Extremes

We keep pushing ourselves to the extreme.  Why?  Whatever happened to normal?  These are the thoughts I’m having as I’m baking cookies on a Sunday morning to take to a rehab center.

As a kid, I use to love when my Mom would make chocolate chip cookies.  We kids, would saunter pass the kitchen table grabbing one or two and continue on our way out the door, satisfied with that amount.  In thinking back to this time, I wonder what went wrong!

Now we seem to not be able to limit ourselves to just the one or two, but instead gorge ourselves eating until we nearly feel sick.  This is the same way we treat other things in our lives as well!

My son is getting married in two weeks and this weekend he and his buddies are in Charleston at his bachelor party, while his fiancé is having hers up on a lake.  Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with them having this time to share with their friends/wedding party and I truly DON’T want to know what goes on, but this led to a conversation with my husband.

He did not, nor did I have a “party” of this sort.  I’m sure they did these things back in our day….we’ve been married 29 years.  But this then also allowed the continued thoughts about what all our kids have done in their lives that we haven’t done yet. 

One of those areas for me was riding in a limo – both our kids had ridden in one for their proms, Bruce rode in one at some business function, some ride in them at weddings.  When I was training as a CNA, my instructor (who during the class became a friend – she and I are around the same age) also mentioned that she had not ridden in one.  We both shared the same thought….the first time we’d be in one might be at a funeral and that was not the “ride” we wanted.  Anyway, anyone who knows me, knows that when I get a thought in my head, it is going to get done!  During clinicals, the instructor suggested I pay her in French fries for the gas??? since we carpooled and she drove!!!  Yeah, I bought her 2 orders and then came up with the idea of renting a limo for after the last day of class.

You can imagine her surprise when we wound up riding around Charlotte for an hour and a half, sipping wine and eating cheese and nuts.  Initially we both were kind of in awe, but later, probably as the wine de-stressed us, the experience although a lot of fun, was one of absurdity….. I mean, really…..does anyone just go for a Sunday drive anymore like we use to with our parents growing up……I don’t know about you, but I use to hate those drives to no where!! And I was in a “stretch” car……a station wagon!  So what exactly was the difference?!  Maybe my Dad just needed to be wearing a tux or something!

Anyway, we go to extremes.  We eat too much, we drink too much, we party hard, we collect too much which in turns means we have to work too much to pay for it or to repair it.

I’m beginning to wonder if this extreme heat we are feeling in May is the result of God saying, you like extremes?  Well here’s one?

Anyone?

And just so you know, the limo ride was nice, because we could talk without our attention being diverted to the road!

Looking up!  Barb