Recent Convo with My Mama

I went to WM’s shop to bring her an iced tea and visit while she ate her lunch. I offered to throw away her Healthy Choice bowl thingy.

Err: Lemme get that for you.
WM: Oh, NO! You don’t have to get that.
Err: I don’t mind. Its not a big deal. You ate lunch out of it. You didn’t pee in it.
WM: How do you know?
Err: Cuz I learned table manners from you and I’m pretty sure there was a ‘no peeing in the bowl” rule.

Simplicity Goodness Truth

I have always worked hard to be one of the positive, productive, adds something to the world type of people I like so much. I'm not sure how well that goes along with my very serious ability to dish out a scorch mark leaving burn and my redhead temper...but whatever. I'm complicated.
Since finishing the doctoral program, and finding my niche with my babies in Jr High Social Studies (despite a prolonged time where pride of the academy poked me in the eye roughly ten times a day), getting my dogs, and deciding to buy some land and build a green house (I mean eco friendly...not the color green...though I'm not opposed to green...)I have felt a profound change in my world.
In who I am.
I mean, no lie... I'm still who I am, but something has changed. I have a different relationship with my world. I have a very intimate relationship with the simple things in my life. Walking with my dogs. A beautiful morning and a good cup of coffee on the way into work. Hearing, "Morning Mama" and knowing that a good portion of those kids look for me first thing each day. I have a different relationship with food. Not in the diet, weight watchers kind of way. I'm pretty comfortable in my body. I'm not skinny and dysfunctional about it (and I'm amazed at the emphasis on that concept on many blogs) and I'm not a big girl who's decided to be comfortable being big... I just have a new food philosophy that emphasizes simple foods, whole foods, natural and organic foods. Food as fuel for my active life. I need these good whole foods to run 4 or 5 miles before my hour and a half advanced vinyasa yoga class (after a full day at work).
I am into simplicity with regard to things. Purchases are based on need rather than cool factor. My decision to have my next car be a 2 seater Lexus has been replaced by a decision to have something that is both gasennomical and big enough to fit 2 big dogs and a bunch of gear. My purchases are more often that not 'gear related' new running shoes, sport bras, yoga clothes, new chef's knife or cutting board, my yoga fees, dog training fees.
My time is spent simply. I am outside as much as not, when I'm not working. I build at habitat with women, I garden, I run, I walk the dogs, I hike. I sit outside and watch the world. I spend most days trying to figure out how to best use the gifts that God has given me. I have been crazy blessed. There must be something I am supposed to do with it. My job is at times hard. There are two gangs jockeying around for turf in the neighborhood where my school is located. My boys are claiming and joining and getting hurt. I had four kids loose a parent this year. Poor people do not get the same medical care as others. Don't kid yourself folks. But my approach to complicated situations is simple. I love those kids. I tell them I love them every day. I show them I love them. Everyday. I keep my foot FIRMLY up their behinds. And I tell them about their choices. Every. Day. Simple.
In efforts to make my personal life as simple as my material life and my professional life I go out of my way to avoid drama. To avoid those with drama. I get that sometimes, drama happens. But there are those who enjoy it. Feed off from it. Aren't happy with peace and simplicity. Those who have problems in their life and stay angst-y and negative. I approach this simply, too. I stay away from this energy. I stay away from these people. Its ugly and dark. I can't deal with it simply, so I simply don't deal with it.
I am happier than I have ever been in my life. And I have always worked at being happy so that's saying something. Sometimes I'll be doing something and just realize how insanely happy I am. How settled. How peaceful. Even with the craziness that is my schedule (three jobs, volunteer work, my own physical training, my dog training and rehab), I am peaceful in my simple life.
And this week a drop of drama that was cut out inserted itself into my world. Just a drop. And I've had two sleepless nights. I've been preoccupied. I have been distracted from my simple life. It isn't my relationship (so I can't weed it out like the thistles in my yard) but it is in my world and its damn complicated. And less than peaceful.

Now, I need to find a simple solution.

About Today.....

There is so much to tell you, faithful readers! The end of a school year, really good training, a wonderful vacation with friends at Hatteras. But as I am finally settled with some time on my hands (really, not so much... there is training, and gardening, and cooking, and teaching classes...) I wanted to tell you about my first day of working at home.
I've worked at home before. When I worked full time at the university. Its nice. You begin your day however it is that you begin a day and then sit down to work with breakfast (at least if you're an early bird like me). My goal on work at home days is to get up around 5, get a cup of mud (maybe a granola bar if its a run day), take the pups for a walk by about 6 (because its hot with the onset of summer)go for a run and by about 8 a.m. I'm ready to eat breakfast and turn on the computer.
This morning, however, still apparently on SB time (sandy beach time) I woke up nearly an hour late at 6. I still had to have a cup of coffee because I'd likely get Wonder Dawg and I lost without it... but no worries as I was going to run in the afternoon before yoga.
*****Attention Running Buddies... no lie, running and then an intense yoga session is the best brick ever...all of your hurty running parts feel AWESOME after. Though you'll want to stay down wind of the rest of the folks in the class. ;)*****
I was walking back to my front porch with the WD when I heard The Boy yell, "DON'T COME IN." Um. Ok. So we waited and practiced some training on the front walk. Soon TB cracked open the door, took the leash and shooed us in the house at a break neck speed. To make a long story short, our cat (who was pretty much wild to begin with and wants nothing to do with us since we adopted the dogs) had escaped from the bathroom where TB was trying to get him into a cage to go to the vet. This is all kinds of fun with a Little Dog who likes to chase anything that will move. This is all aside from trying to CATCH a cat who's pretty much wild and hates you. Which is why I left my pretty little house around 7 and got home at 7:50 to this:

Ah shit.
And 'Ah shit' is right, ladies and gentlemen. Because TB (who by the way was chasing the cat in his underwear was already about 5 minutes late leaving for his history camp field trip and whining like a 8 year old girl about how he was going to miss the bus.
This was now my problem and TB's happy ass was on his way to the Neil Armstrong Museum.
Ah shit.
But wait. There's more!
I remembered that Walter was in the bedroom. Why oh why, I thought wasn't he in his cage. He has some attachment issues and freaks out a little when he's separated from us. And by freaks out... I mean he frantically chews shit up.
I put catching the cat on hold for a while and carefully entered the bedroom (which is attached to our bath). Please notice how I didn't let the damn dogs out....
My make up bag was all over LD's bed. Two toothbrushes were there in millions of pieces (some pieces, it seems LD ate... he has eaten parts of at least 4 toothbrushes in the last 6 months...he has to have the cleanes damn doggie digestive tract ever). And in other little pieces was my $500.00 mouth thingy that keeps my TMJ and my headaches in check.
Yay.
I have already decided that I hate TB. Now I am seriously considering having T-shirts made that say so.
My head is splitting because I haven't had enough coffee and I'm laying (after putting the dogs in the cage where they can't hurt anything or themselves) on the floor with my rose bush dragon hide gloves on and a jute rug rolled around my arm trying to force the cat out from under the cabinet.
Yay.
Finally (at like 11:00) I got him out and into the basement. I'm sure he's doing some sort of kitty-blog on an stop the kitty violence website about how horrible his owners are.
I put my living room back together. Ordered my T-shirts and finally made my Green Monster and prepared to work at home.