Just OM

About me:

Welcome to what was once known as my "Monster MySpace From Hell" - once upon a time, you'd be here FOREVER waiting for the page to load so you could leave a comment. Things have changed quite a bit around here - what started out to be merely a way of keeping in touch with scattered friends has become a way of making a lot of new friends.

One thing that hasn't changed is that we still all end up gathered around The Kitchen Table - hanging out, sharing the good times together, being there for the bad times, talking about the stuff that really matters and a lot of stuff that really doesn't. It's all here in the blogs - feel free to join us!

Here's where we are cramming in the fine details, you know - the stuff that is really boring about me, but we'll toss them in for good measure, all in one fell swoop.

Ready?

Ok, so, whatchawannaknow?

If you're here, the chances are very great that you already know me. Maybe not all "About Me", but then does anyone really know all about anyone else?

I've spent my entire adult life as a wife. 

That sounds a bit harsher than it really is - believe me when I tell you that there may have been a few bumps in this particular road, we've definitely had our challenges, but they have been vastly outnumbered by the good times, a lot of love and, sometimes, just pure tenacity.  The reality here really is that my husband and I grew up together. 

That never really dawned on me until very recently - now that our kids and their friends are nearing and becoming the age we were when we first met and married, I realize how very young we were.  It's odd how time just seems to ebb and flow without anyone really noticing, isn't it?



I may have to clarify my two kids statement.  Technically, yes, stating that I am the mother of two is completely accurate.  But it overlooks a few things.  And simplifies a lot of other things.  This is the reality: My son is now a young adult, his sister isn't far behind him and both of them are fascinating people.  So drop the "kids" from the discussion entirely.

There is a third thing to consider here, I have another child.  This one is technically not "flesh of my flesh", is older than I am, has four feet and a tail, is totally indulged and spoiled and none of this matters one iota because he's my favorite.  He knows it.  His human siblings know it. 

Everyone knows it.



The final considerations in the whole motherhood category are the other people out there that refer to me as one of their parents.  They call me Mama, even to their own mothers, or Om (as in "Other Mother"), one prefers Ommy - it seems like the variations are almost limitless. I have fed them, at times housed them, and nursed them when they were sick.  I checked their homework, helped with their projects, nagged them about due dates.  I listened to them when they were whining or worried or anxious or happy.  There were a lot of times that I ended up being the one to hear them out when they had real problems, had a shoulder for them to cry on when they really needed it or listened to them rant when they thought there was no one in the world that could possibly understand what they were so angry about.



I answered questions as honestly as I could and gave them my honest opinion if and when I was asked.  A lot of the time, they may not have liked what I had to say - frankly a lot of the time I wasn't really thrilled about what they had to say - but it was all said.  Sometimes that in and of itself made all the difference.  They're all growing up now and scattered all over the place.  I hope they all know how much they're still loved.

Most days, I wake up and feel like I don't even know all about myself. I go to bed feeling the exact same way. There are a few definitive things that are known, that's what we'll be exploring here. Once upon a time, I built a website and managed to sum up quite a bit about myself in quite a tidy package. That was the good news. The bad news is that the site that hosted that page changed hands EONS ago and didn't archive the homepages and now I have only a vague idea of what my original words were. The only thing I do remember was a quote, which I was able to track down once again to include here. It's in the blogs, The Beauty of a Woman, might be interesting to see what someone else thinks of it. But other than that, I'm blank and forced to start from scratch. So, grrrr...

I could probably manage to pull this whole "about me" thing off in a couple of sentences. I'm middle aged, living on the eastern seaboard, married, a mother and addicted to coffee. I own a dog, am originally from Dallas, have hazel eyes and, to celebrate my 40th Birthday, hacked off all of my hair – BIG MISTAKE! Now I am waiting patiently for it to grow back.

I smoke too much, don't get enough sleep and tend to worry too much. I like to cook, read and listen to music.

There ya go. Happy now? Feel like you know me? Didn't think so.

I'll give it another shot.

Unless I plan on living well into the triple digits (which I don't) - I am indeed smack dab in my middle age. Does it bother me? Not at all. Birthdays are just trips around the sun after all, aren't they? Stamps in a cosmic passport. Nothing to worry about.

I am truly a coffee junkie, have been for years and do indeed love Starbucks. Some people turn their nose up and call them corporate sell-outs, but I think those are just bitter people with too much time on their hands who ought to find better hobbies and issues (nice way of saying Fuck off, no?)

I don't like chocolate. I do like caramel. And vanilla. I prefer Coke to Pepsi (bleh!) and don't bother with diet soft drinks except for Tab and Diet Dr. Pepper, which I like better than the original.

I don't like red roses, love white ones and my favorite flowers are pansies because they're so tough and colorful and have those little faces.

I love the beach. Any beach. Any time of the year. I love the sound of big rain storms and like to watch the snow fall but HATE cold weather. I love to see the leaves change in the fall and hate how washed out and gray the world is at the end of winter.

I really do like people and love people watching, but as I grow older I find that I have a greater tendency to stay to myself. Maybe I am just growing tired.

I love spicy foods and comfort foods and Mexican, Italian and Soul food. I like Chinese food but have little interest in Japanese food. Sushi? Oh please - why eat bait?

I rarely drink beer, sometimes drink ale and almost always prefer vodka or gin based girly drink of some sort. I don't ever drink tequila.

I wish I could play the cello. My favorite joke starts out with "Where does the President keep his armies?" My favorite bird is the peacock.

My favorite holiday is Mardi Gras.

The primary, stand alone passion and indulgence in my life has always been music but I am not going to ramble about that here.

My favorite band is The Beatles and my favorite Beatle was George, my least favorite Beatle is Ringo and I am convinced that he is going to prove to be the last one living and that is going to make me SO mad.

I would, for the most part, bend over backwards to help just about anyone out in anyway that I could. I usually cry when people are nice to me. I don't have just one favorite color. My favorite gemstone is the sapphire. I hate Oreo cookies. I have a tendency to like songs with really stupid lyrics.

All in all, I think I am pretty typical.