Mom, Odd Questions, and Mimi's Cafe

Despite the world not being perfect, I occasionally find myself experiencing what I would consider to be entirely perfect days.  Every once in a while two of these perfect days run into eachother, and most frequently this occurs in some combination of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  This is what is referred to as the fantastic weekend.

My mom and my grandma are in town.  They have been on a grand roadtrip to see my grandma's family in Colorado and they just stopped by on their way home.  I was very excited to have them come in to visit, despite the fact that my mom does drive me absolutely up the wall on more than rare occasion.

The visit started with me and my mom going to dinner.  My grandma, being 81, is now not in the best of health and preferred to stay in the hotel room.  Enter: the strangest line of questioning as dinner conversation goes.

"Cara, if the government said that for national security reasons they had to implant a chip in your body that would have your information on it, like your driver's license or passport information, and would also track you, would you let them?"

"No, mom.  That's pretty creepy."

"What if they linked it to your bank account and you couldn't access your funds without it?"

"No.  That's still pretty creepy."

"Well.  I think you should be prepared for some pretty odd things during Obama's presidency."

"That wouldn't happen, mom.  First off, they've shown that tracking chips implanted in dogs and cats have produced cancerous growths surrounding the chips, so it would be a health risk.  Second, nobody would go for it, because it's a huge invasion of personal privacy."

"Yeah, but I'm just telling you that weird things are going to happen."

"Mom, I don't think Obama is the devil."

"No.  I think he's an Antichrist."

At this point, I just gave up on the conversation and asked her about some members of the family.

Today was the day to spend lunch with my grandma.  We went to Mimi's Cafe.  I felt pretty awkward being in a restaurant on a Sunday.  It's a pretty unusual feeling for me.  All the same, my grandma has a pretty restricted diet, and I didn't have anything I could make for her.  She said she wanted soup, so we went to Mimi's for their Chicken Noodle.  My grandma struck up a conversation with another old woman while we waited.  They discussed earrings and European travel.  It was pretty entertaining, and I smiled at the way two old women could become friends in the restaurant waiting area the same way that little kids make friends in the grocery store.

Once at our table I smiled timidly at our waitress to convey that fact that I was sorry she was clearly miserable in the first place, and now had to deal with my grandma's requests due to dietary restrictions, and my mom's requests due to odd preferences.  It's all part of the job, I know.  I still felt for her.

The rest of my day was spent making lasagna with mom and eating dinner with her and three of my closest friends.  After dinner, we taught my mom how to play Settlers of Catan.  Later I dropped her off at her hotel room and she informed me that she would be totally okay with me marrying any one of the three fellows she had just met.  So supportive.  Bless her.

To sum up this weekend quite simply:  It was glorious.  I don't think I could have asked for anything better without requesting immediate translation and entry into the highest degree of heaven.  

Other things I did this weekend:

-Printed off a few pictures to put on my bare walls.

-Attended church and found it to be most uplifting.

-Hiked with some rather amazing folks that I'm blessed to know.

-Breathed deeply the aroma of Aspens in the cool breeze.

-Cleaned my kitchen and living room.  Yeah.  It's great.

Pathetic Middle Ground

I am an optimist.  Unfortunately, I am also a pessimist.  We shouldn't forget the part of me that's a realist, either.  I can do anything (optimistic).  Anything that I can do, that is (realistic).  And there's probably somebody who already does it, and does it better, so why bother (pessimistic).  But with time and practice, I could learn to do most things (optimistic realism).  But there doesn't seem to be anything I'm naturally good at, so my success will likely be moderate (pessimistic realism).

I tend to live in the middle.  The middle of everything.  I even prefer the middle seat, and I somehow manage to end up in the middle of the people I'm walking with.  I like my pizza best room temperature.  I take warm showers.  I like grey days.  My favorite movies are not entirely predictable, but not so off the wall as to be beyond all reason.  Two people have a fight, I see both sides.  I'm very outgoing, except when I'm shy.  I'm a great student when I actually care.

The middle ground has its perks.  I get along with just about anyone, which makes it really easy to make friends.  On the other side, it's difficult to build a life on the middle.  Most of the time I feel fairly aimless.

Conclusion: Find those things that draw you out of the middle, and that will lead to a successful and happy life built on actual passion instead of "going with the flow."

I'm working on it.