Spirit Week

Tags

family, humour, school, seniors, spirit day, working

It snowed yesterday and I have to confess – I got a little excited about it. Just goes to show that my mental health status is precariously balanced between sane and insane. Maybe what I need is a little spirit. A little goofiness at work. A reason to dress outrageously, act crazy…and go to work like that.

This week was Spirit Week at Little Guy’s school, and I was a little jealous. Monday was Moustache Day but I didn’t find the note until it was almost time to run out the door. But we put our heads together and came up with a quick solution:

 

Tuesday was 80’s day. I could so rock the big hair!  We had no neon in the house…or leg warmers, parachute pants, acid wash jeans or big shoulder pads, so we improvised:

Bruce Springsteen + Bender from the Breakfast Club = one rockin’ 9 year old!

It was worthy of one of these!

Fist Pump!

Wednesday was Super Hero day! Do you have any idea how hard it is to stuff a cape into snowpants??

I’m pretty sure that if I showed up at work dressed like Wonder Woman, my bosses wouldn’t be impressed. Nor would their wives. (Let’s be honest, nor would anyone over the age of 5).

Super Church Lady!

 

Of course, it could be worse. One of the pastors could dress up as Wonder Woman too! (*shudder)

To round out the week, Little Guy had Twin Day which is a bust if you don’t have a friend to coordinate with, and today is School Shirt/Colours, which is kind of boring.

What if adults had “Spirit Week” at work?

Personally, my first vote would be for Pajama Day. Or Hollywood Movie Star day (like I need an excuse to wear velvet and gloves). I’ve accidentally done Mismatched Shoe Day at the office…and I’m one night’s sleep away from Mismatched Everything Day.

There are lots of possibilities:

Hat Day (I look stupid in hats)

Tacky Tourist Day

Ugly Sweater Day (sounds like the 80s again)

Cartoon Character Day

Holiday-Themed days

Backwards Day (great way to get your panties in a bunch!)

Dress Like an Olympian Day (would a toga work here?)

Dress Like an Animal Day (I’m not touching this one…)

1960s Day

1970s Day (Sensing a trend, here?)

1990s Day

Sports Team Day (Can I be Sporty Spice?)

Black & White Day

Futuristic Day

Tie Dye Day (yeah, man!)

Sunglasses Day

Crazy Hair Day (well…that’s every day)

Or something like this?

If you had a Spirit Day at work, what “theme” would you vote for?

Morning Break Jokes

Tags

aging, humour, jokes, laugh, marriage, retirement, seniors

“Time flies when you’re having fun” and it’s true! Morning Break, the women’s outreach ministry at my church, is coming to an end until September. Yes, this is the Committee which I mysteriously became Chair in over 9 months ago, and yes, I am still terribly confused as to how that happened.

One of my responsibilities, perhaps arguably the most important one, is choosing the morning joke. So for today, I’m going to share 4 of the jokes that I’ve shared with the ladies, because let’s face it – we can always use a laugh!

1) An elderly senior couple were invited to an old friends’ home for dinner one evening. She was impressed by the way her lady friend preceded every request to her husband with endearing terms such as: Honey, My love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc. The couple had been married almost 70 years and, clearly, they were still very much in love. While the husbands were in the living room, the host leaned over to her friend to say, ‘I think it’s wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your husband all those loving pet names’. The elderly lady hung her head. ‘I have to tell you the truth,’ she said, ‘His name slipped my mind about 10 years ago and I’m scared to death to ask the cranky old goat what his name is’.

2) Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards. One day, they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, ‘Now don’t get mad at me … I know we’ve been friends for a long time, but I just can’t think of your name! I’ve thought and thought, but I can’t remember it. Please tell me what your name is…’ Her friend glared at her for at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her. Finally she said, ‘How soon do you need to know?

3) Three retirees, each with a hearing loss, were playing golf one fine March day. One remarked to the other, ‘Windy, isn’t it?’ ‘No,’ the second man replied, ‘it’s Thursday..’ And the third man chimed in, ‘So am I. Let’s have a root beer.’

4) After being married for thirty years, a wife asked her husband to describe her. He looked at her slowly then said, “You’re A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K. She asked….. “What does that mean?” He said, “Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot. She smiled happily and said, “Oh, that’s so lovely. What about I, J, K?” He said, “I’m Just Kidding!”

Grannies Gone Wild!

Tags

adventure, family, humour, seniors

It sounds like the plot line for a really bad sitcom. But think about it – when you are older, will you plot your escape from a retirement home? I guess it depends on the retirement home…there are days now when living in a place where I have my own space, my meals are provided, and activities like exercise classes and concerts steps away, sounds great!. In fact, if there was a hot tub, I’d move in tomorrow.

Last month, my grandparents moved into a retirement home. They have their own space furnished with their own things. Meals are provided and medications are monitored. They do their own laundry onsite, and can travel anywhere in their car. They moved voluntarily, albeit reluctantly. I know “there’s no place like home,” but it’s a very nice place where they can get the extra support that they need. Lately they have seemed more content with the new living arrangement. But there may be a plot afoot!

My parents are planning a brief vacation soon. I talked to my Mom this week and she was chuckling because when my grandparents call (which is often), they don’t always remember to click the button to disconnect the phone. I have no doubt that I will do the same thing some day! So when they finish their message, if they even bother to leave one, she can hear them talking. Apparently, they were discussing whether my parents had already left on their vacation…to make a long story short, it sounded very much like they are planning to move back to the house when my parents are away.

Hence, the plot line to a sitcom…when the kids are away, Grannies Go Wild! Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching the TV show “Alcatraz”, but the image of two seniors “on the lam” with their oversized keys, their dentures, and their walkers, makes me laugh! Or picture this: sweet faced “Motorcyle Mamas” wheelchair racing in the halls! Table dancing to Frank Sinatra’s “Anything Goes”. Chocolate pudding shots! Partying until after 8 p.m.!? Scandalous.

I have no idea what adventures my grandparents may be involved in, in a couple of weeks. The retirement home will have my phone number, so it could be that I’ll be involved in an adventure too…but let’s hope not!

Laugh or Cry

Tags

cry, family, laugh, seniors

Last week I was looking backwards 20 years to when my Big Guy was born. This week I’ve been looking forward 20 years and wondering if I’ll be supporting my parents the way they are supporting my grandparents.

My Grandparents were ill for quite awhile before Christmas with some kind of virus. The week before Christmas, Nana spent a night in the hospital. It was a long night for Papa since they have hardly been apart in over 60 years. Then a few days before Christmas, Papa ended up in the hospital (and he was vocally unhappy about it). Nana was happy to tuck it at my parents’ place, but it meant that my Mom was behind on all the last minute Christmas preparations. I am so thankful I could head down a bit early and take over some of the cooking and cleaning.

We’ve kind of dubbed this past Christmas as “the laugh or cry Christmas”. Both grandparents stayed at my parents’ place, which meant a very full house. Mom posted on Facebook that we were having a “Walton’s Christmas” with 4 generations under one roof. Lots of silly little things made us laugh, but it also opened our eyes to how quickly my grandparents had deteriorated, and how much more help they needed, more than they were willing to admit. I think they drove us all nuts nattering loudly at each other – they can’t hear each other, even with their hearing aids on!

Both of my parents went to church Christmas morning (after the kids’ opened their stockings and a couple of gifts so they’d have something to do). I stayed home to “granny sit”. Papa felt terrible and wanted to sleep but Nana kept waking him up to make sure he was ok. Let’s just say I quickly appreciated why Mom needed the break! By the afternoon, Papa’s health started to deteriorate again, and we spent part of the day trying to decide whether to call an ambulance. Fortunately he perked up!

We left on Boxing Day to visit my in-laws, and the battle for my grandparents’ car was in full swing when we headed out. Since then, they are home again, but my Mom has had to visit several times a day, field distressing phone calls, travel to various appointments, help with meals, and dole out their medication so it’s all kept straight. It’s a daunting task, and one that I know she endeavours to perform with love and patience. After all, as frustrating and stubborn as they can be, they are still her parents.

They have finally agreed to move into a retirement residence, where they will get more support, but can still be independent. It’s a huge step, and one that I hope I will have the grace to make when the time comes. My Mom has told me that when they get to that point, just shoot them! I don’t think it will come to that! But I can see where she’s coming from – I certainly don’t want to be a nuisance or a burden to my kids (assuming they still like me by then)! I have really wished that I could be closer to help my Mom with all this – not just the phone calls and visits, but also in wrapping her head around the fact that her parents are no longer able to do everything themselves.

The big move is this weekend, and I wish I could be there to help. But I know that extra bodies, especially 6 year old ones, would just get in the way. I can’t imagine trying to sort through over 80 years worth of “stuff”…but then, if I were to move tomorrow and I couldn’t take everything with me, I know there’s a lot that I could leave behind with no regrets. Maybe that’s how we should all live… packing lightly and carrying treasures like memories instead. This Christmas wasn’t at all like I had imagined it would be, but I will never forget helping Nana put on make-up Christmas morning, or helping her make coleslaw with the electric food processor – we made quite a mess, and we had a lot of laughs doing it.