Time Rolls On...And Some Other Stuff

Whether you like it or not, time indeed rolls on. It's inevitable. I am watching my son grow before my very eyes...like a weed! Already in just 2 months he's grown over 3 inches. I'm am taking as many pictures of him as I can right now, because I know I'll blink my eyes and he'll be a year old and I'll wonder where my precious little newborn went.

Speaking of pictures, I purchased a new point and shoot digital camera yesterday. K has the fancy DSLR with which he takes amazing shots with. I...am not that talented. But, I'm learning on this little one since his camera is a bit more complicated.

Let me just take this moment to vent some frustration. I was ready to blow a gasket while at a certain chain store that begins with a "T" and ends with a "get". I walk up to the electronics counter, and the young man running it was sitting on a stool with his chin resting in his hands, doing nothing. He stood up and asked if I needed help and I said, "Yes, I want to purchase one of those." So he went digging around and came up from under the counter and said, "Sorry we are out of stock." I said, "Okay, what about this one then?" Again he went digging and said, "We are out of those too." So I went down a bit further and said, "Okay then, this one." This time he clicked his scanner and told me they didn't have any in the store. K and I had done our research on cameras and had our choice narrowed down to those three, which the store had NONE of, yet they were all sitting out on display. I was a nanosecond from blowing my top and getting snarky by saying, "Well do you want to tell me what you DO have?" But I bit my tongue. I wasn't in the best of moods to begin with as Big C was getting cranky and I was ready to get out of there. I wasn't expecting a treasure hunt. So I just left and came home.

What had me so darn fuming mad was the fact that this guy was sitting on his tookus not doing a thing, then when he gets a customer who is ready to purchase a pricey piece of electronics, he doesn't know what he has, what he doesn't have, when it will be in, if it will be in...nope, nothing, nada, zip. If it had been me working there, I wouldn't have been resting on my laurels like I didn't have a thing to do unless I could tell customers exactly what we had in stock, what we were out of and when to expect it to come in. You walk up to my counter and ask for a specific camera, "No ma'am, we are out of stock on this model and the following other models." Why play a guessing game of..."Ohhh I wonder if this one is in stock...or this one!?" Don't waste my time! I did finally get to purchase one at a different location, which also had many out of stock. At least the young man at that store knew his job and rattled off exactly what he had instead of making me ask about each and every one of them.

Okay, I'm done with my rant. :-)

In more unfortunate news, I found out from a friend yesterday that another very dear friend who I've known for quite sometime was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He used to run karaoke and a group of us became friends and followed him wherever he did gigs. He also ran revue shows at places like drive-ins and car shows where several of our group would sing and perform for entertainment during the shows. Several months back he suffered a stroke and never recovered fully. Because of the illness he is too sick to have chemo. So he will be home on hospice and they estimated about 2 months. He has suffered other illness as well, being diabetic and dealing with that. This just breaks my heart. He really is a wonderful person, fun to be around and very kind-hearted and sweet.

My uncle, who was diagnosed with lung cancer 2 Augusts ago isn't doing very well either. He's been in and out of the hospital several times over the last few months. He's starting his second round of chemo, but even then my cousin told me they think he only has about 6 months. Cancer is such a horrible disease, striking at any time, no matter the age or the physical health and ripping life away. My family has been touched with it more than I'd like to admit. I just hope that it won't touch any more of us.

It's been snowing here and we've got just about 6 inches or so. It's deeper in some spots because of the windy conditions and the drifts. I'm not a huge fan of snow, but I do enjoy it. I think what I like most about it is that while it is falling, everything is so quiet. So muted that you could hear a pin drop. And I have to admit it is beautiful too. The way it clings to the needles of evergreens and perches on the finger-like bare branches of the maples and oaks we have surrounding the house. What's miserable is the driveway. It's about 200 feet long and the plow stops at the end of the road with all the snow piling up at the end of our drive. Good thing we have a snow blower. It's being used for the first time this year. It began last night and finished right around noon today. Reminds me of a poem my Grandma used to say...

The March wind doth blow and we shall have snow, And what will poor robin do then, poor thing? He’ll sit in a barn and keep himself warm and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

In like a lion, let's hope it goes out like a lamb. It's not unheard of to have snow in April. Although I'd rather have hyacinths! Anyway, it's time for me to go, it's nearly time to feed Big C again. Here is a pic taken with the new camera although K snapped it so that's why it's a really good one. ;) Stay warm everyone and take the time to go play in the snow if you can!

-MoM-