Random Weirdness Too
by Julie Coulter Bellon
Last week we took our son to the MTC (on my daughter’s birthday which was weird to start out with) and have been anxiously awaiting his letters. For the last nineteen years I’ve talk to, emailed, or IM’d my son every day and it is SO WEIRD not to talk to him for days and days. I’m sure we’ll get into the groove of things soon, but for now, the answers to our questions are passing in the mail so all we have are follow up questions to the first answers. Which is odd in and of itself.
I’ve also been polishing a work in progress and it’s really been a work in progress. There was this one scene that was so pivotal to the book, several plot threads hinged on it and I knew it had to be revised, but my inner psyche just didn’t want to do it because I knew that once that scene was revised, many others would have to be revised. Every time I went to revise it, I seemed to get distracted. E-mail took longer than usual, or I’d tell myself I needed to do more research, I was pretty much doing anything besides revise the scene that I knew needed work. The weird thing was, when I finally buckled down and revised it, the other scenes just seemed to fall into place and the writing went much faster. Odd.
I stink at quilting. Every time we have a quilting activity at Enrichment, I try to dissolve into the woodwork, help in the kitchen, or if that doesn’t work, I have to rummage in my purse for band-aids because I have this talent for stabbing myself and bleeding all over the quilt. When I tell people I am a horrible quilter, they smile and say they can help me. But they really can’t. I have accepted the fact that quilting is not my talent. Well, my daughter came home from school the other day with a large stab wound in her hand. Turns out she’d been quilting at school, which leads me to theorize that being a terrible quilter might be genetic. Odd, but possibly true.
I honestly seem to be able to write better when I munch on baby carrots. There’s just something about the munching that seems to stimulate my thinking/writing processes. Some people have lucky writing shirts or need to have a clean desk before they write. I just need baby carrots. Odd.
I took my baby out for an appointment and she was wearing a pink bunny hat (it’s cold outside!) and she was mistaken for a boy. I think it’s weird for someone to assume that I would put my son in a pink bunny hat. The baby is getting on a good sleeping schedule (which is very weird for a baby of mine) which has made it much easier to concentrate and to find writing time. She is one of the most happy, contented babies I’ve ever had and it still surprises me every day how amazing she is.
There’s a lot of weirdness in my life and if I share it all with you, it would probably weird you out. But it seems to be increasing and that makes me wonder. Is it just me or is there a phenomenon going on in the weirdness department? Like a worldwide weirdness epidemic or something? Are you feeling an increase of weirdness in your life? If so, do you look for other people that are weirder than you to feel better about yourself? What is your way to measure normal when you decide who or what is weird?
Last week we took our son to the MTC (on my daughter’s birthday which was weird to start out with) and have been anxiously awaiting his letters. For the last nineteen years I’ve talk to, emailed, or IM’d my son every day and it is SO WEIRD not to talk to him for days and days. I’m sure we’ll get into the groove of things soon, but for now, the answers to our questions are passing in the mail so all we have are follow up questions to the first answers. Which is odd in and of itself.
I’ve also been polishing a work in progress and it’s really been a work in progress. There was this one scene that was so pivotal to the book, several plot threads hinged on it and I knew it had to be revised, but my inner psyche just didn’t want to do it because I knew that once that scene was revised, many others would have to be revised. Every time I went to revise it, I seemed to get distracted. E-mail took longer than usual, or I’d tell myself I needed to do more research, I was pretty much doing anything besides revise the scene that I knew needed work. The weird thing was, when I finally buckled down and revised it, the other scenes just seemed to fall into place and the writing went much faster. Odd.
I stink at quilting. Every time we have a quilting activity at Enrichment, I try to dissolve into the woodwork, help in the kitchen, or if that doesn’t work, I have to rummage in my purse for band-aids because I have this talent for stabbing myself and bleeding all over the quilt. When I tell people I am a horrible quilter, they smile and say they can help me. But they really can’t. I have accepted the fact that quilting is not my talent. Well, my daughter came home from school the other day with a large stab wound in her hand. Turns out she’d been quilting at school, which leads me to theorize that being a terrible quilter might be genetic. Odd, but possibly true.
I honestly seem to be able to write better when I munch on baby carrots. There’s just something about the munching that seems to stimulate my thinking/writing processes. Some people have lucky writing shirts or need to have a clean desk before they write. I just need baby carrots. Odd.
I took my baby out for an appointment and she was wearing a pink bunny hat (it’s cold outside!) and she was mistaken for a boy. I think it’s weird for someone to assume that I would put my son in a pink bunny hat. The baby is getting on a good sleeping schedule (which is very weird for a baby of mine) which has made it much easier to concentrate and to find writing time. She is one of the most happy, contented babies I’ve ever had and it still surprises me every day how amazing she is.
There’s a lot of weirdness in my life and if I share it all with you, it would probably weird you out. But it seems to be increasing and that makes me wonder. Is it just me or is there a phenomenon going on in the weirdness department? Like a worldwide weirdness epidemic or something? Are you feeling an increase of weirdness in your life? If so, do you look for other people that are weirder than you to feel better about yourself? What is your way to measure normal when you decide who or what is weird?
Julie Coulter Bellon — 1/29/2009 06:20:00 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Its the full moon. :) No really it is. There is some gravitational pull or something that makes things happen. No Joke. I used to think people were crazy when they told me that...now I know better. My dad is an under-taker at night and let me tell you the freezers are full. Its true more people die, more babies are born, and more people do odd things on a full moon then any other time! :) As to the how to measure weirdness thing... I dont know... I havent yet figured that one out. How do you measure normal? Another of lifes un-answered questions. :)Sometimes I look at someone and think "that person is weird" and then I think, but hey if its working for them, who am I to say it shouldn't? Besides that, people probably think Im weird too. Your in good company Julie. :)
Julie, I now feel better about myself after reading your blog. ;)Actually, I've been experiencing weirdness here, too. Story of my life, most people who know me would say. =D
Hang in there with the challenges of being a missionary mom. I've survived 3 missionaries---sending my baby out was by far the hardest adventure of the bunch. I cried for two days. After that, it went by fast. And he'll be coming home in May.
As for quilting, we are kindred spirits. It helps that my m-i-l is the queen of quilting. =D But after I bled on a couple of her quilts, she banned me from helping her. That wasn't all bad. ;)
Julie,
You seriously made my day! I find snail mail extremely difficult too. How did people live before email and text? :D
Now that you mention it - I have noticed the weird wagon parked across the street...
No horns sprouting or warts appearing, but I have just been "off" all month - like some unknown entity had parked itself in my psyche.
I have blamed it on everything from too much time alone, to that Winter light deprivation thing, but I like Paige's moon theory the best - it's much more mysterious and romantic than a mere hormone imbalance.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go howl at it...
Pat
Julie, we've known you've been living in a concentration of weirdness for some time... so it's just seeping in through the cracks - right? LOL
Congrats on getting your son on a mission. That's an accomplishment in this day and age and says a lot about the kind of mother you are! As Elder Bednar would say "you're letting your weirdness work for you!"
Oh, Julie! I'm so glad to hear it's not just me. Thanks for the blog -- and all the comments. Weirdness does indeed love company!
Well after reading your blog I am now certain that weirdness and odd are definitely genetic and entrenched in the family DNA. As for quilting it is part of the insanity that is fascinating to watch but painful to participate in if you are prone to bleeding because of poor hand eye coordination.It all depends on which end of the gene pool you like to swim in or you came from?
Weird and Odd?
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