Purse Junkie and Pokeno
12:22 AM - Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003
My thoughts are going a dozen different directions. . .
First off, I must admit I am a purse junkie. Or I would be if I was willing to part with the money it takes to be a purse junkie. Went shopping today for a new purse. Not that I don't have a dozen or more in the closet. I just suddenly had a need for a new purse. I had seen a Liz Claiborne purse in some magazine that I thought looked perfect, so I headed for the LC purses. Found the exact purse--and hated it. I liked the organized pink lining--but the outside of the purse had pink stitching too and it just didn't work for me. Then I found a red leather handbag. . .this was NOT a purse, this was truly a "handbag". For the genteel ladies who lunch. In the movie "Le Divorce" the rich guy gives Kate Hudson's character a red alligator Hermes purse that was to die for. No need to ask the cost--I will never own that purse. Anyway, the handbag. . .red leather, structured, just yummy. But you know. . .fabulous red leather handbags just don't set off the jeans and the hoodies the way you would hope. So the search continued. A very nice eggplant colored (they called it "merlot"--I didn't)faux alligator. Tempted, but nah. Finally after one and a half hours of debating over a stupid purse, I picked a big ole bag on sale and hit the road. The bag is your basic black, lined in cream--a big bag, with pockets for the cell phone and a little makeup bag in it. Lots of fun little extras. I am such a girl sometimes.
Speaking of cell phones, I had to get the hub a new cell phone today. Yesterday he somehow managed to drop his cell phone into a glass of water. I didn't even ask. Managed to trade the phone out, although he really isn't far enough along in his contract to get another phone. Only a year ago, the hub put his wallet and his phone on the top of the car and drove away to the office! Son#1 and I ran out and searched the alley and driveways around us when the hub called from his office. No luck. So we made a slow drive around the few blocks where he would have driven. And we found stuff!! We found the phone (run over), the wallet, several credit cards and a drivers license. Later that day, Son#2 found the hub's library card in the grass while he and his buddy were walking to Sonic. Then some dear boy taped the hub's driver's license (his REAL one--the one we found had expired) on a sheet of paper and put it on our door with a note saying he found it. I thought that was so sweet and have always wished I knew who he was. So anyway, the hub got a new phone.. . and I added insurance!!
The last thing I am going to write about is the monthly Pokeno gathering. This is the group of women I have known for um, oh, many years now. Generally speaking, it was a nice evening. One woman, recently divorced (her hub is a gay cocaine addict! who knew??) has started dating and it was fun to hear about that. Another woman who was widowed 2 1/2 years ago has also had a few dates recently, so we heard all about that. And they let me update them on the latest with the hub and I (which is all much better than a month ago). One woman's husband has ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). She has only recently told us about it. We asked tonight how he is doing. He is not doing well and is apparently losing control rapidly. He cannot talk and falls often. Then she told us that he keeps falling asleep while driving!! I think we all had a natural reaction by being shocked and saying he has got to stop driving. We were thinking not only of him, but of the people he may kill or maim, and of HER and the liability she will have to deal with. I think we all just had a natural reaction, but it was not accusatory or anything like that. Well, she came unglued and told us how dare we tell her to take the keys from him, that we have no idea what their lives are like and until we have walked a mile in her shoes, we should just shut up and she was DONE sharing with us ever. We all just kind of sat there stunned looking at each other. Then someone said something gentle as did another and then we all chimed in with how we truly do care about her and we are on HER side and never meant to upset her. She finally calmed down and cried and then apologized. Sometimes I am just too weird for myself. My feelings were truly stunned and hurt when she lashed out at us. Then when she started crying, it made me cry. I HATE THAT. So I was sitting there dabbing at the tears and feeling like such a dope. I was afraid there for a minute or two I would not be able to get myself under control. But, hallelujah, I did. And she did and the evening went on. It was sad, though, to see her turn so vicious like that. I know she is in a lot of pain and an unbearably hard situation. And believe me, this group can be mighty bitchy and catty. But anytime any one of the group has had any serious problem come up, the group has been nothing but supportive and kind and caring. We've had divorces, remarriages, one husband's death, many births, one brain cancer, one breast cancer, one heart attack, one nervous breakdown. . .a lot has happened to us all. But I'll shut up as I have not walked in her shoes and cannot begin to understand her pain.
Night, now.
