Second Chances

Because I am not working right now..I am cooking A LOT.. I don't think I am the greatest cook in the world, and I get a little stuck on Mexican and Italian, but the POINT is that I have dinner ready for Will when he gets home. It's kind of romantic: music, candles, wine (FOR ME!), and fajitas, or tacos or fettucine or spaghetti... (You see the recurring theme, right?) And I think he likes it.
"Where are you going?"
"What do you mean? I'm done eating. Thank you for dinner. I thought we could watch a movie."
"Will, you sat at the table for approximately 4.2 minutes. I want to sit. I want to eat. I want to relax. I want to talk. It's European."
"Well, I'm Irish, and I was done eating."
I am fairly certain that Ireland is in Europe and I don't need to hear ANYTHING from you Geography people out there right now!!!

Last night went really well. REALLY WELL.
"Why are you staring at me Will?"
"Well I know you like to sit and eat and relax and talk...and I am just, you know, waiting."
"Oh, well, I'm done."
"Good.....God, it was KILLING ME!!!"
So see? He really is liking dinner time a lot more.
I love him so much.


This morning I saw the most humongous bird that I have ever seen in our neighborhood..I thought it was a turkey!! And then I realized that because it was pecking on a tree..it must BE a woodpecker!!! AND THEN I realized that because it had a big red head..It MUST be Woody Woodpecker!!
"Good Morning this is Will."
"Guess what I am looking at?"
"Whaat?" (Oh you KNOW he was hoping for something dirty.)
"A big HUGE Woody woodpecker!"
I really need to get back to teaching.

When I lived in Uptown, I used to get excited about seeing the transvestite in Williams Bar..now that was something to gawk at! And there used to be this guy who looked EXACTLY like Santa Claus and he wore a Santa hat..in the MIDDLE of summer..and he just walked up and down the streets...we used to say "Only in Uptown" because you just didn't see things like that anywhere else..

Also in my "spare time" I have just been full of advice..I am not sure why I have become the "sage" on relationships, but I think finally having such a good one has helped me to take a look back at my past and really sort some things out. It's a lot easier to look at other people's situations now and be able to say: "Oooh I KNOW how that feels and I can see where THAT is headed: Straight to Hellsville...NO stops!!!"

Will and I talk about things like that a lot and I think that's important..My best advice..(I am JUST CHECKING to see if Mr.Snooty Blog-guy is reading)..is that if a person's head and heart don't match in a situation..well, it just isn't the right situation..no matter how much you are TRYING to talk yourself into it..we get scared for all sorts of reasons..and usually it's because of change..staying in a crappy life is sometimes a lot easier than leaving..leaving takes guts..it does..and I am NOT talking about working out the kinks of a relationship because I DO believe in that..I am talking about leaving a situation that is damaging and hurtful and causing more pain than happiness..THOSE are the ones where it can be really hard to leave, because we don't know anything else..we can get USED to it..weird as that is...

The nicest compliment I ever got was from my step-dad. He said: "I think you are the most resilient person I have ever known."
The second BEST compliment was from my mom: "You're going to be okay, you're a Jones girl." And I had NO idea I was even related to any Jones'! But boy are they tough women!!!
The best thing my dad ever said to me was "You get a second chance." And he was right.
Because sometimes out of the very worst hurt and pain, something really amazing and wonderful can happen.
It sure doesn't feel like it at the time, but it happens!!
Second chances are AWESOME.
I don't think big woodpeckers hang out in Uptown..there isn't enough space. And I doubt there are many transvestites in our small town, there's too MUCH space...
And I know that change is a hard thing for everyone, whether it's sitting longer at the dinner table, watching birds instead of people, or moving on from bad relationships...
What is really great about change, though, is that we get NEW things...BETTER things...at least that's what I am witnessing on this side of my second chance...