WTF Moment - I'm Older Than I Look

For some reason, I have been given the gift of a youthful appearance.  Even though I celebrated my 37th birthday a couple of weeks ago, I could still pass for a teenager in the right clothes.  With that in mind, below is an exchange I had with a customer at my store last week.  An older lady approached me while I was stocking shelves and this is what she said:

Her:  How your little young self get to be a manager?
Me:  How old do you think I am?
Her:  You can't be no more than 19
Me:  Mam, I have a teenager at home myself
Her:  (Puzzled look on face) How old are you?
Me:  I turned 37 last week. 
Her:  37? You don't look like you past 19!
Me:  Thanks.  It's a gift and a curse.

She is not the first person to question my age and I am sure she won't be the last. 

Seeing is Believing

My wife decided to go to her hometown this past weekend to visit her grandmother in the hospital.  While she was there, someone took a picture of my wife standing next to the hospital bed.  My wife showed me the picture and asked, "is that how you see me?"  I looked at her and responded "Is that what you see when you look in the mirror?"  I guess seeing the picture of herself next to her tiny, frail grandmother struck a nerve.  Maybe now she sees what everyone else has been viewing for so long. 

Play Your Position

In every successful organization, each member knows how to play their assigned position.  Whether you are talking sports, a Fortune 500 company or your local grocer, people are most successful when individuals have clearly defined roles and goals.  But what happens when a role is not clearly defined?  What happens when someone is not happy playing their position and tries to do someone else's job?  You start having problems which can ultimately lead to failure.  I think I have finally hit that failure point with one of my friends.  I thought I had a clear understanding of my role in her life.  Tonight showed me that I was completely wrong about what she expects out of me.  Oh well.  Back to the bench I go until I learn to play my position.

Late Bday Gift(s) from Mom

So my birthday passed this past Wednesday and as I stated in my previous post, it was lack luster at best.  Well, today made up for it.  I got up this morning and traveled to my home town to get my mother.  We were supposed to go shopping for a prom dress for my oldest daughter.  We hit the mall and were able to find a dress she liked as well as some shoes.  Then it was time to splurge on me.  My mother took me to the local home depot and told me to pick out a new mower to replace the one that was stolen last summer.  How's that for a gift?  I was complaining about getting lawn equipment for my birthday previously and now I am thrilled as hell to receive it.  Isn't life funny?  One thing about mom, she always knows how to put a smile on my face. 

Birthday 2014 - A Day of Blahs

I don't make a big deal out of my birthday most of the time.  I think I was hoping for a little more this year because of what I have been dealing with for the past couple of months.  Today actually played out like any other day of year.  I woke up to discover that my middle child had missed the bus.  After dropping her at school, I came home and waited until it was time to take my youngest to school to register for kindergarten.  After registration, I dropped her at daycare and returned home.  I received a call from my mortgage company wanting an update on when they would receive a payment.  I picked my daughter up from daycare, ate lunch and went to work.  That's it.  I received Happy Bday wishes from my in-laws and 3 friends via text.  Once again, people I thought would call or text me didn't.  I guess I should realize I am not as important as I think I am.  Oh well. 

May Be Time to Search for Another Job

Anybody that truly knows me will tell you that I am not a quitter.  I'm the type of person who sees things through to the bitter end.  I'm the captain who goes down with the ship.  At least, that's how I used to be.  I just can't seem to wrap my abilities around this new job.  Every time I think I am making progress something else screwy happens.  And the truly sad part is, it's hard to find help.  I hate being in situations where my role is that of a leader but I am actually skilled like a subordinate.  After the disastrous day I had today, I am truly thinking about jumping back on the job hunt to see what else is out there.  This shit just ain't for me.

Have to eat my own words

I've been going back and forth for the last couple of days about actually doing this post.  Maybe it's the fact that one of my best friends just moved away.  Maybe it's the fact that my birthday is just over 24 hours away and I am not looking forward to it.  Maybe it's everything.  Maybe it's nothing.  Maybe it's a combination of things.  Who knows?  Let's just get on with this. 

A couple of years ago I fell in love with a woman other than my wife.  For those of you reading and thinking "that's terrible. he should be ashamed of himself," let me take a moment to say "feel free to stop reading at any time."  I truly enjoyed being around this young lady.  There was something about her that drew me in like a moth to a flame.  I wanted to know everything about her - the good, the bad and everything in between.  When we first met, she had lots of walls up due to trust issues.  I was able to break those walls down and so her what it was like to be in love.  It wasn't planned.  It just happened.  Unfortunately, we couldn't be together based on my situation.  Even with that in mind, I told her that I would always be there for her and love her until she met someone else that treated her as well as I did and made her feel safe no matter what.  Fast forward to the present.  She has moved away and met someone.  She told me he is able to provide her with all the things she needs to be happy.  I am happy for her but at the same time I'm feeling some kind of way.  I guess it's because we spent so much time together when she was here.  I can't listen to the radio, drive down the road, smell a sweet perfume, look at flowers, or even sit in my room at home without something reminding me of her.  I haven't talked to her in over a month.  I guess I was hoping that "out of sight, out of mind" would take affect but such is not the case.  I was listening to the radio today and "Let Her Go" by Passenger came on.  I never really paid attention to the lyrics until today.  The song really touched me.  I let her go like I promised I would.  So I have to such this shit up, eat my own words and let her love someone else.