12 Years

I've been at my job for 12 years today. When I look back over those years, I see a lot of living:

1. I became a grandmother for the first time.
2. I turned 40
3. I was sued by Steuben County Social Services for their mistake. (I won)
4. My son won a national academic award and we traveled to Florida for the ceremony.
5. My middle child graduated high school and started college.
6. I got my first internet capable computer.
7. I became a grandmother again.
8. My second oldest left home.
9. I had an adulterous relationship with another woman.
10. I came out.
11. I re-connected with Lisa.
12. My baby graduated high school and started college.
13. Attended the wedding of my oldest daughter.
14. Became a grandmother again.
15. Got a Civil Union in Vermont.
16. Destroyed pinkie splitting wood. Out of commission and in physical therapy for almost 4 months.
17. Became a grandmother for the 4th time.
18. Got married in New Paltz, NY as a political statement.
19. Learned my father remarried and my stepmother was 15 years my junior, and that I had a 10-year old stepsister.
20. Got poison ivy so bad that I was sick for 5 weeks. Had to take steroids to fight the effects of internal contamination.
21. Was un-invited to #2 daughter's wedding because I "...hadn't earned the right to be there."
22. Went on Prozac due to depression onset from menopause.
23. Got married in Niagara Falls.
24. Sued employer for discrimination.
25. My father is arrested for molesting his 10-year old stepdaughter.

In amongst all of that stuff, I saw #2 daughter through the death of her best friend, the breakup of a long-term high school relationship, getting a drivers license and petty selfish behavior. I saw my son through the suicide of a friend, getting his first job, learning to drive, and getting his drivers license after 5 attempts. I saw my oldest daughter walk roads that no mother wants to see her daughter walk, but then pull herself out of that life and claw her way toward something better for herself. I'm sure there are other things that I've just not thought of, but when you look at the list, it's pretty full of stressful stuff. No wonder I'm on Prozac!

We put the new floor in Saturday. It went very well, and it looks great. We were both pleased and surprised at how easy the process is. Don't get me wrong, cutting tiles to fit is tedious, time-consuming, and takes a lot of thought and concentration, but we got through it and can't be happier with the job we did. All that's left now is to paint/stain the new mouldings and get them installed. It really looks great! Sunday we just laid low.

I had a second sonohystiogram yesterday and, thankfully, everything looks normal. Last year, just about this time I had one done that revealed polyps in the endometrium. No such animals yesterday. I'll just have to deal with the heavy bleeding, now that I know there are no abnormalities. I'd rather deal with it than take hormone replacements. Just so you know...menopause sucks.

We also had a DirecTV DVR installed yesterday. I can't believe that we haven't had one long before this, as I'm a techno-junkie, but I just couldn't justify it for a while. Now that The L Word has ended for the season, there probably isn't going to be a huge need for it, but I'm sure we'll get plenty of "impulse" use out of it.

Speaking of The L Word, does anyone else feel as cheated as I do? The last few episodes of this season are so similar to the story line that was followed over 5 years in Queer as Folk that it became predictable.

WARNING: This paragraph contains spoilers for the season end of The L Word. If you don't want to know what happens, skip this paragraph. Shane asks Carmen to marry her (a la Brian/Justin) and, predictably, as Carmen is walking down the aisle, she learns that Shane has had a change of heart and no wedding takes place (just like with Brian and Justin). Bette is seen driving off into the darkness with Angelica, just like Michael did with Hunter at the end of one season of QAF. Tina boffs a man which seriously endangers her relationship with her partner, just like Lindsey did in QAF. Alice had a sexual relationship with her best friend Dana, in the same way that Emmett and Ted have a relationship. Dana dies from breast cancer where Vic died from AIDS and Brian survived testicular cancer. Dylan screws Helena over and still denies her sexuality, just like Drew Boyd the football hero. Might we expect a bomb to go off in the Planet in the coming seasons? Will one couple move to Canada so they can live free and not as second-class citizens? Can we predict that a politician will work to really enslave the GLBT community, only to be defeated because of a murderous cover-up? QAF was QAF. The L Word is NOT QAF and has no business "borrowing" story lines from it. Be creative! Be original! Be unpredictable! Give us a good story line because we're intelligent enough to not watch the show JUST because it's about lesbians. We're also intelligent enough to sniff out a smelly imitation when we see it, too.

Only another week and Brokeback Mountain will be out on video. I'm on pins and needles waiting for my copy to be delivered!