The ill Humored

What’s fun? Exploring our new neighborhoods and pockets around our new house, just south of Portland Oregon. Never dawned on me that Portland is….. a port, a major seaport, with the mighty Willamette River flowing south to north into the even mightier Columbia River, there are all kinds of cargo ships and tankers and freighters moving up and down the river all the time, and most people here simply ignore it. Portland seems especially good for tight little neighborhoods with excellent and cheap restaurants, and a backbone of local independent food stores, book stores, clothing stores, and furniture stores, all accessible, friendly and attached to a sense of community.

Today I have sat around my house and done nothing. Today is day three in a weekend of laziness. I watched Charlie Wilson’s War last night, which was actually really good and then I feel asleep. I woke up and talked to my boyfriend on the phone a little bit but he had a busy day so I let him go, and continued my day of nothing. I decided to get up and go shopping and grab some lunch. I did my make up and my hair but when it came time to pick out my outfit, I just sat back down and continued with my nothing. Tonight I’ll go to a party, so that will be fun, and I will get pretty drunk. I hope I can get up soon and go buy a cute outfit for tonight!

In the future, I hope to teach piano, and other subjects. During the time I did not spend with the children, I worked out in the yard, trying to remove the weeds before their seeds multiplied them. I also spent time on my computer. As always, I did laundry and dishes. Most days, I prepared dinner. On the weekend days, my husband and I worked around the house and took care of the three children. I love to work in the yard, and spent more time there. Overall, life is not bad. There were no imminent worries as our health and finances are fine. Our marriage is pretty good as well.

The importance of teaching your child to be socially successful cannot be underestimated. How easily we navigate through our lives depends, to a great extent, on how well we interact with others. A key component to this successful interaction is charm. This seems to be a key element that is missing in most of our day-to-day interactions in the United States. There are many societies where charm is prized and children are taught to cultivate it from an early age. A notable example would be the Philippines, where children are not only taught to be charming, but funny as well. And there are many societies throughout the world where resources are scarce and people must depend heavily on their family and neighbors to survive. These are the communities where the social arts are most finely honed, because being rude could conceivably kill you. So, how does one teach one’s child to be charming?

My day off from work finally came, and of course I slept in. By not getting up until about ten o’clock this morning I wasted valuable time that I could have used for more important things. Instead, I wasted my morning sitting around before I finally decided to do some dishes. A sink full came and went and I decided that’s enough for now, only having a few dishes left. Then I decided to play some good old video games. A couple hours later I completed the game I had currently been playing and decided to do the rest of the dishes. Now, here I am typing this little story about my day. The wasted day off that never comes soon enough, but is always over before I get anything done. Now, I’m off to see what I can accomplish!

Our idea of fun is to visit family that have homes near fun activities. For example, visiting my father and letting the kids run around at the linear park near his home. And if we need adult time, my father can watch the kids at the linear park while my husband and I go see a movie. The favorite, however, is Grandma’s house on the lake. A wide yard sweeps down to the lake water and a small private dock. My children didn’t remember the lake house, so they only understood that we were seeing Nana Rose at her lake house and all the fun activities, such as swimming and a picnic, that were planned. “Are we at Nana Rose’s house yet?” my six year old daughter asked. “No. Her house is on the lake.” “How do we get there?” “We’re driving.” “But how will we get there when we get to the lake? Will we swim?” “No. Her house is on the side of the lake, not actually on the water.” “Mommy, you lied! You said it was on the lake! And I wanted to go swimming to her house!” We arrived to the house from the street, much to my children’s disappointment. Once through to the backyard, they saw the expanse of water. After failing to see any slides or life guards, they decided to go in and play on her piano. That was fun for them, and getting to go to the musical later that evening with my husband was fun for us. At least they ended up agreeing that the lake house was fun, even though it didn’t float on the lake.

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some FIVE balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends, and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present.

My lazy Sunday began as a late night on Saturday. I’m a bit of a night owl and sometimes just hate to go to bed. I stayed up until around 4:30am finishing a book from the local library. When I awoke around 11am it was time to feed the cats. They are very demanding that way and will complain heartily if they are not fed at least semi-regularly. Next I spent some time reading a magazine and eating a breakfast bagel. Later I had my weekly trip to the local library for more reading material. Then after paying the bills I spent a bit of time on the web. Later tonight I plan on watching a bit of TV and perhaps going for a constitutional if the weather remains good.