Mother, May I?

These small, seemingly harmless candies were mentioned in a post on royally speaking. It reminded me of something from my childhood. (I had to guess, I would guess that I was four.)

I had accompanied my mother on a trip to the grocery store, which was walking distance and located around the corner from our home. She purchased a few items (most likely milk and other items that people tend to run out of between big shopping trips.)

While my mother was placing the items on the counter in order for the grocer to enter them into the cash register, the man behind the counter (I guess he was the owner) handed me an individually-wrapped orange slice candy. I smiled at him, but said nothing. I looked at my mom, who was busy sorting her grocery items and tried, without success, to show her the candy.

After my mom paid for the groceries, we headed home.

She had the bag of groceries in one arm, and held my hand with the other. My other hand held the orange slice, which remained unopened. We approached our house, walked under the carport to the side-entrance. As she was unlocking the door, she noticed the candy in my hand.

Addressing me by my full-name –that always means trouble as most of you know– she said, “What is that you are holding?”

I looked at her and replied, “A candy.”

“Well, where did you get it?” she asked. Her voice had taken on an edgy tone, which I associated with getting into a LOT of trouble.

“From the store“, I answered, quietly. (Well it was the truth, after all.) I was afraid to tell her about the store owner handing it to me, because to me, he was a stranger, and I knew better than to take candy from a stranger.

She opened the door, and put the milk (and whatever else she had purchased) away. She then took me by the hand and marched me (and the candy) back to the small grocery store, scolding me as we walked (very quickly) the entire two blocks. Along the way, she informed me that I was “VERY BAD.” She accused me of being a thief, explaining in detail how God and Mary, and Jesus were all very disappointed in my actions. She talked about sin and hell. She told me what I was going to say to the owner once we got back to the store.

As we walked in, my eyes began to spill over with tears. The man approached us and my mother, gently pushing me towards the man, said, “Well? What do you say?”

I held the candy out to the man and said, “I took this, and I am sowwy.”

I don’t remember if he ever explained to my mother that he had given me the candy and it was not stolen, and I do not remember my mother apologizing to me if he had mentioned that it was a gift.

Sidetracked…

I finally had something worth sharing here, and finally found the time to sit down and key it in. I was lying in bed with my head propped up by pillows and my laptop in place, ready to write something profound. The instant I hit the

ENTER

key after typing in my user name and password, something happened. It was just like being in the middle of a spoken sentence, and forgetting what you were about to say. The blinking cursor mocked me. The too-bright LCD induced squinting, which in turn brought on a feeling of a need for sleep. I spent a few minutes, trying to grasp the kite-tail of the idea- that had not come easily in the first place- before it disappeared altogether, but I failed to do so.

The idea had come to me this morning while I was in the shower. It was similar to the scene in Stranger than Fiction where Will Farrell’s character is a character in a novel a woman is writing, and he can hear her narration as she writes her book. A perfectly formed idea in the form of a thesis statement or other statement of purpose. Since I do not have pen and paper near the shower (and because it would probably not prove an easy task to use either while standing under running water), I actually spoke in whispered tones, to myself what I had planned to do with the idea. I sometimes do that, talking to myself, in an effort to help me remember things. “A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter”…

Several times throught the day, the idea expanded and developed. I was able to remain focused on my job but in between tasks I let the idea occupy my thoughts. I had a plan to write something profound (at least I think it would have been so,) but The very moment I clicked that SIGN IN button and the browser loaded… the concept vanished almost entirely. I only remember that it was based on a childhood memory. I hope that once I give in and allow myself to fall asleep, that the idea comes back to me.

It’s a New Year, Allright.

I suppose I should get around to actually fulfilling some of the promises I made to myself on 1 January (in my previous post). I should probably consider taking the “Happy New Year” banner down and putting my usual masthead back in place–but I like it, so it will stay a bit longer. )

So, here is my very boring–but I am trying to get back in the habit of writing every day post:

Work is…

work is work.

About two months ago, the biggest kissass at work was promoted. Monday, he announced that he was leaving to pursue other avenues of his life (i.e., become intensely involved in the church he attends). He is an adult, but he still lives in his parents house–so it’s “not like he needs the money”.

I have not been dating (other than the movie in December). I get up every morning (very, very early), drag my complaining ass through the necessary events (S-S & S). I get the kid up… Thankfully, she is a motivated kid. She goes to a neighbor’s house until it is time for school, then returns there in the afternoon until I get home. and then I fill my travel mug with strong coffee, and I’m on my way. I work my shift, and go home to cook dinner. I eat, get lazy and stare at the TV for a while. (Last night I actually read a bit), and then I finally go to bed around eleven. (Then–I do it all over again). Overall, I feel happy with this schedule.

When I am able to do so, I listen to Adam Carolla’s show while I am driving. He has a segment called “What Can’t Adam Complain About?”, where listeners phone in to challenge Adam with (things that typically have no complaints). Many of you (probably) know that I can complain about anything… I was thinking (provided anybody still shows up to read) that it might be interesting if someone might just be able to suggest a topic that I have absolutely no complaint about.