Tagged: littlemisssunshine

Damn, it was hot today. For most of it, I was inside my cool, air-conditioned office, looking longingly over my shoulder out the window once in awhile as I tapppity-tappped away on my keyboard putting layouts together. It looked sunny and lovely and warm, and that was confirmed at lunchtime when I took my baguette and went outside on the terrace to bask in the sun for 20 minutes. Leaving work just a little early, I raced to Flyinge to pick up the kids and deliver them to swimming lessons. There is no shade whatsoever at the public pool in...

I am not a patient person at the best of times, although I have been known to wait, on occasion, with grace and graciousness (despite, or in spite of, any internal seething that may or may not take place). Things I hate waiting for, among other things, include: traffic jams when I can’t see the reason for the holdup my children to hop to it and do whatever it is I’ve asked them to do people to arrive at a designated time my husband to come home whenever he’s out bedtime certain writers to update their journals (hint, hint) a...

I don’t really feel in the now, right now. I think my brain is out on walkabout. I feel as if I’m going through the motions. I wonder if I let go, will I whizz around the room expelling air and shrieking until I come to rest.

I’m at the whiny stage of the cold now. It’s like the 5 stages of grief only with a bucketful of phlegm in my head. Denial: What’s that? a tickle in the back of my throat? It’s nothing. I am not getting sick. No matter that 2 of my colleagues have been swarming with germs in and out of my office, I WILL NOT GET SICK. Anger: Stupid %$#^%@! coworkers and their stupid $^#&$*!~ germs!! Bargaining: If I pop 2 Tylenol now, I’ll be fine, I’m sure. I’ll just go to sleep a little earlier, and do my walk tomorrow....

I shaved the car windows this morning. It looked like ice but it came off in tissue-paper-thin white curled strips just like the skin from a really bad sunburn when it starts peeling. I only got to do 8 windows and then it was gone, and time to drive to work. Sunburn-skin is gross, but you just can’t stop yourself. You try to pull off the largest possible piece and you can see the pattern of your skin and the tiny tiny pinprick holes where the hairs poked through. Every grey february tree had a solitary black bird perched at...

Every time you take me for granted my heart hardens a little bit more. One day soon when you come calling I might be taken for granite instead.

Most of my life I’ve been very capable at saying yes to the right things and no to the wrong ones. There are only a few instances that I can think of where I have truly not been able to answer correctly and act accordingly. That is completely aside from my ability to multi-task and my well-documented love of having an overfull plate and schedule where my life is concerned. This past year I made promises to myself to try and slow down, smell the roses, give more time to my family, take more time for myself, and not take...

Rant the First: The Swedish Post Service seems to be intent on making it as hard as possible for anyone in Sweden to use their services, whether to send or to receive mail. Several years ago they began closing all of their offices, during rough economic times, and citing “cost-saving measures.” The big office we had in the nearest town closed completely and so did the little window office we had in our tiny village general store. Arrangements were instead made with the grocery store there, and with our little store for their personnel to take on the postal service...