Did you ever have one of those days where you just woke up, and for whatever reason, just felt cranky?
I slept okay.
Nothing happened.
I’m just … annoyed. Irritated? Angry?
(I’m sure other people have these mornings too.)
And I spent the 45 minutes of my drive to Somers telling myself to either figure out what was making me angry, find a reason to be happy and pleasant despite feeling annoyed, or (ideally) both.
No such luck.
Almost everyone I know is sick or has been sick in the past two weeks.
I’ve heard of the cold, the flu, the stomach virus … eww.
Since last weekend, I’ve been sniffly and sneezy and sore-throaty myself. Paul’s a little sniffly too, but swears he does not have a cold.
I think I’m almost done with mine though; I can actually speak for more than five minutes today without losing my voice.
So now of course it’s Luis’s turn. He woke up this morning not feeling too well, and I’m pretty sure he’s got the stomach variety. I just brought him some tea, and he’s napping in bed trying not to throw up.
It’s time for spring.
When I was a kid, whenever I left the house, my Dad would tell me to “be careful.”
As a teenager, it really annoyed me. I was responsible … I came home on time, I didn’t drink, I hung around with nice kids. Sure, I wasn’t perfect, and I got away with plenty under the guise of being “a good kid,” but why did he always assume I wasn’t being careful?
Lately, I’ve caught myself saying the same thing to people. It sort of snuck up on me; it took different forms in different situations in an attempt to disguise itself.
“Drive carefully.”
“Get home safe!”
“Safe trip.”
“Be careful; the weather’s bad.”
In retrospect, I realize it wasn’t that my Dad thought I wasn’t going to be careful. It was really just his way of saying that he cared, that it mattered to him that I’d get home safely.
I wish we could be more direct with people. Instead of hiding behind words like, “be careful,” why don’t we just say, “you’re important to me”? Or even tread on the most dangerous, vulnerable ground: “I love you.” (Nonetheless, I’m grateful to my Dad for finding his way to let me know he cared.)
Too many times, we never get to say those words the last time. We’re left with regret about the things we didn’t say because we waited for the right time, the right place, the perfect moment.
The perfect moment is now, today. If you care about someone, take a moment to let that person know. Let it take whatever shape feels right for you, but make sure the message is received.
I love you. You’re important to me. Be careful.
For years, my dad and I have been collecting coins. By that, I mean that my dad buys them, gives them to me as gifts, and I catalog them in books.
I enjoy this. It’s cool to see all the new coins coming out, and it’s a nice link between my dad and me … it gives us something to talk about.
We’ve had a lot of success with the state quarter series, and so when the Presidential $1 coin series launched in 2007, my dad didn’t skip a beat.
For Christmas, I got a book, and six dollars: the Philadelphia and Denver minting of Presidents Washington, Adams and Jefferson.
So what does this have to do with Jimmy Carter?
As I read up on this, I learned (unsurprisingly), that in order to be honored, each President must predecease his minting date by at least two years.
This doesn’t really represent a problem for the first 38 presidents; #38 is President Gerald Ford, whose coin will be minted in 2016, at which time he’ll have been dead nearly ten years.
President Carter (#39), however, is also due to have his coin debut in 2016, which means he’ll have to die by 2014. Okay, yes, he is 83 years old today, which would mean that in 2014 he turns 90. But I’m just saying, it’s not very nice to plan for the guy’s death just so he can have a dollar coin with his face stamped onto it.
I mean, either way he’s screwed … if he doesn’t die, it’ll take an Act of Congress to get his coin made. If he does die, well … he’s dead.
It’s here, and I’m ready. Normally, I’m in it for the commercials, but this year I’m actually interested in the game.
When we were up in Boston for New Year’s, we watched the Giants and Patriots play their last game of the regular season. The Patriots defeated the Giants 38-35, becoming the first team in NFL history to win 16 regular season games, and leaving them with a season record of 16-0.
Both teams played great offense, and really poor defense. As a result, the score went back and forth, back and forth.
So today, as the two teams meet again in Arizona, I’m excited to see how each approaches this rematch. I think it’s going to be another great game.
Oh, and I hope the commercials don’t suck.