A Brand, New Ride

Safeway is not usually my supermarket of choice (no offense Safeway); but it does happen to be the closest grocery store to my house, so I run in there -(OK - if you know me in real life, you KNOW I don't RUN anywhere); rather I stop there for any last minute necessities or bagels.  I'll give them that.  Compared to their competitors, for a supermarket, they have a decent bagel - but I digress...

So I stopped at Safeway for a couple of things and as I was attempting to select some bananas, I was mesmerized by the woman who breezed by, picked up a bunch, put them in her cart and moved on.  "REALLY?"  I thought, "It's just that easy for her?  No perusing for bruising or checking for firmness?  Just - oh these are bananas, I'll just take em and go?  Wow!  What must THAT be like?

Now I'm sure you're thinking (because you know I HAVE to tell ya what I think you're thinking.) "Seriously?  No blog for five months and she just starts off about picking some bananas like that has ANYTHING to do with (say it with me), "The Greater Good?"  But alas, it does... Somehow, standing there and thinking those thoughts I knew it was time for me to get back to "The Bumpy Ride", which some might say, is for the "Greater Good."; and that is why I chose to start out this long, overdue, post by telling you about the bananas rather than lamenting over what I've been doing and why it's been so long since I've written.

Trust me when I tell you that I don't consider myself any busier than the next person.  Which is to say, that I don't think you need to hear my excuses about how busy I've been and why I haven't been able to write. I can assure you that I am fully aware of the irony of my situation.  It baffles me how I managed to write "The Ride" everyday for a year last year and yet this is the first time in months that I've been able to make time to write.  But I swear to you, it's not for lack of wanting to.  If you're not a first time Rider, then you know I'm the Queen of COMMITMENT and over the past several months, I've had MANY.  So rather than telling you why I've been busy - in the interest of (say it with me) "The Greater Good", I'll tell you what I've learned...  One of the most important jobs of a parent is advocating for the best interests of your child - academically, athletically, emotionally, and psychologically.  It's often hard to know what to do, but it's your responsibility to figure it out and do all you can to help your child achieve all that they're capable of.  I learned that perseverance and honesty pay off. I learned that forgiveness is freeing and that confidence is the cure for anxiety.  I learned that no matter how full your home is, there's always room for one more.  I learned that making people feel good, safe and happy is one of the greatest things I do and its reward is more precious than money.  I've learned that old dogs can learn new tricks.  I've learned that even if your pockets are empty and times are tough, you can always find ways to be charitable.  I've learned that (as I've suspected), I really do have my finger on the pulse of  what's hot and upcoming.  Yes, last year alone, I wrote about Alex Guarnaschelli and how awesome I thought she was and now she's like the Food Network's next big deal.  Just check them out, she's popping up on all their shows. Also, you may recall that I predicted Billy Crystal would host the next Oscars and HELLO, have you heard??   I've learned that time can heal wounds, that help sometimes comes from the most unexpected places and that "Can't" means you haven't REALLY tried.  I've learned that you need to love and accept yourself even when you're not exactly as you'd like to be.  And lastly, (well probably not lastly, but lastly for the sake of this list),  I've learned that I'm not ready to give up on my dream.  And so, if you'll have me, I REALLY want to try and get back on track and start sharing my stories with you again.  There will be tales and pictures from my New York trip, I promise!  As well as all the observational humor that I can muster, and as many recommendations that I can make for yes, (say it with me again) "The Greater Good."

A GREAT big thank you to all of you who've encouraged me to start writing again and to everyone who has missed me and "The Bumpy Ride."  I've made a few changes, such as "The Ride's" new appearance, (please share your thoughts on that), my updated profile picture, AND I've decided that since all the things I am or am not Queen of, really just make me who I am; I'll now be signing off -
Till next time...
Paige

(43-280) Winning The Battle

When I tell people who already know me, that I'm shy; they seem to have a difficult time believing it.  I know that's because once they know me, I'm very friendly and extremely talkative; BUT, if you personally know me, and you think back to how you met me, you'll probably realize that you met me through a friend, or in a class, or work, or for some reason you started talking to me first.  But (unless your Michelle M,) I don't think you'll recall me making the first move towards being friends.

I've told you many times that I am a very blessed woman and that I probably have more close friends than most.  The truth is that I'm very good at making friends, but I am prone to being shy and reserved AT FIRST.  This seems to be a contradiction in terms; I know.  I often refer to myself as the introverted extrovert or the extroverted introvert, take your pick. Either way, I'm a conundrum.  Despite my shyness, over time I've managed to run for a variety of school offices and win.  I've even mentioned previously, that during my senior year of college I was the President of the Student body.  I gave a welcome speech to the Freshman class, I MC'd shows, I conducted weekly student government meetings, I addressed the Board of trustees, our Provost, Chancellor and University President, and I managed to do it with great aptitude; or so I was told.  And yet; certain social situations still cause me to be shy and fearful.

When I wrote "Back In The Day," I told you that lately I've been spending a lot of time looking at old high school yearbooks and that I'd been to various school district offices and high schools; with several more to go. What I didn't tell you was that doing so, causes me GREAT anxiety. Don't ask me why, but it takes every ounce of courage that I have to find and follow directions to these schools that I've never been to before and then to make my way to their library, media center or Information Technology Center (which by the way I had never heard of before today;) but, I'm doing it. In the past two weeks I've gone to seven high schools and four of them were just today. Although today's schools were all in the same district, they were in an area that I was completely unfamiliar with; and yet, I managed to get it all done.
Each time I completed a school I was proud that I hadn't let my fear get the better of me.  I was able to face situations that I found uncomfortable and do what needed to be done, as I've done so many times before; and yet I know that it will continue to be a battle.  A battle that slowly but surely I'm winning.

I can't help but think that I must really be confusing you.  I mean I'm sure that you're wondering how a woman who claims to be so shy can share her innermost thoughts with the world.  I tell you about my hopes and dreams, fears and failures, and yet that's not scary to me.  Conundrum, I KNOW.  Maybe the reason that I do share so freely is because I want to teach my kids (and remind you) that as cliche as it sounds, you can't judge a book by it's cover; and most often times for better or worse, there is so much more to people than meets the eye.  No one is perfect.  We are all flawed; but we all need to be who we are.  And maybe by truly recognizing this, we can all be more accepting of ourselves and more tolerant of each others imperfections .
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

For A Cause...

I suppose it would be easy for me to start telling my latest story and not even acknowledge that I haven't posted a blog in over two months ~ but then I just wouldn't be me; now would I ?  I'm not going to give you a lengthy list of excuses for my absence; just one BIG one; I've been in a SLUMP!  Now a slump is totally different from having writer's block; because I certainly do have stories to tell; and rest assured that in good time THEY WILL BE TOLD -  but ever since we returned from Puerto Vallarta (in early June,) I've had several unexpected situations that have caused me an extraordinary amount of stress and I just haven't had the wherewithal or the confidence to write (even though I REALLY wanted to.)  My anxiety had been getting the better of me; and it kept me from doing what I LOVE to do and THAT made things even worse.  Even though I kept trying to convince myself that I was ready to write; I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Even though I was receiving requests from friends and readers asking me to post a blog; I just couldn't try; (though I hope that they know how grateful I was / am,  for their encouragement and how flattered I was / am by their interest.)  I know that  I'm stronger than all of the forces that seemed to be at work against me but actually writing just seemed impossible; UNTIL I witnessed something that moved me so much, that I KNEW it was time for me to get back to work.

On Monday I took my kids to swim team practice and while we were getting ready to leave; one of the coaches handed a bag of plastic bottle caps to a girl that we didn't know.  Someone asked why she was collecting the caps and she explained that a friend of hers had a friend who had Leukemia and that for every 700 caps that were collected, she would get a free treatment.  Well, my kids heard this and as soon as we got into our minivan, they immediately started searching for plastic bottle caps.  Then, as soon as we arrived home, they checked our garage, and our recycling baskets, and even though it was 109 degrees in the shade, they went out to our back yard and tried to dig up some more caps. After they'd found a few, they came inside and started searching our pantry.  Lyndzi said "Hey Mom, when will you ever use apple vinegar?"  And I explained what I use it for; to which she replied "Maybe when you're done, we can use that cap."  And then she continued searching further, suggesting "What about the mayonnaise and the peanut butter."  Kelsie then chimed in with "Maybe when I'm done taking my medicine, we could use that cap."  To which a very enthusiastic Lyndzi said "Do you take it two times a day?"  And Kelsie answered excitedly, "Yes, morning and night."  They then tried to think of other places that they might find caps and they remembered that Luis had a growing collection of water bottles in our Toyota; so they called him at work to make sure that he hadn't thrown the bottles away.  As luck would have it; he said that he had just cleaned the car out the day before and so we explained that we needed him to bring home the bottle caps from now on and get others to give them to him as well.

I was SO touched by my kids call to action, that I knew my slump was over and that THIS was the story that I was ready to write.  I found their desire to help and their compassion absolutely inspirational, and I was overcome by their good will and humanity.  Just because it's who they are, my kids were interested in (say it with me) THE GREATER GOOD; and that's not an expression that I have even used with them thus far.  And so, in the interest of THE GREATER GOOD, I thought that others might want to help too and since I wanted to write this post armed with all of the information that you would need to get involved; I promptly started researching bottle caps for cancer; (YES, sometimes I actually research something before I write about it...) and I found out that it is a total hoax.  Snopes reported it, as did several other articles; all with quotes from the American Cancer Society, stating "HOAX,"  "Urban myth" and absolutely UNTRUE.

Can you even imagine how difficult it was for me to explain to my kids that the 73 bottle caps that they'd collected since Monday, were not really going to be able to help anyone.  To say they were dejected would be an understatement, because they wanted so badly to help.  But you know what... THEY DID!  Their deed helped remind me of what truly EXCEPTIONAL, AMAZING people they are and I realized that in order to perpetuate this path, I shouldn't waste a minute worrying about trivial things, or stress about situations that I can't control; because when I do, my disposition prevents me from giving the best of myself TO THEM and NOTHING is more important than spending time with my children.  I recognized that all of the time that I had spent worrying and stressing was time that I could have spent focusing on the positive, which is that I am raising kind, considerate, loving individuals. People who are already going out into the world and trying to make a difference and NOTHING  deserves my concern and attention more than that!!

So now my slump IS officially over (because I say it is. ) I'm BACK and I'm ready to write AND I've got something planned that you're NEVER going to believe; so you're just going to have to stay tuned to find out.

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING

Take My Challenge ...

This month's "Scrapbooking from the Inside Out" kit club them is GRATITUDE; and one of our current threads is to mention something that you are grateful for. After returning from voting; I wrote "I'm grateful for the chance to make a change and the possibility of promise." And not to toot my own horn; but I thought that was kind of eloquent and profound - OK, I'm tooting; I know - but I really thought that these were ideas worth sharing - ESPECIALLY today.
I woke up at my usual 415am and I worked for a half hour before leaving to vote. I waited in line and was 19th to cast my ballot. I felt a great sense of satisfaction and an even bigger sense of hope. I am hoping that this country makes the choices that will lead to changes that will benefit the majority and put us little guys back on track to pursue our American Dreams. I am fearful that bigotry and fear will prevail. I am fearful that uninformed, voters will cast ballots or that people will make decisions based on "The worst thing that they have heard about one candidate." You know what - No one is perfect. I am supporting Obama and have I heard stories and opinions that are cause for concern - absolutely; but I have heard more of these types of stories about McCain / Palin and I would truly abhor the idea of Sarah Palin becoming our President; god forbid McClain was elected and died. I am imploring you to think of this scenario if for any reason you are undecided about how to vote.
With that said, I am VERY late for work; but I felt that it was SO important to share these ideas with you; that I'm willing to work late today so that I can get this out.
At this point I want to issue a challenge. It is one that I have already taken myself today, in a number of different ways and the challenge is "DO something that scares you a little. Step out of your comfort zone and take a leap. Do something that is going to promote change for the better in your life. Even if it is the smallest step." Now I'm sure that you're wondering where this is coming from, so please remember this is "The Bumpy Ride;" you know I come out of left field ALL THE TIME. But here it is. DO you think that 35 years ago, little Barack Obama believed that he was going to be President of the United States of America in 2009? My guess is probably not. How many chances do you think he had to take to get to this point in his career? And even if he doesn't win today, I guarantee that he is all the better for the journey. His life will never be the same; and he will not give up. These are things that I believe whole heatedly; and I would like to encourage you to follow his example and do something to promote yourself today. Dwell in the possibility of who you can become and take your first step today, or your second or fifty ninth - just don't live in fear.
So what have I done? Well, step one, I voted. I would have voted no matter what, but I had to find my new voting place today and I HATE going places that I haven't been before. It makes me very anxious; but I did it (and I didn't even take my Xanax.) Step 2, I wrote this blog, instead of working;because it is my passion and what I hope to parlay into my full time career; but also against my bettter judgment because I have come to believe that my readers enjoy the funny, Paige telling crazy stories about her life more than they do my opinions and theories on "The greater good;" but I'm taking a chance that you'll see the benefit in these words and suggestions and believe in how much I WANT for you all. So go ahead; take my challenge and let me know what and how you do. I'm sure you'll be glad you did.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING