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February 28, 2007

Romancing the Rings

ringsI came across it by accident, when I was searching through some vanity drawers. I'd been looking for the bracelet my husband gave me 12 years ago, at the birth of our son. I found the bracelet, but in the same box was an unexpected surprise: my mother's wedding ring. As I picked it out of the box and slipped it onto my finger, I felt a strange wave of emotion come over me. I sat and stared at the ring for a while, and ran my finger over the hole that was left when a tiny accent diamond fell out many years ago. The rest of the ring--a platinum band with a few small diamonds on it--was a little battered and nicked up, but intact.

I wore the ring around the house all day, and my husband joked that I shouldn't do it, because the ring had "bad juju." He said this, I suspect, because my mother and father's marriage was an unhappy one, ending in a bitter divorce after 30+ years of making each other miserable. They didn't speak for years, even through two of their kids' weddings. But then, something incredible happened. When my mother had a serious stroke, more than 10 years after their divorce, my father came to visit her. At first, the visits had a purpose: insurance papers to sign after a hurricane damaged the house they still jointly owned, and I think I recall a letter for her that had mistakenly been mailed to his address. After that, I believe he'd heard that a mutual friend died, and he came to her home to deliver the news. Then, although there were no "official" reasons for the visits, they continued. After she had a second stroke and became ill, he brought her meals (even cooked them for her) and checked on her daily. Those of us who had witnessed their horrible divorce were stunned: they had actually become friends.

So, now I have their wedding rings (Dad gave he his too, so I could have the set) and I don't know what to do with them. I don't want to wear them because the rings just seem too personal, and they still conjure up some of my own feelings about my parents' divorce. But leaving the rings in a drawer doesn't seem right either. As my father ages (81 last month) and my mother slips further into Alzheimer's each day, I search for a way to have them in my possession in a respectful way. I search. I ponder. And I don't know yet, how to honor the union that created me and my siblings, then fell apart, then got pieced back together. I take the rings out of a drawer sometimes and hold them and look at them, and they remind me that miracles can happen. But sometimes, those miracles take a long time to show up.

Posted by L.C. at 02:22 PM | | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Filed under: Aging Parents

February 19, 2007

They Like Me. They Really Like Me.

Is it the height of tackiness to talk about your blog's advertising in a blog post? Well if so, I'm getting ready to be really tacky. So if this offends you in any way, please stop reading.

. . . . .

Okay, so I went to my mailbox the other day and saw an e-mail from Text-Link-Ads.com, the company that handles sales for my blog's text ads. I get e-mail from them often, and usually, it's a notification about a new ad request that requires my approval. And this e-mail, on that day, was no different. At least, it didn't seem different...

I went to my admin area of the site, logged in, and clicked on my "Approve New Ads" link. When I arrived at the page, I saw one word there, to identify latest request: Prada. "Wait.....WAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT? PRADA!!!????? Am I dreaming? Is it a site that sells Prada knock-off purses or something, because if it is, no way am I going to be involved with that", I thought to myself. But, not only was it not a knock-off site, the site requesting to advertise their Prada merchandise on my crazy little blog was Saks Fifth Avenue. On my site. Mine. For a moment, I felt like I was starring in an episode of Sex and the City or something. And I was Carrie. It felt kind of like that.

Posted by L.C. at 05:57 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Filed under: Meaningless Gab | Shopping

February 12, 2007

Shopping Roundup

This week, I mourn the loss of something that was very special to me: my leather coat. Somehow, I ended up with someone else's leather coat in my closet, and I have no idea who it belongs to, but the owner of this coat probably has mine in her closet. It seems like a situation that could be easily remedied, doesn't it? Well it might be, at a different time of year. But in December, I hosted a surprise birthday party and had many people (at least 50) at my home. The owner of the coat in my possession--who probably took my coat by mistake--could be anyone of those guests. I also attended a Christmas party at the home of an acquaintance, and it was a large party and I knew few of the guests. I might have picked up the wrong coat on my way out. I also attended a few church events, and we all normally drop out jackets off at the door. I might have taken the wrong one home at some point. Now you see why tracking down my coat has been such a challenge?

I've begun to contact people about my poor missing coat, but haven't had any luck yet. And I must say, it sounds silly, but I LOVED that coat. It was just the right size, which is a feat in itself for me. It was soft but not too soft, long but not too long, and just right for our recent cold days. It's the only real coat I've owned in many years. I've had it for five years, and it took me several years to find it. It was so perfect. I feel like I might cry.

Anyway, with several weeks (at least) left of cold weather, I had to break down and find another coat. I refuse to buy another leather one, because I'm still clinging to the hope that mine might show up. Luckily for me, many stores are hosting outerwear clearance sales. I picked up a fabulous Fleet Street coat that looks like this one (except mine has a velvet collar and removable hood) at a big discount last week at Macys. I also hit Kohls today and got this Sonoma sweater and apt. 9™ Solid Belted Tunic, both buy-one-get-one-free. (The tunic looks GREAT over skinny jeans!) To finish up my very productive shopping day, I stopped at Target to get my daughter a Valentine's gift and my husband a Valentine's Day/anniversary gift. For my girl, I got a pair of chenille-like pink socks and white socks with a rhinestone heart at the top. For my husband, I picked up this iHome Portable iPod Stereo, so he won't have to hook his up to mine anymore ; )

I hope you all have a great week, full of love, happiness, and mind-blowing clearance sales.

Posted by L.C. at 02:35 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Filed under: Meaningless Gab | Shopping

February 06, 2007

Fun Quizzes

Looking for a fun, quick quiz to help you kill some time? Check these out:

Posted by L.C. at 11:54 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed under: Meaningless Gab