random thoughts

Why is it people assume that what your partner/husband/wife does for a living, you are an expert in as well?

I was talking to my Mom on the phone yesterday, as I always do on my way home from work. Of course she was thinking about getting her tax returns done for the year. My cousin (who worked as a partner in an accounting firm for many years) used to do them and had done them for many years. He passed away last April. So, last year, an associate of his did them for her. Of course she never received a bill for the work - he had always done them "pro-bono". So my Mom tells me she is going to call my cousin's wife to see if they will still do her taxes. As a side note, my cousin and his wife were a day away from their divorce being final when he died. She is a nurse. I told my Mom not to bother the wife with that, she wouldn't have an answer for her. I told her to call the gal that did them for her and ask what the charge would be for this year and if she was still interested in doing them. My Mom's only income is from her investments, which is enough for her to live. Her return can't be that complicated. I told her if they were going to charge, let me know and I would do it myself.

That got me to thinking about the many times when I was married that people would ask me medical questions. What are people thinking? It always made me laugh.

What is the best way to communicate with your teen?

D2 is not a morning person. She will admit it and anything I say to her in the morning usually results in a grumble, or goes in one ear and out of the other. When she gets home from school, she likes to "plan" her evening, so she can get her recorded shows watched, her homework done and whatever else she needs to do accomplished. Problem is, the things I told her in the morning aren't part of her agenda. So, we put a small white board on her door. Each morning, I write down what she has that day, and what I need her to do. That way, when she has her time, she can read it and comprehend it. It has worked well. Many mornings, I will write her a note, or draw some kind of silly picture. I laughed this morning, because she had erased my message from yesterday, drew a bed, with zzzz's coming out of it, and wrote, "I gotta go to school... and it sucks!!!" I didn't have the heart to erase it this morning. I just wrote her another note that said to do well on her tests and that I loved her. I think we are on to something!

I have the best wife in the world!

Who else would go to the store, buy the fixins' for chili, make the chili (for my work potluck) AND make dinner for us, after working a full day? All with an arm that is still really sore from her broken wrist. She is wonderful!