goes unpunished. By the time I was eight I remember two things, heaven knows there must have been more. The first is flooding the basement with water and using my dad’s horsehair brush to clean the floor. To this day I don’t know how they got the water out, but I was in trouble big time.
As clear as day I remember the setting when my sister and I were washing my dad’s 1964 Buick Special coupe. We washed the car and used Comet with bleach for the whitewall tires. Then there was tar on the red paint. Not knowing the turpentine trick as I was eight, I used steel wool. I think every swear word I learned was instilled in me that sunny afternoon.
No, I didn’t learn from my mistakes but kept on, eventually lending my time and efforts to lost causes (good causes) and it got worse as an adult because I was followed, the air was let out of my tires, and one friend said I spent all of this time at community meetings and city council sessions to enrich myself. That is not true and we haven’t spoken in years. I did get caught up in it but my life, business and pets suffered.
Over the years I’ve learned a lot and while my husband of nearly 9 years says that anything worth doing is worth getting paid for, I did one small job for eight months recently that just didn’t work out because the volunteer group never acknowledged my presence or leaving, except for signing a waiver so that if a moose walked in and kicked me it was not their fault. It was not a moose kind of job.
Perhaps my next venture will be more interesting. More on that later. I learned a lot from putting myself out there as a leader for six years trying to get legal leash-free areas for dog owners incorporated into southern California. And I’ve learned a lot from my husband about not always using your heart to make decisions. The head is the decision maker. We’ve moved several times together and it’s look for work (I help with the search and do all the numbers on cost of living index, housing et al) then evaluate offers and take the best one, pack up and move. Done.
Yes, much emotion goes into it but I am able to balance both and don’t volunteer around the clock seven days a week anymore. We meet new friends, stay married and keep our older dog comfortable and safe.
A lifetime of learning. Hey, if you don’t learn something new every day, you’re not living. Today, I’m working on Thanksgiving plans and always thinking of variations to solve any issue that comes our way. Keep thinking and doing. Dee
Cooking with Dee 