Wimps and Bullies

Today I walked past a jogger.

In case you didn't quite catch that, I'll repeat it:  Today I walked past a jogger.

At the indoor track.

We were both going the same direction: he was jogging, I was walking.

And I passed him!!

I knew I was walking briskly, but I guess I didn't realize how fast I was going.  And I'm guessing the jogger didn't realize how slow he was going, because as soon as I passed him, he picked up his speed and got in front of me again.  It was only another minute or two and I had caught up to him again, to which he responded with another burst of speed to get ahead of me.  We kept that up for a few laps, and it was getting a little awkward, so I was glad when it was time for me to leave.

And speaking of weird things happening at the gym, here's another one:

A couple of weeks ago as The Mr. and I were using side-by-side weight machines, a man approached me and asked me if I could get off for a few seconds.  Thinking it was someone who worked there, needing to check the equipment, I got off for him.  He then plunked himself down and proceeded to use the equipment for himself.  What?!!

The Mr. and I looked at each other wondering what just happened.  When The Mr. informed him that I was still using the machine, the man replied, "Oh it's okay, I'll just be using it for a few minutes."  The Mr. told him again that I was still using it and the guy said, "Look, I've been going to gyms all over the world, and this is what we do."  He then turned and walked away.  I suggested to him that he should at least be using the disinfectant wipes when he's finished, but he obviously didn't care.

A few minutes later the man returned to tell us again that he knew what he was doing because "that's how they do it in gyms all around the world."  The Mr. responded by saying, "Well, that's not how we do it here."  And the guy said, "Watch your mouth!"  ?????

The Mr. later asked me if I thought that the guy had treated me like that because I was a woman.   My response was "Absolutely!  A woman who is also older and chubbier."  I'm sure he wouldn't have asked another "buff" man to get off the machine.  It was very belittling.  Keeping with past traditions, I've assigned him a name.   I will now think of him as "Nigel" -- short for "Nasty Nigel".

About a week later The Mr. and I approached the same two machines.  I was only two steps away, when "Nigel" zipped in front of me, cutting me off, and sat down at the machine.    It was as if he was watching for me to arrive so he could hurry and beat me to it.  This time I didn't say anything but just moved to another machine.

Which brings me back to my first story.  As I was walking around the track this morning, I saw Nigel seated on a stationary bike in front of the window overlooking the track.  I knew he was watching me, and it brought me great pleasure to be able to pass that jogger right in front of him.

Take that Nigel!!  I'm not such a wimp after all.

Dixie

 

Water

I can't quit thinking about water.

1)  I'm not sure why, but a few weeks ago while turning on the kitchen faucet to get a drink, I had a random thought:  "What if this water came out all brown?"  It creeped me out!  And now -- every time I get a drink of water -- I can't get that thought out of my head.  Ugh!

2)  A friend's recent blog post mentioned that her friend's water had been shut off for a couple of days.  I cannot even begin to imagine how awful that would be!  No doing laundry, no taking showers, no flushing the toilet, no washing your hands......  You get the picture.

3)  A few days ago, Daughter #2, who lives on an acreage, called to tell me that their well has run dry.  Crazy!!  There is no instant fix for that.  Do you spend $30,000 to get a new well dug?  Or do you spend $10,000 to get hooked up to the town water, even though it means waiting for a few months?  Meanwhile she sends her kids to school with extra water bottles to fill up at the water fountains.  Showering and doing laundry is being done at friends' homes.  And they are hauling ice cream pails full of water from the outdoor hot tub just to flush the toilet.

4)  On Wednesday, while running my Showbiz Kids class, one of the girls called out, "Miss Dixie, something is wrong with your carpet -- my socks are all wet!"  Oh great!  Our basement has flooded!!!  So, for the past five days I've been adjusting layers of carpet and underlay, wielding the wet-vac, and re-positioning fans in an effort to dry up all the water.  Our house is now sporting a stinky, musty smell.  YUCK!!  I just hope I can get it all dried up before the Showbiz Kids come again.

5)  On Saturday I attended a symposium that The Mr. was running.  In an effort to help him out, I volunteered to supply a bit of food and drink for the afternoon break.  We had no idea of how many people would be attending.  I purchased 10 cases of bottled water -- 400 bottles all together just to be safe.  At the end of the day, I came home with roughly half that.  My original plan was to return the leftovers to Costco.  After giving this idea a little more thought, I decided to purchase those cases of water myself.  It seems like #1, 2 and 3 on my list are a good reason to do that.  

Drink up!
Dixie

International Women's Day Part 2

A few days ago, when I posted about my favourite women, I ran out of time, but I still had more to say.   Because guess what?  I have three daughters who have grown up, and turned into women.

So here goes.........


DAUGHTER #1

Right from the start this girl was a determined little thing.  If she set her mind to do something, she would find a way to accomplish it, no matter how difficult.  I remember at the age of 18 months, she learned to pick up kitchen chairs and carry them to another location so she could get what she wanted.  She didn't just push them like most children, she lifted them and walked with them.

 To this day, she still is a hard worker, determined to accomplish the task at hand.  Whether it's family responsibilities, financial decisions, career choices, education, church assignments, or civic responsibilities, she gives it her all, and always does a great job.

But she also has a soft side.  And a humorous side.  And a logical side.  And a vulnerable side.  And an intelligent side.  And I admire her for all of them!

She commented on my last blog post that she takes after my mom in being willing to be the butt of the joke for the sake of entertainment.  I definitely agree with that.  Her many humorous Facebook  posts attest to that.  So fun!

DAUGHTER #2

The first quality that comes to mind when I think of her is "Sociality".  From a very young age, she always had a lot of friends, and I enjoyed listening to her tell me about each of them when she came home from school.

Not much has changed -- she still has a lot of friends, and I still enjoy her telling me about them.  I know that the reason she has so many friends is that she puts a lot of effort into developing and maintaining relationships.

Whether it's family, friends, or co-workers, she schedules time to be with them, remembers special occasions with cards and gifts, is a wonderful hostess to many guests, and is willing to help them out however she can.   I need to follow her good example!

She's also a "do-er".  When she gets an idea to do something, she just does it.  It doesn't matter what it is: painting a room, building a chicken coop, re-tiling a floor, entering a race, or going on a vacation.  She doesn't wait long enough to talk herself out of it -- she just starts right in.  As a result, she's accomplished much, and had a lot of fun experiences along the way.

DAUGHER #3

Before she was even born, I prayed that she would bring a spirit of peace into our family.  And I feel that she has done that throughout her life.  Her character has been one of calm and steady conviction.

Even as a teenager, when many girls are a mess of emotions and at odds with their parents, she was thoughtful, respectful and obedient to The Mr. and me.  I often found myself wishing I could be more like her.  And still do.

 Even with her two young children, born only a year apart, she's calm and peaceful -- despite her lack of sleep the past two years!   She treats her husband with kindness and respect and puts his needs and feelings first.  She's musical, creative, athletic and intelligent, and has used those qualities to bless her own life, as well as the lives of others.

I'm sure that when her children are a little more grown up, and she has a little more free time, she will be able to more fully resume those talents again.  But in the meantime, she continues to bring that same spirit of peace into her young family's life by her steady devotion to them.  Definitely an inspiration to me!

Wow!  What an incredible blessing to have these three amazing girls women in my life.  At times I really miss the way things used to be -- all of them here at home, with me being involved in their everyday lives -- but I'm also pleased to see them grown up.  They've turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself!

And now, if you'll please excuse me, I have to get a kleenex for these tears running down my cheeks.

Dixie

International Women's Day

I discovered a little late in the game that yesterday was International Women's Day.  I know I'm a day behind, but I'd really like to take the opportunity to give a shout-out to some amazing women in my life.

• MY MOM   If I had to describe her in one word, I would use "artistic".  Give her a piece of cardboard, an old shoe lace, and some paint, and she could make practically anything.  She played several musical instruments, painted and sketched, created props and costumes, and always seemed to be rearranging words and notes for her many musical programs.  She loved to get a group of people together to fulfil her efforts.  For good or for bad, my mom was definitely not a "blender".  She did and said whatever struck her fancy, sometimes embarrassing me in the process.  She was energetic, loyal, hard-working and goofy.  I'm so thankful she could be my mom, and I miss her to pieces.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• MY MOTHER-IN-LAW   The first thing that comes to mind when I think of her is what a great homemaker she is.  Her home is always tidy and organized, and she possesses so many skills.  Sewing, quilting, crocheting, knitting, cooking, baking, filing, cleaning, gardening, and working on genealogy and family histories is all part of her skill set.  She works really hard at keeping her family strong and close-knit.  She is definitely an inspiration!  As a daughter-in-law, I've always felt loved and well-treated.   And on top of all that, she raised a wonderful son!

• MY SISTER   She was my only sister, and six years older than me.  I don't know whether it was because of the age difference, or in spite of it, but I always felt like we were quite close.  Sometimes she carried out the role of a mother/teacher, and other times she felt more like a best friend.  Her only fault is that she married and American (haha!) and moved too far away.  
  
  
  
  
  

• MY MATERNAL GRANDMA   She passed away when I was only four years old, so I don't really remember her, but I know about her.  She was gentle, musical and hard-working with a sense of humour and devotion to her religious faith.  In a small way, I think I might be a little like her.  Except for the "hard-working" part.  My natural tendency is to be a little lazy.  But I look forward to meeting her in heaven some day.  (Unless my laziness keeps me out.)

• MY PATERNAL GRANDMA   I grew up only a few blocks from this grandma, so I knew her a little better.   She did a lot of travelling with her husband when he was still living, and had a china cabinet full of trinkets from around the world.  She loved doing crossword puzzles, and abhorred cats.  (I definitely took after her in both those regards.)  She was really big into genealogy, and spent a lot of time talking to me about it.  She demonstrated a real love for her ancestors, and I knew she wanted me to develop a love for them as well. 

Well, I'm in a hurry to get somewhere.  (Hot date with The Mr.)   I'll post this for now so it's only one day late, but I hope to add a few more in the next day or two.  After all, I haven't even talked about what great women my daughters have become!

Dixie