With my knees feeling empty and achy, the stairs in our townhouse have become a taunting, evil obstacle standing between me and my bed, me and the shower, me and the kitchen with the fridge and the coffee pot. See, because it’s not just the up-going. That is bad but descending the stairs is even more painful. Before the knees, i have to say that stairs were not my favorite contraption. i happen to like my thighs flabby, thank you very much.
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Recently when leaving comments on my favorite blogs, i’ve noticed my propensity for over-doing. Too many words, too much flattery. The thing is, i like what i’m reading, but something seems off with my respones. Simply saying, Oh i like this, seems like a cop out. So i say that and more- so much more i wonder if anyone can even tell what i mean! Can i ever turn off or tone down the writer and just be c, the humble reader? :(
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There are things in the world i believe came from the devil. Here’s the shortlist:
under-wire bras
frozen yogurt
high heels
traffic
lima beans
the phrase throw _______ under the bus and all variants of that
pantyhose
politics
laundry
flies
i could go on and on. Really i could. Like. For. Ever.
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i was talking to my mom about how my nightmare is ever seeing anyone i went to school with.
“Why?”
“i don’t know.” It just is. Everyone thought i was going to be a writer. A psychologist. A painter. What am i going to say? “i’m a homemaker.” So exciting right? i went to a hoity-toity high school where parents bought their kids Benzes for straight A’s on a report card, spent Christmas in Acapulco and did coke in the girls’ room. They’re all probably doctors, professors, lawyers.
My life is a good life. i just don’t want to hear, “What happened?” Because. Nothing happened. This is my life filled with love and bleach and good food that i cook and family. And i’ll want to explain because it’s what i do- explain crap- and i’ll feel judged and go on and on and on which makes me seemingly protesting too much. Like who am i trying to convince? And why?
Relating to people can be so stressful.
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Slump slump slump. i’m in a slump. i haven’t been outside due to smoky skies. Just over the border, California’s Klamath forest continues to burn as far as i know. Itchy eyes. Warm wind. Red sunsets… It reminded my of my hometown. i miss my SoCal a little. i miss Baker’s. When we first moved here, little Cait asked if we could go to Baker’s and pick up some bean & cheese burrtios.
“There’s no Baker’s here, Baby-girl,” R said.
She. Was. Pissed.
In Talent, we’ve no grocery store except for a market i shan’t name for fear of retaliation. (Yup. This town is that small.) i will say that they price gouge. i once paid six bucks for a box of Cream of Wheat. Six. American. Freakin. Dollars! At our regular store we pay 3. Shame on John Doe’s Marketplace! There’s no fast food joints, about which i am thankful. For, i can eat my weight in french fries.
And do so with much, much happiness!
(copyright 2008 ) c A Hughes
07.02.08
i’m with you on the fries and all that’s devilish, to which i will add blended whiskeys.
i love your comments. here, at our old place, and on other people’s blogs when i see them. and would even if i didn’t adore you and have plans in effect to make you famous.
maybe there’s more to your reticence about running into old cohorts. i’m from a small town. i haven’t kept in touch with anyone and when i go back there i avoid that kind of social contact like the plague. except for one fellow i try to run into, but that’s for a different reason.
i made different decisions than they did, we didn’t have that much in common in the first place, except, well, location, so it’s awkward. i should rephrase. i feel awkward– they don’t seem to, and whenever we do cross paths it’s never awful. frankly i don’t know what’s the matter with me.
i don’t blame others.
It’s my own insanities- which, though minute, are seemingly so numerous as to be a glob of crazy.
Still. Don’t want to see any.
~c
I don’t fool with old schoolmates either. I do not talk to any of them and would avoid them on the street. The town I grew up in breeds unquestioning, conformist, robot-like slaves to society.
I have seen several references to bleach in your posts. Please be careful with the use of this very dangerous chemical. After learning of alternatives, I switched to safer cleaning supplies (baking soda, vinegar, borax, washing soda, lemons, etc…). Sorry if I sound preachy and ignore this if it is none of my business (because it is YOUR house dammit).
It is awful that you are being gouged for a basic life necessity. Food manufacturers are intentionally reducing the size of the packaging as a way to avoid price increases. Consumers will notice the price change before they will notice a bottle of orange juice go from 96 ounces to 87 ounces. Coupled with inflation, gouging is a biznitch.
For reals, JP.
The thing is, i can get regular priced CoW, but our grocery store is far.
And with gas prices and so on, blah blah blah… Well, everyone has the same story except with varying destinations i think.
As for the bleach- i really don’t use that much.
i do mention it in a lot of my writing because, well, it’s the whole idea of stain removal that i find so attractive and descriptive. But if you ever want to share your knowledge, feel free. i appreciate your contribution here, on your page and in the world.
~c
Life can be so frustrating. Justifying choices you were glad to make is something no woman should be subjected to.
I hate flies too. It’s something about their freaky little eyes.
Don’t get me started on the cost of food.
It’s torture trying to feed a family healthfully, sometimes.
i know it has been lately,
although i feel if i have access to the internets-i better quit itchin.
Still… i know it’s not just me railing. The cost of everything has become ridiculous.
i can’t even elaborate on flies.
That’s its own post…
~c
Oh. One more thing…
I love your comments.
I’ve always loved your comments.
They’re real. Not full of shit, which, as a writer, means the world.
That’s all.
Aw, shucks…
You make it easy.
Hi Christine,
Had a moment and thought I would drive by. Glad to see you are still posting.
I think the stairs are there to challenge you to a duel. I have bad knees and there is only one way to conquer the stairs – increase the strength of the surrounding and core muscles so the joint doesn’t take all the load. (aren’t you glad I stopped by
)
I think your comments are fine. Sometimes you are passionate, sometimes complementary, sometimes edifying, – a good mix – not a comment machine.
Chest contraptions, foot distorters, and air blockers make no physiological sense. They are cultural stupidities like plated lips and neck ties.
I hope the smoke abates soon for you. We live on the east coast and do not have to suffer through smoke season. We instead have our acid rain.
peace
M’yeah.
i’ve no choice about the stairs but man, they are winning the battle. i’ve had bad knees since high school but they’ve really been flaring up in recent months.
i guess i shouldn’t be complaining. How is it acid rain goes away? Like, does it? The sky has actually cleared a lot. We some blue today so we went to the pool and i worked out a bit. It helped my knees feel better. i’m kind of cautious of taking medicine for them. (One day i’ll write a post explaining why.)
Thank you for stopping by. It’s always nice to hear what you’ve got to say.
~c
Oh, I like this.
Just teasing, c. I do like what you wrote, but I won’t leave such a simple comment when you’ve said so much. I agree with what clancyjane said because the awkwardness is just what you bring to the interaction.
.
.
.
.
I was worried about my social skills and what I would say to all the doctors and bankers and authors at Davidson when I went to take that class last month. I knew we would be asking each other, “What do you do?” and I stressed about my answer. But it turned out fine! They loved that I had two children.
I actually met someone from Oregon in the class. I told her I had a friend in Talent. She was surprised.
See, it’s not really the other people.
It’s my own hang-ups.
i need to sort them out and learn to be truly content.
We’ve discussed this before.
i’ve read it on so many blogs- moms that don’t know their/our significance.
i feel that what i do is not recognized as success.
And that’s the problem.
Also, i’m not one of those moms that had a college degree and career and decided to stay home with the children. i mean, i had jobs- not a career. But i always knew that whenever i had kids, one of us had to be home with them. My mom, bless her, was not home with my us- out of necessity of course- and i’ll soon be doing the same. i’m looking forward to it, but i’m also dreading starting over at some workplace, not being around my girls as much as we’re used to… Motherhood is so complex and sometimes, i don’t think others realize that.
But why do i need outside notice? My husband appreciates me. The girls, because they are young, can only appreciate me when they think of doing so which isn’t often, but enough to let me know i’m doing some stuff right…
i could pull my hairs from the root sometimes with my lame. So anyway, thanks for the comment. Sorry i missed it earlier. And Talent is totally small. i love it. It’s funny, i never knew anyone from Oregon, but when we went back to SoCal to visit my family, everyone knew someone from OR, or met folks from Oregon- only most were from Corvallis or Portland.
~c
PS – I went to an all male Catholic HS. We were grouped into categories of “potential”. Class A, B, and C. One of the guys from C was always picked on because of his dorkiness and utter lack of spark. Twenty years later he came in on a company helicopter having departed from the top of the Pan Am building in NYC. He was a vice president of Chase or one of those. However, the classmate whose situation I envied had become a sommelier at a fine restaurant in Stowe, VT. He had his own chalet and skied with his kids during the day. He loved his life. Most people would pick the VP job as most enviable because they are brainwashed into thinking that.
I think this lawyer, doctor, banker fixation is silly.
i think everyone should do what they want, and mostly i’m doing what i want to do, something worthwhile and challenging. i don’t know qasze, i’ve got a complex.
~c
Wow, a lot of stuff here, Chica.
Stairs, yes creaky bastids that make us creaky in retaliation.
Your comments are wonderful – there is nothing more gratifying than having a reader over express what they feel/think about what they’ve just read. Don’t give it a second thought.
Adding to your evil list: okra, cockroaches, users
$6 for a box of cereal – that is gougey. The turds. How do you get food, mail order, long drives?
I loved this post, it was like sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and gabbing. Tre’s cool.
Annie
i like fried okra but haven’t had any in forever, but i can see how folks hate it.
It kind of has that slime…
i cannot believe i didn’t mention cockroaches, as they should be in the top ten along with walking through spider webs and thieves. It’s just that i haven’t seen a solitary one since we’ve moved here.
i’ve not, so far in my life, had roaches in any home i’ve dwelled in cos i would die, but in San Bernardino, big ass roaches the size of tiny dogs would roam the streets of downtown. It was sick!
Long drives, Chica.
For every thing except the girls’ school and Wagner Crick.
Thanks, Annie.
~c
I think I do the same with the comments.
I want to leave something personal. Something beyond, “This is great!” but I think I may ramble on and on unintentionally.
Here’s my input on the devil list.
In my humble opinion, everything is spot on, but the frozen yogurt.
Here’s my reasoning:
Frozen yogurt=sweet
sweet=good taste in my mouth!
My daughters and husband rather enjoy frozen yogurt.
It’s okay, but i figure if i’m going to eat sweet, i am going for fat and sugar as well.
Like Umpqua’s birthday cake ice cream or jamoca almond fudge…
When i want to be healthy and sweet, i’ll gorge on peaches or strawberries with their modern day engineering.
i also want to leave something personal as well as something that is different from other comments.
Especially if i come to a post late in the game.
Usually, the diligent have said what i’d wanted to, so i have to come up with my little take…
Who knew it was so complex, commenting?
i’m sure it’s not.
i’m sure it’s just me.
~c
So much to say and so little time.
I dislike highschool reunions of any kind. Completely despise them.
Surely anyplace is better to shop than that store, no? I’m with WC, how DO you get food??
I get achy joints as well, usually my back and fingers, but also my knees, shoulders, toes….. I have many things in my house that seem out to get me. 5 kids come to mind…..
Oh, and never change the comments you leave for me. I love them.
Jennifer
Oh, yes-
the Children.
With all of their energy and innocent and honest but a little bit misguided ideas…
We drive to the store.
We drive far. Talent’s tiny. Twenty-five hundred or so folks. We have to “drive into town”, which sounds quaint, but when you have to do it, it doesn’t feel quaint at all. We’re usually down to ketchup and the booty of the bread when we actually break down and go the grocery.
And since you happen to like my comments, you’ll get them more often.
~c
Oh…me thinks I am much more of a comment rambler…than…anyone. Gosh, you’d think I don’t get out into the world much with all I have to say!
I love your comments – they are never too wordy – always ‘just right’.
I have 3 very, very close friends from high school – the rest, eh. I hate running into those classmates who’ve gone on to bigger and better things and enjoy boasting about their latest publication…or latest and greatest medical discovery. I’m just a self-employed gal-of-all-trades, living in the same town where I went to high school. People look down upon that. I say, “poo”! I’m happy, you’re happy – isn’t that all that really matters?
i like your attitude.
Honestly, seeing other folks happy is really great.
i don’t know why it’d be hard to believe that i’m happy with what i do.
i think it’s because of my own take on what i do.
i love when discussion ensues in comments.
i like sharing my views, what a post makes me think of and try to be specific because that’s what i’d like on my posts. i sometimes fear, i guess, that comments i make on other people’s posts are selfish, or over done.
And this all goes back to being called pretentious over a comment i made somewhere.
God. Why do i even care?
An-tee-wayzz, thank you for the kind.
~c
C ~ Oh how I love reading your words on your blog! You entertain me; you make me think, ponder, reflect; you make me smile, tear up, and laugh out loud; you help me feel connected and less left out.
oh and your comments that you leave on my little blog are welcome ~ just as they are. junemoon
Thank you, Junemoon. i am glad that you’ve those reactions to my place here.
You’re so thoughtful and reflective, your page is a very peaceful place to visit.
i’ll be visiting your page shortly. i was gone for about two days and have lots of catch-up to do.
Until then…
~c
Some of my comments get really long too. Don’t stop leaving me your great comments. I love them and you. So there.
I agree with your list except for lima beans. My dad had the best recipe for lima beans. Only he’s gone now and took the damn recipe with him. I have most all of his other recipes though.
I don’t do stairs. At least not more than two. Oh, and I’ve never worn an under wire bra and never will. I don’t care if my boobs drag on the ground I won’t wear those things.
See, here I am going on and on. I can’t help myself. I talk a lot too even if there is no one around. I figure my dad’s probably here listening to me.
Concerning the lima beans, it’s the texture that gets me.
Same with cantelope. They smell and look amazing but the texture makes my spine shiver.
i don’t wear underwire bras very often, but when i do i hate them.
And please, do go on! i think your comments are terrific and inspiring.
i’m always hard on myself, very self-conscious, anxious.
That’s why i do so much better with fiction. i make my crazy work for me.
~c
What happened, c? I got no comment response love. (I got no patience; that’s my version of crazy.) Well, anyway, I like you just the same and I’ll check back in later.
i’m sorry, Windmills!
i’m all over it.
~c
I LOVE your comments. I always look forward to them.
Aw, gee…
Thanks, Red.
~c
I want to iterate too about your comments on my blog too C. I value your post feedback highly because they are point blank with no wasted words. I am not one of those cats that takes comments for granted because I receive so few genuine pronouncements of gratitudianal intellect. Thank You
Thanks, Johnny.
Your blog is the spot and often so challenging to me that i’ve no choice but to be as simple as possible. i learned my lesson over there- not from you but you know.
~c