Category: Life-condensed

I think there is something seriously wrong with me.

I don’t like to shop. I could give a monkey’s butt whether my home decor matches or not (overly much). I love shoes, but I do not obsess over shoes and I would rather go to my OB-GYN than shop for clothes – okay, maybe not, but it’s CLOSE.

And I look like Sarah Palin – at least, according to my husband’s family. Personally? I don’t see it. I have brown hair and brown eyes and that’s where the resemblance ends, in my opinion. Palin is gorgeous. Me? I scare babies on GOOD days.

But I digress …

We went to the hospital last night to have a pizza party with Nanny, who’s stuck in the hospital recovering from pneumonia. (She looked MUCH better!!) And we’re loud enough that we chase every other non-family member out of the waiting room.

We have the place to ourselves.

We laugh. We joke. And I listen to my sisters-in-law swap stories about people they know from church and/or homeschool co-op because they both homeschool their four kids – each.

I’m left out in left field – as usual.

They don’t mean to exclude me, it’s just they are together, face-to-face, for like the first time in weeks and they naturally want to catch up. Me? I’m the black sheep in the family because I’ve opted to send my boys to public school.

It’s a thorn that never really gets plucked. And I’m not going to pluck it now.

But I’m sitting there, listening to both my SIL’s and my MIL talk about the great deals at TJ Maxx and I’m thinking, “What? Who has time to shop? Who WANTS to shop? Who wants to spend that kind of money on clothes/shoes/home decor when there are electronic gadgets to buy and play with!”

Clearly, I’m strange. I feel so … unfeminine around them (is that even a word?)

The husband and I talked about this the other day when he went over to a co-worker’s house (to drop off a grill – long story), and commented about how GORGEOUS their house was. He lamented on the fact that he would like to have a big brick house like that someday.

My response? “You REALLY want to spend all that money just to live in a fancy-smancy house with fancy-smancy stuff?”

He thought about it for a minute and shook his head.

I didn’t think so. And I concur. We’d rather pay off bills and use the extra money to buy new computers, cameras, and every other cool gadget that comes out.

I felt really strange listening to my in-law family talk about everything that I could care less about.

I think that’s a big reason why I don’t have a best girlfriend – I’m not your typical female, I guess.

Bummer.

I was held prisoner in my own home yesterday.

The hubs, who wasn’t feeling the best to begin with, decided to seal our asphalt driveways yesterday. We’ve been having some pretty awesome weather – sunny and mid-70’s – so it was really the perfect time to get it done.

But it was also my mom’s birthday. And I needed to get out so I could buy her a gift and run it over to her house.

The husband’s plans trumped my own.

My mom and dad, who were out on this side of town anyway, dropped by. I was pretty embarrassed to be gift-less. I know she doesn’t care, but I do. Though I would buy her a gift regardless, I feel it’s especially important to bestow attention on her because my sister and brother tend to forget to acknowledge her special day.

I’m usually pretty good at keeping on top of birthdays and normally, I would have bought her gift several days in advance. But this year, I simply didn’t know what to give her. I usually give her a sweater, which she’s always delighted with (at least, I think she is), but I don’t know, it just didn’t feel right this year. I was going to send her an electronic gift card through JCPenney, but I couldn’t figure out how to send it directly to her – it kept wanting to send it to me first and I’m assuming I was supposed to forward it on to her from that point.

How stupid is that??

So, my folks came by and I was empty handed. I did have a card for her, but I didn’t feel like it was ENOUGH. Though I know my mom doesn’t want, or expect, a gift on her birthday, I still WANT to do something for her.

This year, for some reason, I simply couldn’t figure out what that might be.

We’ve made plans to have lunch on Tuesday. Perhaps spending time together will be enough?

This is assuming my presence IS enough. I hate disappointing people.