Keeping it Simple

While out on my walk today I was flooded with ideas. Not only did I prewrite, I think I wrote roughly 3-4 blogs in my head. Too bad I have a terrible memory.  I was compelled to hurry home and hit the pencil to paper but my anxious mind spiraled out of control and before I knew it I pictured myself tripping, breaking my leg and unable to walk for weeks while I recovered from my injuries.  So I mustered up all the self control I had, and once again, resisted the temptation to jog. I’m getting off topic. I will address my anxiety  further in a different blog in the near future. I also have a good one on swearing in the works.

I have come to the realization that I don’t actually have to think anything up. Ideas are everywhere. It’s like George Carlin used to say that he was just reminding us of things we already knew but forgot to laugh the first time it happened. Anything can be entertaining. I like to write about everyday stuff, keeping it simple and current. Adding a bit of humor always helps.

A neighbor couple used to host a Halloween party. It wasn’t one of those lame Halloween parties where half of the guests come without a costume and whine that they couldn’t think of anything to be. There were prizes at stake.  The best costumes were simple and current. Just like the SNL writers, sit around and think about the recent news and how to make fun of it. I remember the year Monica Lewinsky spent a little too much time under Bill Clinton’s desk, a guy came to the party in a navy suit. I had to ask Fred Flintstone why the suit guy was offering the ladies a pearl necklace, so my reaction was delayed, but how funny was that?! He already owned the suit and just picked up some dollar store trinkets. The Grey Goose went to the cheapest, easiest, funniest costume.

My best family memories are of the simple things. It’s not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on vacations to create wonderful memories. Like many families, we are certainly guilty of the above. We’ve been to Disneyland, Las Vegas, Yosemite, Ft. Myers Beach, The Great Smoky Mountains,  Nashville and every inch of Pure Michigan. We traveled to the Grand Canyon and rode the mules down to have a picnic overlooking the Colorado River. I was pretty sure I was going to die on that trip, but I’ll be damned if I’m not smiling in every single picture. One time we had so much family fun and togetherness we bought a one way ticket and sent our daughter home early. Funny thing, though, I can’t even remember which vacation it was because looking at our photo albums, everyone is smiling.  Not even one evil looking smile indicating that someone was pissed.

Believe you me, when I have an opportunity to document this journey called parenting, I do it. I have plenty of pictures of my kids screaming their heads off, and not just on Santa’s lap either.  I was recently away with girlfriends when I overheard a mom say to her teen daughter, “Look, honey, isn’t this cute?” to which the teen daughter said “that’s stupid.”  I could barely contain the laughter. Been there, done that.  Every family tries to appear normal and well adjusted in public, especially in a touristy beach town. God knows we try, but sometimes, as my cousin says,  family vacation is just an oxymoron. The best recipe I have for making good memories is use plenty of love and throw in a little humor.

One of my favorite songs was written by John Corbett, the hottie who played Aiden on "Sex in the City."  I love his song “Good to Go.”   Go ahead and take a break for an itunes download. You won’t be sorry. Thankfully, one line in the song pretty much sums up how I feel about my life and family memories. He sings, “There are days when I’ve been fightin' mad but the good times more than outweigh the bad.” Fighting is normal. Occasionally being sick of each other is normal, but at the end of the day, hopefully the family memories are mostly good ones.

My good times and memories consist of simple things like my  grown daughter asking me to show her how to make pasties or my husband telling me that I’m the nicest person he knows. One memory that always makes me laugh is when my son was little we were out walking our dog, Clover. A neighbor’s garbage was nauseatingly stinky. My son quickly imitated the Grinch and said, ”What’s that stench? It’s fantastic.”  He still has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh. We like to repeat movie lines at just the right sarcastic moment. It’s the little stuff, the inside jokes that make this family all mine.