You spin me right round, baby, right round...

Dead or Alive, remember them? I do, like I was singing their song yesterday...or maybe it was a few days ago. It was 1984 when they released it, it peaked at #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1985. No, I didn't remember all the details, I have Wikipedia to thank for that. I didn't even have my beeper in 1985. I was just 14 years old. Younger than the youngest of my two children. WHOLLY CRAP!

I started thinking about time last night after reading a post about teens and trick-or-treating. The post (shared from an old high school friend who I always admired) made me think about how I cringed over the past couple of years as my teenage son went out knocking on doors with his friends. Have a read, it's a great perspective: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marion-franck/what-you-need-to-know-about-6-foot-trick-or-treaters_b_6030982.html .

But now I find myself a little sad, I believe (OK, I know) trick-or-treating for our children is over. (dare I say, "until they have their own"???)

This year, my son will be working, washing dishes at a local family owned restaurant, and then attending a party with friends. My daughter (21 now and in her last year of college) will most likely be having or attending a party.

Bittersweet, I guess. There are some Halloweens that I don't want to remember: the one where it snowed and my toes went numb, and the one where I pulled Ian in his little Radio Flyer Red Wagon just after he broke his leg. But we've had some great ones too...sitting by a fireplace sipping SOMETHING with friends as the kids sorted their candy, being at my sister's house and having memories of the "ghost on a 4 wheeler" zooming past all the kids, dressing as ghosts with the Nazarian's and scaring the kids that came up to our door..so fun.

I'll never forget Halloween in Georgia, picture the beginning of E.T., kids everywhere, grownups handing out cider and donuts at the end of their driveways. It was so fun, I think, because our kids were so little and it was still new.

So time marches on and right before our eyes we no longer have to go door to door with our kids on October 31st. We no longer walk them to the bus stop. We don't wash behind their ears, wipe their noses or comb their hair. We don't clip their fingernails, worry about the tooth fairy forgetting to put money under their pillow or read them bedtime stories. Hmmm. I do take comfort that we've taught them well. They are (and will become) independent, confident young adults that will be positive contributors to society and most of all, happy. I am sure of that.

So then, as Harry and I plan our next level of happy (chicken, goats and a bunch of land), I find myself spinning right round, baby, right round...but with my arms wide open, enjoying the spin!

Perception, is it really reality?

It's been a while since I've written here...some may think that I've just been busy, others may think that I haven't had much to say. Have I gotten bored with writing? Do I worry about embarrassing my family? Perhaps I don't think that it really makes a difference in what I put out there for people (and it probably doesn't). Watching TV may be more important than writing for "who knows who"...Maybe I didn't want to share some private moments of my life that have been unfolding over the past several weeks. My computer was broken. I can't afford my internet bill.

All of this is true. None of this is true.

I've been learning so much about perception lately. I'm thinking it's the universe's way of letting me know (or at least reminding me) that the world does not revolve around me. Shit! :(

But really, how many times have you looked at a situation and drawn a certain conclusion only to find out that you were completely wrong and there was an explanation that made you step back? How many times have you looked at a situation and discussed it with someone else and learned that they perceived it in a completely different way?

I wont list the dozen (and probably more) instances that have made me take a step back over the past month, but I will take with me the lesson that there is so much happening with the people that I pass in the street, the people I work with, and my friends and family, that my perception of them (and theirs of me) can be totally off base with reality.

The older I get, the more I am learning that we all have our own "stuff" going on. I am trying to smile more at strangers, make a small joke to make someone laugh in the market and let those I love know how much I love them.

From my perspective I'm doing a good job...from theirs, well, that depends.