Saturdays

It seems that I’ve been having car problems for a couple of weeks now. I guess I need a new car! Unfortunately that’s not possible right now. I am open to donations though!

Saturdays are the days I have to do without the car and get the errands done as best as I can. I can drop off the car at the mechanic early in the morning and then make my way around town. For one thing, my mechanic is close to the market where I shop so I can do the other errands, get back to the garage drop off the bags and walk over to the market. Today I was not in a mood to do much. The car would also not be ready early. My plan was to walk to the market and pick up a few things that I could easily carry back on my own. Of course my plan didn’t work out or ever does. I can’t remember going into a store to pick up one thing or a planned set of things and walk out with just that or those items. I’ve even tried to take just the amount of money I needed, based on an estimate from previous purchases, and still manage to come back with other stuff. Anyway I guess that’s the way it is.

Anytime I catch my self in this situation and make the comment about picking up more than I intended to, I get the Amen Chorus from the folks around. Does that happen to you? Or should I say do you find yourself in that predicament? Well, every other person that I make this comment to always echoes the same sentiment. “Yes I do.” There are times when I am on the cashier’s line and I hear the comment coming from other shoppers. I usually chime in and get a laugh at the situation. This might be a curse or an unconscious act, a program. If you enter a store or market or shop you will leave with more than you went in for or need. Maybe the advertisers or store planners has us pegged. We are doomed. Should we change this behavior or be concerned about the extra items, well except when it cuts into your budget? We don’t need therapy or anything, do we?

I always make the excuse that I could use the things or I might need it soon or it’s a good price, or it’s cute and it’ll look nice ‘over there’. We all know that we can find use for anything at any time; we also know that it’s not a bargain if we don’t need it, even if it’s a good price and, we are all too vain. So any way I had to call my husband to come get me with the 10 bags I manage to assemble in the market. It’s a good thing that I didn’t have much to do out this day as I am sure I wouldn’t have had enough dough to do it all. Well, maybe I would have stuck to the plan of picking up the few essential things I went to get, and maybe two more things. Just two or three!

Goodly Creatures

"O wonder!

How many goodly creatures are there here!

How beauteous mankind is!

O brave new world that

has such people in it!" - William Shakespeare, The Tempest, 5.1

I came across this quote on a Street Scape poster and thought I would post it. It strikes at the heart of my comment from last week.

Last week I was the recipient of a good deed from a fellow bus rider. I said thanks to the stranger and to the Moms and the children of the world for being so wonderful. I really meant those sentiments and so this quote from William Shakespeare’s Tempest chronicle that reality. There are many goodly creatures out there but we don't always encounter them or behave that way ourselves. I am very happy to have experienced the wonder here there!

I know that each day has its own challenges and situations but some how, some where and sometimes we encounter the beauty and kindness of people. I hope all of the people we encounter this week are goodly creatures!

Reckoning

The world is a wonderful place, and the people, well, they are the bonus. I am breaking my blog entry routine to make this post because I had a feel good moment.

Remember a couple of weeks ago I wrote that while I was running errands I was given a seat on a bus? Well, it happened again today. Oh yeah! And this time I felt honored. No second guessing the motive. I felt honored for the respect and honored to be a mother.

This day I was on my A game. I was dressed in business clothes, hair nicely coiffed, make-up etc. I was calm, poised, not harried or laden down with shopping bags going about my business. I hopped on the bus to save time. As I made my way to the back of the bus, a gentleman got up and offered me his seat. I don’t want to attribute his generosity to my appearance or the friendly look I had on my face. The bus had a group of good looking folks. I think it was all him; his belief that we should be treated courteously. It was refreshing. He got a loud and melodious Thank You, Sir! from me.

I thought to myself, hmmm! There are many good and decent and respectable folks out there. Never mind the assumption that some things skipped a generation, hence the generation gap in values and sensibilities from my generation. I guess that some things did not escape the group. Members of this group, a younger generation, that I have encountered, are ‘out there’ doing good deeds.

Thanks Moms, for teaching common values and respect. Thanks Son for living the lessons learned. Thanks society, the village, for the acknowledgement and reinforcement of good deeds. All is not lost; let’s keep it going.

Thank you, you've made my day. Thanks everybody!