My Grown-Up Blog...

Dear Friends:

I have moved, and I hope you will join me on wordpress! You can find my new home at https://funnylittleshannanigans.wordpress.com. More information about this can be found on my new site. Check it out and follow me there!

It appears that to follow via email, you may have to register with wordpress...for that I apologize, and I hope you will bear with me. A couple of you have already asked me about that. Set-up is free, and they don't spam you, so don't be shy. I'd love to have your company!

Many thanks for the love and support you have shown me through the years. I am grateful to each of you, and I hope to see you at my new digs!

Dear Ex...

Apparently, there is some confusion about the text I sent you last week, so allow me to clear that up.

I said "happy birthday."

Because it was your birthday.

Much like it was my birthday last month, when you texted me happy birthday. Remember how I responded? I said "thanks!"

I didn't say we should go get a drink. I didn't say that I missed you. I didn't take your birthday greeting as an invitation of any kind...I didn't read anything into it. For some reason, though, when I texted "happy birthday," I'm pretty sure you somehow registered that as "we should hook up soon." Is this some rare form of dyslexia? I mean, it would have to be, seeing as how you know I've been seeing someone for quite awhile...

Tell you what. If you really need to find a hidden meaning in my message, let me help you out. "Happy birthday" may also be taken as "I don't hate that you exist." This in addition to my sincere wish that your day is pleasant.

You're welcome.

Aretha was onto something....

If you only surround yourself with people who are just like you, I hate to tell you this, but not only will your life be much less interesting, your personal growth will be limited as well...on the other hand, being able to embrace and respect people who are different from you requires an open mind and a big heart. I was reminded today that not everyone has the capacity for that...

One of my dearest friends is the original wild-eyed, feminist, artsy, organic, liberal, barefoot hippie child...she wears birkenstocks, researches everything, has her babies at home, burns a lot of sage, has a smaller carbon footprint than most, and knows of an herbal tea or tincture for every ailment under the sun and the moon. She's also wicked smart, funny as hell, a wonderful, devoted mom, and has one of the purest hearts I've ever encountered...and man, do I love her!

That said...I do things differently. Where she dives in deep, I wade along the edges. I sit near the middle and lean to the left. She goes to sit-ins and rallies for the greater good. While she rides her bike to work in the summer, I sit in my Civic with the A/C on high. She nurses her babies well into their second year, while I crawled across the 12-month finish line and immediately handed my daughter a cup of organic cow's milk as I poured myself some wine. I probably wouldn't have a baby at home--or at all, really--but I would adopt a half dozen if I could support them. While she would home school in a New York minute, I feel strongly about my kids going to public school and being taught core subjects by others, even though my background is in education. With them, I'd rather save my energy for teaching more important life lessons...she would have no trouble doing both! And while I am constantly in awe of her resourcefulness and ability to create--well, everything--from scratch, I continue to buy chemical-laden deodorant and hope that I one day get around to trying her recipe.

And although many of our ideas dovetail, there are many things we don't quite see eye to eye on, and it's okay. For example, I go to church, rather enthusiastically...while her spirituality takes on an entirely different form. I am more traditional in many ways when it comes to wellness, (though I feel that Americans are overmedicated in general) whereas she takes a much more alternative approach.

Here's the kicker: just because I don't share all of her ideas doesn't mean I don't respect them. It doesn't mean I'm not interested in them. It doesn't mean I think she's wrong for not doing it "my" way. It just means we're different.

Different is good.

Embrace it.

Respect it.

Aretha Franklin - Respect [1967] (Original Version): http://youtu.be/6FOUqQt3Kg0

(Thanks, D, for letting me use you as an example. Obviously, you're not the only friend with whom I share significantly different ideas at times. You were just on my mind today!)