It’s about time!

Do you ever notice people’s clocks?

I think clocks say a lot about who we are. Even if you didn’t buy it yourself, if you have it hanging on the wall or sitting around, that monstrously huge timepiece that plays a song every 15 minutes says a bit about you. I mean, let’s face it, most of us would chuck it into a closet if we didn’t like it.

My sisters’ clocks …

My youngest sister has a wall clock in her kitchen that chirps like a different kind of bird every 15 minutes. Personally, that would drive me bonkers but she really likes it. What does that say about her? I think it says she has a calm spirit that allows those chirps to just wash right over her. I, on the other hand, have a frantic spirit that makes every one of those chirps ding my brain whenever I hear them.

My other sister (the middle one) has the clock mentioned in the first paragraph. Somebody gave this masterpiece to her — and she really likes it. What I think this clock says about her is that she likes shiny things hanging on the wall and she likes being serenaded. As for me, when the music plays, loudly, it startles me (… it’s that frantic spirit of mine).

My tick-tockers …

So, about now you’re wondering what kind of clock(s) I have. Well, I have a clock hanging in the kitchen that I found at a local consignment shop (it’s from the 60’s, I think). It’s in the shape of a coffee cup with colors that match my kitchen wallpaper. So, what does it say about me?

Maybe it says that I like things to be matchy-matchy, or that I like vintage accessories, or that I’m thrifty, or maybe not. I think it says that I got really lucky and stumbled upon a neat clock for my kitchen and had sense enough to buy it. And, by the way, my kitchen clock doesn’t make even the slightest peep.

The clock in my bedroom, though is a whole other ballgame. It was a gift from Mom about twenty-five years ago. It’s a big mantle clock but, in my opinion, not too terribly over the top. (I’d have a pic but I’m too pooped to climb the stairs.) It does, however, chime every 15 minutes and strikes the hour much like a grandfather clock. (It even sort of looks like the top of a grandfather clock.) So, why do I keep it (in my bedroom no less) even though it makes noise? What does it say about me?

Hmmm, I think it says that I like knowing what time it is in the middle of the night but don’t want to have to turn on the light and/or dig in the drawer of my bedside table to find my glasses so I can see the alarm clock next to my bed. Besides, waking up in the middle of the night and hearing that soft chime makes me feel secure … that all’s right with the world and that I can go back to sleep.

Silly?

Probably, but that’s okay, Mom gave it to me.

Button Pushers! (AKA: Sisters)

Posted by goodoldgirl

What is it about family that makes us push each others’ buttons?

Is it that we feel safe in the belief that no matter how or why we hurt each others’ feelings we’ll still be family — that old chestnut, blood is thicker than water?

Hmmm.

Family is what anchors us. It’s the foundation for all other relationships. I recognize that not everyone has a loving supportive family and that can create unbridgeable distance between family members. But even in families where there is love and encouragement, there still may be contention and rivalry. (Sibling rivalry for example.)

Familial competition is such a waste of time and energy, not to mention emotion. It crates anguish, heartache, and bitterness that, for some, never ends. But what causes it?

Is it that parents aren’t always able to balance the needs of all their children all the time? And, unfortunately, don’t know how to help their children understand that they shouldn’t have to. That sometimes one child’s needs outweigh the needs of his or her siblings? What if it’s the same child who is perceived by the parents as being needy all the time? What about the children that are perceived by their parents as strong, self-sufficient, do they get the short end of the stick for being capable?

What causes one child to be a trouble maker and another to be everyone’s little darling? Is it something in our wiring or just the luck of the draw. What makes one child the caretaker and another the dictator? What makes one child meek and another a force to be reckoned with? Is it all tied to birth order? Is it in our genetic makeup or is it a conditioned response to our surroundings?

I’m not a psychologist or sociologist or any kind of oligist, except maybe a chocolatologist (is that in the dictionary!?!) so I know I don’t have all, or any, of the answers. Heck, I’m doing good this late on a Friday night to even be able to articulate a few questions. But I do know that families should be more understanding of one another than we are of other people. We should be more kind to each other than we are to other people.

We don’t have to blindly condone each others’ bad behavior but we should at least be as forgiving, if not more so, of our family members than we are of other people. We don’t have to like each other every minute of every day but we shouldn’t let a difference of opinion or a perceived lapse in judgment diminish our love for one another.

Family is irreplaceable. A friend can’t really be our sister or brother, our mother or father, our child or spouse. Friends are good to have for sure, but they come and go throughout our lives. Family is constant but it must be nurtured, protected, cherished, or it will be lost.

We’re family. When it comes right down to it, we’re all we have that is truly valuable.

Goodbye Fred

Posted by goodoldgirl

Our reliable old friend is gone.

Fred was always there when needed, day-in and day-out for 18 long years — he lived with me for eleven years and then with my daughter for seven. Sure, he had a few mishaps here and there but he just kept coming back strong, dependable, always on course, never-failing to amuse, eyes forward, always between the lines.