Serves Me Right

Slow day in the neighborhood.  Didn't sleep very well so I was dragging terribly.  Fixed me a salad because at my age it never hurts to take in a little more roughage.  I considered writing but never really sat down to do any articles although I did write one impassioned blog post for the "I'm Going Through a Divorce, Woe is Me" blog.  Self-loathing at its finest if I do say so myself.  I woke up feeling mighty uninspired because I was considering my purpose in this life.  My purpose should have been to get out of bed, take a shower and greet the day.  Instead I went shower-less, undressed and moped around for a day.  In retrospect I probably did need this day to dwell on my situation.  


I watched a couple of episodes of the blues documentary by Martin Scorsese, a couple of episodes of The Big Bang Theory and then I topped it all off with a trio of Tyler Perry movies.  I just love me some Madea!  Yes, she is irreverent, brash and full of herself but there are some true life lessons once you brush away all of the trimmings.  As one person said, I'm not sure where they are at this time, but we need big mommas now.  You know the type.  Big, older women who were the matriarchs of the family that everyone respected (feared but respected).  She would handle any situation for you and teach you a thing or two along the way.  

My big momma was my mothers mother.  Flouncing around the farm in day dresses, cigarette hanging out her mouth while she weeds the garden, cleans house and greets the odd guest who always seemed to just pop in, annoying really.  It was nothing for her to cook up the most amazing meals - she always made sure everyone was properly fed and you never left thinking, huh I sure wish we had had because if it existed, it was there.  Fried chicken, check.  Beef brisket, check.  Mashed potatoes, check.  Corn, green beans, mustard greens, poke salad, check.  


She used to drag my brother and I to funerals like nobody else's business.  By the time I entered school I had seen more dead people than live ones.  Sad?  No, a great appreciation for living and the word of God because that is all that is important.  If we weren't going to a funeral, we were going to church.  Now I kind of cool it on the funerals but I do have respect for those at a time of loss which makes my life problems pale in comparison.  I ended the day by watching "Madea Goes to Jail".    

Speaking of big momma, in the middle of all of this my mother calls.  Oh boy, did I need this. Nothing will end your self pity, self loathing spirit than a call from my mother.  She's kind of a big momma's big momma.  See she hails from New Orleans, Louisiana.  Their sensibilities and Texas sensibilities sometimes clash for lack of a better word (more like explode but I was trying to be nice seeing how we are talking about my mother and all). You see for some reason, her grass cannot be cut by local talent (like my brother who lives within a couple of miles of her house).  No, they need to import grass cutting talent from Dallas (namely, me). 

So I had to promise my mother I would be down there to take care of that duty next weekend.  Now you have to remember, my mothers house sits on a little over an acre of land and that house is small so it is no small chore to mow their grass.  Fortunately they have one of those zero turn grass mowing machines so it's not really that bad of a deal.  My big accomplishment for the day?  I washed clothes and changed strings on one of my guitars.  Good times, good times.

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