Wednesday, April 29, 2009

More Mind Wanderings

I've been away from blogger for a few days. I had a lot to catch up on when we got back from DC: laundry, mail, blah, blah, blah. I think I'm getting back into the routine of ordinary life again, but my mind is going in all sorts of directions.

Expectations: Remember I said I had a special treat planned from myself on the way home? Well, it didn't work out. I don't even want to go into the specifics because it was such a disappointment, but it only reinforced a long-time philosophy of mine... Have low expectations and they will almost always be exceeded. High expectations are rarely met.

Weather: When we left the temperatures were barely getting out of the 40s during the day. When we got home, it had been 95 that day, and it was still 75 at 8 o'clock at night. Our second floor was like an oven, but I hadn't put the screens in. I hustled around to do that and trade the flannel sheets and down comforter for cotton sheets and a light quilt before bed. The next day was spent packing away all the winter clothes and getting out the summer ones. It made me realize I have way too many clothes. Some of them are business clothes that I can't seem to part with even though I haven't worked for seven years. Life would be much easier if I wore jeans and long sleeve t-shirts in the winter, and khaki shorts and short sleeve t-shirts in the summer.

Swine Flu: I was not very happy that Pipsqueak came home from school yesterday alarmed about "the bad sickness going around". Six year-olds should not feel this way. Apparently, some other kids were freaked out and talking about it which she overheard. I think we need to be educated and informed, but this is not a time to panic. It isn't a pandemic yet, but when/if it is, "pandemic" doesn't mean death. It means wide-spread illness. People die from seasonal flu every year, but they are usually people with underlying conditions which are worsened by the virus. So far, the CDC believes that swine flu isn't any different than seasonal flu in that regard. Having said that though, we can't bury our heads in the sand. It's important to keep up on the news on this from reliable sources.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's so weird--I was just talking to someone about expectations and we came to the exact same conclusion--high expectations are rarely met. Maybe we should set high goals but have low expectations for achieving them.

As for the flu, I say if you're gonna get it, you're gonna get it. If you make it through, it'll build up your immunity. How's that for a positive attitude?

Aunt Becky said...

Low expectations are key. Dave always says I'm pessimistic, but it's not that: I'm a realist. A realist who has had a ton of bad crap happen to me.

Anonymous said...

im sorry you were disappointed. life has made me learn to always expect disappointment. who know....maybe one day i'll be surprised.

Liz said...

I discussed it with my middle schoolers. I just said it is yet another reason to wash your hands!

I'm sorry your trip home didn't go the way you wanted it to...

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