Gone Greene!

I'm still here

The cobwebs were starting to get a little thick around here, and since the three people who actually read this blog (hi mom and Denise and Lori!) asked me when I was going to start writing again, I thought I'd pop in and make an update. I hope you aren't expecting anything profound or thought-provoking because it's getting late and I just cleaned my bathroom and am now all hopped up on cleanser fumes.

• There are few things in this world as wonderful as the healing power of friendship. I went back to my hometown Saturday and spent the evening with my best girls, two people who came into my life during one of it's darkest times and have been with me ever since. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we said inappropriate things and shared some truths. Anytime I put nearly 100 miles on my car and stay out so late I have to crash in someone's guest bed is a good time indeed. The night was topped off with a midnight trip to Huddle House, which was enough to make me feel like I was in college again. My soul SO needed that.

• Today I saw a man on a motorcycle who was so hunched over his knees touched his ears. Time for a bigger bike, there, Ponch.

• I went for a run this evening. I know, I know, hold your applause. There's a cemetery down the street that turned out to be quite a nice spot for running. Or jogging, really. I'm pretty slow. But it's ok! The people there don't judge. They're just jealous that I can still move.

• Did I tell you I joined the choir at my church? I'm the youngest member by a good 20 years, but I LOVE it. I could sit all evening and listen to those ladies (and one fella) talk and laugh and argue with each other. They're all so sweet and funny -- I feel like I have grandparents again.

• My beautiful friend Staci set up an Etsy shop for her exquisite artwork. Check it out -- and I dare you to not be jealous of her talent.  She's making me want to like birds -- and that is no small feat.

• It's 9:30 p.m. and my neighbor is mowing grass.  I live in the loudest place on earth.

• It's finally spring. The trees have bloomed, the air is warm, and my heart is happy. Can't ask for much more right now.

Until next time ...

A thousand what?

Ok, so everybody begins a New Year vowing to lose weight and become healthier within the next 365 days, right?

 

Well maybe not everybody, but judging from the magazine covers, news articles and already crowded parking lots at all the local gyms, I'm guessing that this is a top resolution for a whole lot of somebodies.

 

You can add my name to that list. I went to the doctor today, friends, and you know that most cringeworthy of moments when they lead you back into the examining area and ask you to step on the scale? It was even cringeworthier than cringeworthy. It was worse than cringeworthier. It was cringeworthiest. I almost expected the scale to shoot off some confetti and maybe spit out a banner reading "Happy New Year! Now get off your lazy butt!"

 

No banner. Just dread. Am I the only one who thinks it highly unfair that our new year begins just as winter is starting to get bad? Who wants to get out there and exercise when the sun sets at 5 p.m. and the wind is blowing so hard that your nose icicles sway back and forth? It's hibernation time, man! Exercise? I'd rather be sleeping. And eating, thankyouverymuch.

 

But it is not to be. You see, I've decided to make 2012 my year. Do you hear that, world? MY YEAR. And that means I'm going to have to do some work, starting with my health. I want to start running again (ok even I had to laugh at that because what I did two summers ago was more like slow jogging), and a friend of mine recently issued a 1,000 mile challenge for the new year. I have signed up to run or walk one thousand miles in 2012 with Neighborhood Workouts LLC.

 

 

And yes, I will fully admit to not realizing that means nearly three miles per day until after I signed up. I am not quick with math.

 

So that's one way I'm starting off this new year. It's already January 3 and I haven't logged any miles yet (holidays plus nasty weather) but I'm planning on starting soon, as the temperature is supposed to climb into the 50s later this week. I hate to be starting off a little behind, but I think I'll be able to catch up this weekend. And fortunately, it's a competition. I'm able to see how the other participants are doing. I like winning, folks. I like winning A LOT.

 

Wish me luck?

Auld Lang Syne

Whew. Thank goodness that’s over.

I’m not going to talk about just how badly 2011 kicked my butt. It’s quite sufficient to say that it did, indeed, kick me harder than was necessary, and the fact that there are only six hours left has me already breathing a little easier. When midnight comes I’m going to open my mouth and GULP in the freshness of the new year. I’m going to suck in so much air I’ll probably hyperventilate in my eagerness to expel the stale air and inhale the new.

This seems to have been a difficult year for a lot of people, and I pray that they, too, will find relief from their heartaches and struggles in 2012. I’m looking forward to a year of health and happiness, and hopefully a few personal triumphs. I’m going to devote more time to friends and family, and less time on the people and things that don’t matter. And I’m going to keep on counting my blessings, because despite the crappy year I was handed, I still have so much for which to be thankful.

Happy New Year, y’all. May it be your best.

Compassion from a canine

For my 15th birthday, one of my girlfriends somehow convinced my mom to let her give me a cat to replace the one that had run away/died/joined the circus or whatever. His name was Oscar and while he was adorable, he was generally a pain in the ass. If his litter box wasn't cleaned to his liking, he would lie in front of it and meow until it was. If he was hungry at 3 a.m., he would pounce onto your bed in the dark and paw at your face until you fed him. During the summer, he liked to stay outside all night ... or at least until he decided he wanted back in, and then he would stand underneath your window and howl he was let back in. This cat would jiggle the handle on the toilet, begging for you to flush it so he could watch the water swirl.

I loved that stinkin' cat, and up until a few years ago I considered him the neediest animal I'd ever known.

But I was wrong. Oh, was I wrong.

This is my dog, Waylon. Yes, she's a girl with a boy's name. But it SO fits her, you see, because all she ever does is WAIL.

Should have named her Wailin'.

Are Beagles bred to be narcissitic? Because when this dog is around people, she demands all attention. She wants to be looked at, talked to, petted and fed at all times. No matter how hard we've tried to convince her that she's not a lap dog, she simply won't listen. If you have hands or a lap, she expects a cuddle.

She accompanied me on the trip to my parents' house for Thanksgiving, and she never. left. my. side. If I went out to get the mail or newspaper, she stood at the door, scratching and whining until I came back. If I tried to use the bathroom, she'd nose her way in. Sitting down? Ha. Not unless I wanted a 20-pound blanket.

She's also a bed hog.

But I've noticed something about animals, or at least the two that have been my primary pets. They have this ability to sense when something's not right. We've all heard stories of the pets who can smell cancer or wake an entire family before their house falls in on them, and these stories fascinate me. I totally believe them.

Thankfully I've never experienced anything that dramatic. My pets have just been able to sense when I'm upset or going through a difficult time. As a teenager lying facedown on my bed, sobbing about the utter unfairness of the entire world (as teen girls are wont to do), Oscar would lie next to me and touch my face with his paw, and sit with me until I felt better.

Waylon is the same way. She's always been clingy, but it was amplified this week and there was just something different in her eyes. Like she was concerned. About someone other than herself.

A Thanksgiving miracle!

I have been going through a tough time lately, but knowing that I not only have SO MANY humans who care, but also an animal? Pretty cool.

Even if she does hog the bed.

Broken Hearted

My heart hurts for the world tonight.

In the past few weeks I've heard about so many children who have passed away suddenly, gone missing, been bullied into suicide, or sexually abused.

Have we gone mad?

We've got to make it stop. We can't keep hurting people -- especially the most innocent and defenseless among us -- like this.

Something has to change.