Where is my watch?

Sometimes I worry that I consume more alcohol than I should.  As I have mentioned before in my blog, there is a lot of alcoholism in my family.  So, I worry.  Worrying is one thing; doing something about one's concerns is another. I decided to try this Dry January thing.  It was much easier than I expected.  Part of that is because I am nowhere near as stressed or busy as I was before I retired.  When I was working, there were days when I would call my husband on the way home from work and warn him that I needed a martini stat when I got home.   When I told my daughter about Dry January, she said, "But Mom, MOTHER/DAUGHTER WEEKEND!!!!!   Just like that:   MOTHER/DAUGHTER WEEKEND!!!!!   Yes, we had been planning a Mother/Daughter weekend with our dear friends from Maryland and we had decided that January 24 through 27 would work for all of us.  My daughter seemed genuinely horrified that I was planning to stay sober....

I admit that I don't understand every nuance of football.  I don't know how my husband spots all those penalties before the referee announces them; I don't get why these guys are paid millions of dollars even though they don't last through the first game of the season (sorry, Nick Foles); and, aren't those skin tight pants uncomfortable? Don't even get me started on the mysteries of jock straps (I  really  don't  want to know...blech!). My parents were both football fans.  My father grew up in Pittsburgh, so he was loyal to the Steelers.  My mother supported the Eagles because we lived in the Philadelphia area.  She loved the kickoff, and got really upset if she missed it.  I remember my parents watching football on television as they drank their martinis (gin and extra dry vermouth with olives or cocktail onions) and/or Manhattans (bourbon and sweet red vermouth with maraschino cherries).  Apparently, watching football games requires ...

I am guilty of envy.  I envy people around me.  I envy their homes, their relationships, their intelligence, their youth, their good looks, their accomplishments, their...well, you get it.  It's a problem. Both of my children tell me at least some of the truth about my faults, maybe not all of my faults, but the obvious and troubling ones.  They have noticed my tendency to envy others.  While this stuff can be tough to hear, I am glad that they feel they can be honest with me.  God knows I would never say anything like that to my mother!!!  Dire consequences would ensue, people would suffer.  Nope.  I went through a phase where I really wanted a gazebo in my back yard.  Why?  Because somebody else had one.  Do I need a gazebo?  No.  My back yard is lovely and calming.  It is full of birds, bird baths, bird feeders, the occasional raccoon, stray cat, and lots of armadillos.  It brings me great joy....