Today is my birthday. As I get older (not a good thing) they seem to come with less excitement (a good thing). I remember when flowers, dinner and a night out at a club were mandatory. Now I'm excited that my birthday present from my husband is overhauling the engine to my 1994 Isuzu Trooper. I don't want jewelry, I want a new alternator. No flowers or candy for me, give me some new spark plugs! See the difference in being a 20-something and a 40-something?
There are other differences too. Tomorrow, instead of taking aspirin for a hangover, I'll be taking Alleve for arthritis. I won't have a night out with my friends drinking and dancing. I will be staying in with my family, ordering pizza, playing Trivial Pursuit and talking about things that we found funny, sad or of general interest.
Now that I have the younger generation shaking their head and saying I'll never be that boring let me tell you a secret. It isn't that I have to do those things or "settle" for that present. I could still go out, tie one on and live it up. But, as you get older priorities change. I choose to stay home and be with my family. For me that is living it up. Being surrounded by loved ones, laughing (a lot) and celebrating not just my birthday, but my life as it is now. Got to go...they are waiting.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
People
I ventured out of my cornfield friday. Yes, I participated in the Black Friday sales. Unlike many people I made it home safely. A temp employee was killed, and several injured, at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream on Long Island. Two men shot and killed each other at a Toys R Us in Palm Desert, California. While the latter event may not have been Black Friday related the shoppers were still in danger.
What really gets me about the Wal-Mart incident is that the shoppers were angry and uncooperative when told to leave the store. A man had just died and they didn't care. It was more important to save a few bucks on that item they couldn't afford any other time. Here is a thought...if you can't afford it any other time maybe you shouldn't own it. Instead of getting that 32" flat panel television "settle" for a 27" flat screen TV. Instead of stampeding over people to get that 8 megapixel digital camera "settle" for the 6 megapixel one you can normally afford. When did we become a society of people who care more about things than other people?
I know that mindset has been around since the beginning of time, but it didn't use to be normal, accepted behavior. I would like to know how many people who were at that Wal-Mart went home and bitched to family members that they didn't get their TV. More importantly, I would like to know how many went home, hugged their family members and were thankful that they were alive. I can guess at which happened more often.
What really gets me about the Wal-Mart incident is that the shoppers were angry and uncooperative when told to leave the store. A man had just died and they didn't care. It was more important to save a few bucks on that item they couldn't afford any other time. Here is a thought...if you can't afford it any other time maybe you shouldn't own it. Instead of getting that 32" flat panel television "settle" for a 27" flat screen TV. Instead of stampeding over people to get that 8 megapixel digital camera "settle" for the 6 megapixel one you can normally afford. When did we become a society of people who care more about things than other people?
I know that mindset has been around since the beginning of time, but it didn't use to be normal, accepted behavior. I would like to know how many people who were at that Wal-Mart went home and bitched to family members that they didn't get their TV. More importantly, I would like to know how many went home, hugged their family members and were thankful that they were alive. I can guess at which happened more often.
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