YOU'RE ON MY LIST - INCONSIDERATE DRIVERS

This might be the first of many posts about things that annoy me. But, to be fair, I have to say something nice at the end. Hmmph.

Thank you elderly lady in the Honda. Thank you average-looking guy in the Ford. You both managed to make my drive on an otherwise beautiful, bucolic, 2-lane, undivided byway MISERABLE. Neither one of you could manage to squeeze out those last few miles per hour to even GET TO THE SPEED LIMIT?

Really?

I confess, I am impatient when driving somewhere with a time deadline. But even with buckets of time, AT LEAST I GO THE SPEED LIMIT!!

The NICE thing to do? If you can't go the speed limit & it's obvious someone behind you wants to go faster (and there were precious few passing zones on all those hills), PULL OVER! And while we're on the subject, even if there are multiple lanes, if you're going to go slow, GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE!

Sorry for the yelling. I've been wanting to do that all afternoon.

*breathe.......

 

Inconsiderate drivers come in many guises. The tailgater, the weaver, the leadfoot who NEVER gets pulled, the road rager, the timid & overly cautious, the brake-rider, the brake-for-no-reasoner, the I'm-not-paying-any-attentioner, the litterer, the cut-you-offer, the crooked parker. Did I miss any?

I, of course, never do any of those things. Ever. That's my story & I'm sticking to it.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/d/driving_badly.asp

That car in the left lane in the picture above? That is, of course, me.

Something nice: when you have the opportunity & time, get off the interstate ("Get off the interstate Ben Stone" - obscure movie reference). Explore the byways & drink in nature. Virginia has some truly beautiful back roads.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

A little over a year ago, I took a new job at the Home, part of my reinvention.

This position came with a lot of opportunities for travel throughout Virginia.

Oh my gosh, this was great - ROAD TRIP!!

Adding to that happiness, I can find sprinklings of family and friends to see all over the state. 

 This isn't Virginia, but it's a road.

I was happier than a puppy with two peters.

(obscure movie reference - who knows it?.............hint? Billy Crystal)

Got to see more of BS, BNs (beloved nieces), BBS (beloved big sister) & BC (beloved cousin).

I was content. Life was good again. Then the added bonus...

A mere weeks into the new job, M&M entered my life again after a hiatus of 38ish years.

After a few months, he was becoming indispensable.

And now, even though I still love the travel, I get lonely for him when I'm gone.

The upside is that, not only do I usually get to see beloved people when I'm away

(since I can often stay with them),

but I have a beloved person waiting for me when I come home.

Don't that make the homecoming sweet! Much better than coming home to an empty house.

The traveling will continue.

It's a good thing, though.

If he didn't get a break from me every once in awhile,

he would soon realize that I don't really have anything all that interesting to say.

RELATIVE ROULETTE

I had forgotten.
Forgotten the fine art & tact of parent juggling.


http://mikestokamer.com/what-do-we-do-with-the-house

One thing I remember about being married was the dance we had to do with the families,
all of whom lived nearby. There was my mom in Virginia Beach, my dad in Kitty Hawk,
and his mom in Chesapeake, not to mention some assorted siblings.
Holidays were a confusion of 3 households. Figuring out whose turn,
where do we go in the morning, who do we see in the afternoon, what about dinner...
I can't remember when we woke up on Christmas morning in our own house.
But, for the past 25 years, I only had to shuffle my parents. 2 are much easier than 3.

Now, I am part of a twosome again. M&M's parents live here too. And so the dance begins anew.
Sometimes we'll luck out & one or more of them will be out of town. It happens.
My dad & stepmother are prone to go bike riding in Europe on occasion, as they did this Easter.
(Oh, and my father is 82. I want to be biking in Belgium when I'm 82.)
His parents may go out of town to see the other kids & grandkids, as they did at Christmas.

We did insist on Christmas morning at home this year. It will be perfect when BS is here too.

I may grumble, but I'm very glad they are all still here, and relatively healthy.
I'd rather contend with the juggling than the alternative.

I love them all.