewis too. We were both in awe of this kid. He’s offered to coach Alex too. Alex is already taking guitar, but I think he could really benefit if Chris took some time with him. Alex has always told us about how good Chris is, but it’s hard to be impressed until you’ve actually seen & heard him play.
Tonight at sundown Rosh Hashanah begins. I’m going to leave work a couple of hrs early to get home in time for our meal. Then we’ll go to temple. Sam & Sevilan will be with us. I took care of the dinner this time. Ordered it all from AJ’s. And that is as close as I will get to cooking a big holiday meal. Same thing for next wk – Yom Kippur. I ordered the meal already. So I’ll be off tomorrow - & at temple for a while. I’m getting the challah from 2 different places because it seems wherever we get it, someone complains that it’s not very good - - They tell me I should have gotten it at the other place. So today I’m picking it up from both places.
I intend to put up the Halloween decorations when we get home tomorrow. I need to put the little ghosts & witches in the tree in front of Alex’s bedroom. I have tons of Halloween decorations. It’s my favorite holiday. I decorate the inside of the house too.
I’ve been looking at those little digital handheld recorders for Alex. He’s always coming up with ideas for a book or screenplay & he doesn’t write it down. He’ll come in & tell me the whole story. I tell him what I think of it, we discuss it, & then I tell him to write it down so he doesn’t forget it when he’s ready to put it all together. He says that’s why he tells me – so I’ll remember & he won’t have to. Ha ! Only a male could think like that. So I’m getting him a recorder. I told him we’ll just turn it on when he’s running his story by me & then he’ll have a record of it. I’ll probably end up typing it for him because he doesn’t like typing. He does it every day for something, but not for his own stories. And he’s come up with some really good ideas. (You should see his little fingers fly on that keyboard when it’s Fantasy Football or Baseball time!)
Oct 2 (Thurs) Alex has tennis lessons on Thursdays. He loves it. He & the other kids exchanged phone numbers so they could call each other to play during the wk.
Ever notice other people when you get in an elevator? Everyone tries not to look at the other person. They look at the numbers on the side. I usually look at people’s shoes & purses. If I like them, I tell the person. Then we end up talking. If we see each other around the building again, that person usually smiles or says hello to me. Such little things.
Oct 3 (Fri) Anyone watch the vice-presidential debate last night? Most unusual. I won’t comment further, as I know it’s not a good idea to discuss politics or religion unless you’re really in a fighting mood. Which I am not.
Oct 4 (Sat) Took Alex to the other back specialist for his review. He concurs with the other dr. Alex will need surgery. We have to go to the pediatric orthopedic hospital in Los Angeles to meet with the surgeon & then schedule the surgery, which will take place there also. But the surgery won’t be until school is out.
Alex & I played tennis today. We picked up his racquet from the tennis store. It just got re-strung. The courts are beautiful now. He really loves that game. Bad news is - After his back surgery he can't play any sports for a year. That will drive him crazy.
Samantha & Michael’s wedding photos still aren’t posted on the internet on the photographer’s site yet.
Rosh Hashanah food from AJ's was pretty good, but not everyone thought so, so this week, for Yom Kippur, I have it ordered from another caterer who does just catering. She is not also a grocery store. She is also getting the challah. Her prices are higher, but maybe this time no one will complain. Ha! Who am I kidding?!
Guess that’s it for now.
Hugs, Candace
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