Pretend

Pretending has been around for a long time.  It’s something that we all do at one time or another.  Children especially are good at pretending.  Play time is really a learning time when pretending allows children to develop skills needed later in life.  When they ‘play house’ they are pretending to be like mommy and daddy.  If you want to take a look in the mirror and see who you are, just watch your children play.  They mimic what they see.

As a child, I remember pretending a lot of things.  (I’m going to date myself with this one); but one of my earliest memories of pretending was to use the sofa in our basement rec room as my boat.  I was Shirley Temple, and the sofa was my “Good Ship Lollipop”  I also remember pretending to be Annie Oakley.  That must have been a big one, since I received an Annie Oakley rifle for Christmas when I was just three years old.  With my brother and sisters we all moved into the Daniel Boone era.  We loved the TV show.  I still remember…7pm, Thursday nights.  For Christmas we received a real live genuine Daniel Boone kit complete with a replica of Ole Betsy (his long rifle), and a coonskin cap (which I later learned was not genuine to Daniel Boone, but was taken from Fess Parker’s stint as Davey Crockett.)  We played Daniel Boone till the cows came home.  As the eldest, I usually got to be Dan’l.  My dad had made a bar in the basement for when he and mom entertained friends.  In between those times, the bar was better known as “Fort Boonesborough”.

Pretending continues as a child ages.  When we leave the security of home and venture out into the big world, we often pretend to be someone or something we are not – for various reasons.  The class clowns are really quaking and quivering inside, just pretending to be a clown.  Many “softies” pretend to be cold and hard on the outside.  Someone who is hurting inside puts on a brave, cheerful front.  Pretending.

Pretending can be  healthy, if not overdone.  We played house as young children, then when we grow up and get our first place, we find ourselves ‘playing house’ again!  As an empty nester who unloaded the trappings of a large grown up family and moved to an apartment,  I find myself once again “playing house”.  I pretend that I am my daughter, who thrills at home-making.  It sure makes doing dishes more fun!  (Uh-huh)

I wonder if today’s cyber/techie children pretend as we did years ago.  Do they turn the picnic table upside down in the back yard and pretend it’s a boat?  Do they make “camps” in   the woods and play pioneers, Indians, spy, or army guys?  Do they race their bikes in circles in the front yard and pretend they’re 4-H kids riding their horses at the county fair?  On the last day of school do they bring home all their school stuff, then set up to play  school?

Pretending is a good thing to do at times.  Right now, I’m pretending to be a writer of worth!  How about you, what do you pretend?

Little Things

It’s the little things in life that count.

Clean bed sheets

fresh-baked cookies

warm bread

new socks

a sunny day

a child’s laughter

a smile.

It’s not the diamonds he got me for Valentines Day, Christmas, or Mother’s Day.  It’s the dinner he has waiting when I get home from work, the massages he gives when he knows I hurt, sitting down in the livingroom because that’s where I am.  Day after day, year after year, for almost 30 years now.  And boy, do I know how much he loves me!  Yesterday he said, “Let’s go shopping.”  (I’m always game for that!)  He bought something he knew I wanted.

It’s the little things in life that mean the most.

Bags, Bags, Bags

I love handbags.  I really do.  I love the colors, texture, styles, and designs.  I love looking at them in stores, in catalogues, online, and on people.   I especially love having one myself.

A handbag  is an important extension of ourselves for when we leave home.  A handbag  has the essentials of daily living.  Whatever the situation, wherever we are, whatever we might need at the moment;  it is in our handbag.  Wallet,  keys, cosmetics,  cell phones, calendars, tissues, pens, pencils, notepad, sunglasses, glass case, comb, brush, lint roller, fingernail polish, gum, lozenges, and on and on it goes.  I can’t imagine  how men  survive without a handbag!

My attachment to handbags began in my early youth.  All my needs could be met by the contents of mommy’s diaper bag.  Hungry, there’s a bottle in the bag.  Need a diaper changed, there’s a supply in the diaper bag.  Change of clothes, toys to entertain, teething biscuits, ointment, handwipes,   all in the diaper bag.  And heaven help the mother who forgot the diaper bag at home.  It usually only happens once.

Just as I was outgrowing the need for a diaper bag, along comes Kindergarten and I was introduced to the ‘schoolbag’.  This time, I have to haul it around myself .  “Big girls carry their own bags!”  In my school bag were my school books, my homework, my lunch, extra mittens, notes from mom…or teacher, tissue, pencils, erasers, papers-that-never-made-it-to-parental-vision, marbles or a jump rope for recess.  Those school bags were pretty important!  If you didn’t have what you needed for class, you could always go “check in your school bag”.  Obviously, during the course of my school years, the styles of acceptable school bags changed many times.  In grade school I recall having what today is called “The Messenger Bag”.  In high school and college, we all had back packs as our bags.  Whew!  You could carry a load in one of those!

For a short while I was able to move up the ladder and trade in my back pack for a briefcase.  But that didn’t last long.  Soon, I found myself in need of a diaper bag once again for my own babies.  A BIG diaper bag.  And the cycle begins again.

So the  history of depending on reliable bags seems to have fueled the flames of passion for…purses.  Some women have many handbags in their closets, some women still carry the same purse they first used in 1973.  Some women will pay hundreds of dollars for a designer bag.  Personally, I couldn’t do that (even if I had the means).  I have found very nice purses at garage sales, clearance racks, and  Goodwill.  What drives me to purse shopping is the need to find THE PERFECT HANDBAG.

The perfect hand bag should be stylish of course, but it also must be easy to use.  The perfect hand bag needs to be  big enough to haul the essentials and more, but it also should be small enough for easy carrying.  What I need is a Mary Poppins bag..  Remember her satchel?  From its depths she hauled out lamp stands, mirrors, coat rack, and medicine.  Lots of stuff, all in one bag, and so easy to carry one can blow away in the breeze while carrying it.

Yah, I wonder if I could find one in purple?

Shopping

Shopping is definitely one of my pleasures.  “Hi.  My name is Terri, and I’m a shopper.”  For me, a shopping trip  belongs under Entertainment.   Being an introvert by nature, shopping allows me to interact with society (which one does need) while still feeling safely anonymous.  Shopping can also be ranked under  Educational and Enlightening.  As the GoodWill commercial says, “You should see all the things they have here!” 

There is a big difference between shopping and buying.  I can have a wonderfully satisfying day shopping,  and buy nothing.  It’s the hunt for  treasures that’s fun.  It’s like a trip to the art gallery, where one can admire the beauty and creativeness of items on display. My most memorable date with my husband was an evening spent meandering through an Ethan Allen furniture store.  We were young, and definitely not anyone who could afford to shop there.  So while we blissfully wandered from display to display, daydreaming and critiquing, we had an entourage of sales people keeping a watchful eye on us.

Yesterday was such a day.  My day off from work, big sales everywhere, and a prized coupon in hand.  I had looked forward to it all week.  I spent four hours aimlessly browsing in different stores.  I bought the one item that I needed,  then I just looked at all the tantalizing merchandise.  Many things caught my eye, many things I stopped to admire and consider.  Then, the little voice in my head said, “What would you do with that?” or “You don’t need that, you already have enough stuff.”  So on to the next temptation!

More on shopping later.  See you next time!

Welcome to my world

Welcome!  How nice of you to stop by.  As you can see, I’m not to busy for a friendly chat.  I’ve been through the busy years of career goals and child-rearing.  Now that life is a bit slower, I have time to think about things and share them with you.   Come again soon.  (I have grandkids to talk about!)