Derp

 I am a septuagenarian (over half way through that decade now), and I know how to do a lot of things.  I cook, clean, drive, write, read, mend, crochet, knit, do some lawn chores, saw small branches and ... fight with technology and keeping up with things.  All in all - I think I do a pretty fair job of it.   So... needless to say when I found it difficult to figure out how to plug and unplug the extension cord that I was using for my Christmas tree, I was flummoxed and somewhat appalled really. The things we do for holidays.

The thing is, I had complicated the situation by thinking that the only place for it to plug into was a power bar on the floor under my desk.  The choice of location was the issue - or at least that is what I tell myself. 

Getting the extension cord to reach that spot was no problem.  Neither was getting to the floor.  It was the reaching the power bar that was the main problem and I immediately regretted my initial decision when I realized that I am not nearly as limber as I had thought.  I mean I knew the getting back up might be a challenge, but I had not anticipated the under the desk floor maneuvering would be so difficult.  I am just thankful that no one was there to make a video of the process.

Anyway -- I managed to move the foot massager that has a permanent home under my desk with no problem and then dragged myself closer to the power bar only to find that every plug had to be moved to make room for the extension cord thingy. I mean try to do that when you are holding yourself up on your elbows and bumping your head on the underside of a desk. Plus it is difficult to see what you are doing! After much struggle and coming to the conclusion that not all plugs fit right, I realized that I would have to do this process again every Christmas season.  No  -- not going to do that ... so I reversed the process only to discover/remember that the chair I was counting on to help me get back up swivels -- freely and easily because of the WD 40 "thing".  I know. right? 

I made it eventually and as I sat in that chair sweating and wondering if I had pulled every single muscle in my body, I rethought the whole idea and wished I had run through the whole process in my head before I even began.  I am too old for this foolishness. I do find it sort of amusing though and realize that I may/probably, in fact, do the same thing again. It's not too hard to laugh at myself. Further -- I don't think I am alone in this sort of thing.  I also find that possibility amusing and sort of nice really.  It's a special club.     Derp!

Blast From The Past

Recently I ran across a story slide show written by Barrie Davenport entitled 12 Things Boomers Learned In School That Are Totally Irrelevant Today.  Of course I was intrigued. He offered wonderful descriptions, but I will just offer you the basics as I am certain that you have your own memories of every item on the list.  I will put my own thoughts/memories in parentheses next to each item. Please feel free to share yours if you are so inclined.  Would love to hear from you.

1. Cursive (Use your whole arm, not just your fingers.  Make those ovals -- round, and round. I can hear the teacher's voice in my head.)
2. How to use a slide rule (I cried more over math issues than I did about boys when I was in school.  Still cannot do anything with 9's. Failed slide rule. The mere thought of one still gives me the heebie-jeebies.)
3. Typing on a Typewriter (Wish computers were available when I was in school or a young teacher -- although -- it helps develop patience when one has to retype an entire page to get rid of one error.)
4. Diagramming sentences (no comment, but I think I still know how to do this. I know someone who actually likes/liked doing diagramming. We are friends in spite of this.)
5. Home Economics (no comment - other than I also know a person who still uses individual envelopes for budgeting -- not the same person who likes diagramming sentences.)
6. Memorizing State Capitals (I still try to recall them once in a while. I cannot, but my grandkids area able to fill in the blanks.)
7. Balancing a checkbook (I am still compulsive about doing this.  Not sure I understand why.)
8. Spelling Bee (I was always impressed with people who could spell.  Still am. I am not a good speller, but am a whiz with spell check.)
9. Dewey Decimal System (I loved the little wooden card holding drawers.)
10. Reciting poetry by heart. (I can still recite most of "Little Orphant Annie" that I learned in 5th grade.  I used to recite it to my grandkids when they were wee ones.)
11. Mastering penmanship (Never did learn that.)
12. Preparing for nuclear war drills (I never did understand how crawling under a desk or crouching in a hallway with a book over your head would do the trick.)

Shared memories for sure.  

Ah ... the Memories

I know that you already know what I am about to write, but just want to share a couple of ideas with you so you know that we are together in this.  Companionship is sometimes a very good thing... especially on a cold winter's day when few are moving about and a short day seems long.  So .. here we go....

From time to time I enjoy looking through a small basket of my favorite photos.  I have a couple of these baskets in my home. I also have boxes full of photographs and even a few albums from before I realized that I didn't have to put everything in chronological order.  I am just not an album person, I guess, but I do admire those who are.  I do print out photos from my phone.  Not a fan of digital. I just like holding photos (and books) in my hands. I am , after all, a old-fashioned Boomer. Anyway - I was looking through one such basket the other day and saw photos of me laughing with old friends and realized that I had laughed with them perhaps more than with anyone else in my life - other than family, of course. The memories were so good.  Some of these friends have passed on and others I have not seen in a long time and may never see again.  I just hope that if they run across old photos they also will relive the fun times in their minds and smile. There comes a time when memories are all you have of someone. At this stage of the game, we all know that.  It's nice to hang on to the good ones.

The other idea, and along similar lines, is that situation when you have a question that no one can answer because anyone who might know the answer is gone.  It's a part of it all really, but is underlined when you become a part of the oldest generation of a family. You remember some of the story, but need to fill in the details or confirm something...and you cannot. So frustrating.

All that being said...    things you already know  ....

In my humble opinion -- that is why old photos and personal journals and writings in general area very good thing.  Just sayin'. 

Happy 2025!  Wishing you a lot more good memories...   Maybe take pictures to capture the moment -- and write them down....