We woke up this morning, made candy bacon for him to take to work tomorrow, and by one o'clock I was at my Mom's fixing her computer. After that, I drove from one end of town to the other ... just shopping and having a relaxing day. I stopped and got a bottle of sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings ... stopped at MidState Meats ... stopped and got a cherry freezie ... stopped at two County Markets.
The reason I'm telling you about this weird mix of odds and ends ... is that for once, my weekend felt long. I'm not looking forward to going to work tomorrow ... but it feels like I really had a weekend. I'm not sure what I did differently ... but it's a good feeling. I'm very tired ... but very happy.
1. When have you had to choose the lesser of two evils? - Last year I had to make a choice ... accept a job that was way below my pay grade ... or live off my severance pay until I found something closer to my government salary. Making less money was not what I wanted to ... but living without health insurance for an undetermined amount of time was not acceptable either. The lesser of two evils? I decided to take the pay cut ... save as much severance as I can ... and hope that someday I'll be back where I was ... in a private office where I can swear to my little heart's content.
2. When have your good intentions resulted in something awful? - No good deed goes unpunished, or so they say. I think we've all experienced it. Its universal. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head ... when K died, I tried so hard to be there for her husband. I wanted so bad for us to still be this close-knit group of friends. But despite my best intentions, all it's done is made me miserable. I've spent the last ten or eleven months listening to him chase after anything with two boobs and a heartbeat. I think she'd want me to be there for him ... but it isn't fun. It is what it is ...
3. In your experience, have two wrongs ever made a right? - No ... if someone wrongs you, doing something back doesn't make anything right. Besides ... whether you believe in the Law of Three or in Karma ... in the end, people will get what's coming to them. Sometimes you even get to watch ...
4. When have you had to let virtue be its own reward? - I think that's the goal, to be honest. We should do good things just because they're good ... not because of any possible reward. Example ... one year ... a long, long time ago ... I was at the mall just a few days before Christmas. It was madness. Utter chaos ... people everywhere ... pushing and shoving. I was in Famous Barr ... making my way towards an exit. People were elbow to elbow. And no one was paying attention to the woman who was crying. There was a disabled woman who was standing just off the walkway looking around with eyes as big as saucers and crying. I stopped in the middle of the chaos and asked her what was wrong. She had gone shopping with a caretaker named Ann and they had gotten separated. I put my arm in hers and told her everything would be fine. We'd find her. I walked with her until I found a manager ... who got on the loudspeaker and asked for Ann to come meet us at the perfume counter. I wasn't thanked ... in fact, I was given dozens ... if not hundreds ... of dirty looks by the shoppers who were inconvenienced. But that's alright ... we do things because they're the right thing to do.
5. What is the worst toll stress has ever taken on you? - I'd guess my stroke? The days leading up to it ... the months afterwards ... were the most stressful time in my life. Before the stroke, I was at 40% kidney function ... now I'm around 24%. Stress takes it toll ... maybe on me more than others. I know, I've already said it once. But I guess the theme of this post should be ... it is what it is ...
No comments:
Post a Comment