FlipSide:Starting August 27, 2001

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A journal of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs in the life of a woman in the 21st century.

Last Updated : Saturday, September 01, 2001 11:40:36 PM -0500

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Monday, August 27, 2001

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Just a few pictures from the weekend. Details tomorrow, when my husband can give me a decent disk, or stops hogging the computer.

The cousins... Sans the shortest one (hey, at seven weeks, it takes a bit to get around - then again, this crowd's a wee bit rowdy for him).

Siblings

Nearly the whole fam damily. Or something. There's three missing kids. Wanna guess who? Sorry, your first guess was wrong - he's down there in the lower right, hanging on to his cousin Dustin. Sometimes, he's just soooo cute. I think he's probably worried we'll find out what he did this time...

(ed- I'll try hard to behave tomorrow, I promise. -- jd.)

Tuesday, August 28, 2001

(ed- I did behave. For a change. It's the rest of the world that got in her way. She's wiped, and will hope to return tomorrow... -- jd)

Wednesday, August 29, 2001

Well, I'm back. John got off the computer at a decent hour for a change and I'm not completely wiped. What a nice change of pace.

I have been processing the events of the weekend in my head the past few days. Had a lovely time in South Dakota. Everyone bent over backwards to make sure I felt like I belonged. My oldest two brothers, Reggie and Clarence, watched football with John (Vikings fans, sheese) and razzed him about his (lack of) drinking ability, kinda checking him out, I guess. Bret, my youngest brother, let me know it meant a lot to him that we made it to his wedding. It meant a lot to me to be invited. And the kids loved running with their cousins. They aren't used to having kids to run around with at family functions Wow! I am Aunt Ann, 7 times over. As Reggie put it, "get used to it." Now, I've known for 6 years now that I have nieces and nephews, but, somehow, after this weekend, I feel much more like an Aunt and not just an acquaintance. I was introduced around the wedding dance as their big sister, so I guess I'm not a skeleton in a closet. (Several people responded by saying "Oh, so you're Ann. Hmmm . . . what did they say?) It is really nice to have brothers I get along with. I even got to be at a baptism too. I really really want to see them again. Just maybe when we have a little more time to just hang out together, as opposed to the hectic schedule we kept.

I have to admit, though, sometimes I feel, I don't know, disloyal no matter what I do. I sometimes feel funny when talking to my brothers referring to our mutual parents as Al and Donna, but, they didn't raise me. In all the ways that matter, they aren't my Mom and Dad. I love them, but I have a Mom and Dad. Not that a single one of them seem at all put out when I do, in fact, they seem pretty interested in hearing about things I did when I grew up and such, as I am in their stories, but sometimes it just feels funny.

And then I talk to my mom and I know that sometimes she feels insecure when I talk about Al and Donna. She has met them and she likes them, but I think it kinda scares her sometimes. She has come around mostly, as she has seen over the past 6 years that nothing has changed for her. She is my Mom. But I feel funny talking to her about anything to do with them. I'll just have to work it out.

I can't believe Labor Day Weekend is here already. My little girl will start 2nd grade next week. (Here in Minnesota we don't start school until after Labor Day. It interferes with the tourist trade and the State Fair, don't ya' know.)

An aside to Mr. Kernsher: There is too a big ole link to John on my site. At the top of the page the words "PC GEEK" will take you to Daynotes on a Budget. So there.

Well, I need to post this. We have some nasty storms heading through that could cause our connection to drop (or a lighting strike could hit and blow out the computer or some such thing). See ya!

Thursday, August 30, 2001

(ed - Back to School night, a great deal of stress, and the desperate need for a long weekend being what they are, your normal occupant of this space is again wiped out. She'll be back shortly. And, no doubt, abusing me some more. Oh well. I've had worse jobs. I worked tech support, remember? -- jd.)

Friday, August 31, 2001

You ever want to just quit? Give up on your life? Get a do-over? Where do you go to resign your adulthood? I wanna go back to a time when my biggest worry was who was going to play with me at recess. Or getting caught cheating at Monopoly. (Now don't tell me you never cheated at Monopoly. EVERYONE tried to sneak another house onto Pacific Avenue just before your opponent landed on it or filch an extra $100 or so into their bank wad when no one was looking .) No more worries about money and bills and responsibilities and duties and pleasing people and getting people where they need to be on time. A time when all my problems could be solved by a sincere apology and friendships were mended with a shared ice cream. When Mom and Dad (or Grandpa and Grandma) had all the answers to any question I could ask.

The sad part is, while we are kids, all we wanna do is be "grown-up". Of course, kids think that all there is to being grown up is being able to do whatever you want to do, with no one to boss you around. Ahh, how we learn. There is always someone telling you what to do. As a child, it is your parents or a teacher, who at least has your best interests at heart. As an adult, you have your boss and your mortgage company and other various and sundry individuals that own (or think they own) some piece of you. And with adulthood comes responsibilities and knowledge. Sure, I can have that second dessert if I want, but I am also aware of what that second dessert is going to cost me in calories, extra pounds, and cholesterol, plus I need to worry about being a good example for my kids (and now my nieces and nephews.) It was soooo much simpler when I was a kid and I really didn't understand the complexities of life. When there were no shades of grey. There was only black and white, right and wrong.

Ah, but I had to go and grow up. I got married and had kids. I am responsible to my husband, my children, my mother, my boss, my coworkers . . . I really wish I would have appreciated being young a little more and been in a little less hurry to be an adult.

It's just been one of those weeks. We are going up to St. Cloud on Sunday to have a "Irish Wake" with some friends of ours who have had an equally crappy week. We're going to play "Who had a crappier week". The loser buys the booze. Actually, I think I am going to whip up some of my homemade Irish creme liquor and take it up there (and no, THAT recipe will NOT be on the recipe page. It's my secret and it's going to my grave. Oh, and Judy's, since she gave it to me.)

Saturday, September 1, 2001

Wow. September. Where has my summer gone? Where has the year gone? My master plan for the day included a nap. That was my nonnegotiable. But, then life stepped in. What was supposed to be a leisurely day with just a couple of errands somehow turned into an odyssey of misadventures. And I never did get my nap. But I did make it to the liquor store.

Rhiannon had been seeing signs around town today, saying that stores would be closed on Labor Day. She looked at me wisely and said, "Ah, so they can spend the holiday with their families." "No, honey," I said, "it's so they can spend the day by the lake drinking beer and burning hamburgers on a grill." That is how the summer ends in Minnesota. And, since it is Labor Day weekend, it's State Fair time, so everyone in Minnesota must have some cheese curds. It's the law. Have you had your cheese curds today?

Some random observations.

How is it a child's bladder is never full before they leave home or are in bed?

Why is the nearest convenience store always on the left side of the busy street?

Why do men have a fascination with butts and body functions?

Why does a man ask for an Allen wrench when it is called a Hex wrench? Is it to make women feel stupid when they can't find a package labeled Allen Wrench?

How is it I can have over 80 channels on cable and there's still nothing on worth watching?

Well, I must go make my Irish Creme for my Irish wake tomorrow. Toodles.

(ed - 1- To annoy the adults. 2-Because if it was on the right, you wouldn't see it until it was too late. 3- have you ever really watched a butt? We have. 4- Because a guy named Van Allen discovered the Van Allen radiation belt. Ask a stupid question... 5- Because you can't find the TV Guide. Who says men are great fonts of useless information? -- jd.)

Sunday, September 2, 2001

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