HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

Mother’s Day is just around the corner.  In fact, for me, the first part of the year goes by very quickly.  Most of my family and extended family have birthdays in the first part of the year.  By mother’s day, we are pretty well partied out and need the break.  We often see Grandma on Mother’s Day, and some of the extended family does the same.  I am always a little perplexed about what to do for my mom.

I recently moved across the country, and am back near my parents.  I have been away for over a decade, and while they are happy to see me, there is also a big adjustment.  I was “just a kid” when I left.  Actually, I was in my twenties, but the person I am now is far from who I was then.  Seeing someone on a holiday once a year doesn’t really prepare you for who the person has become.  It has caused some friction between us for some reason.  On her end, she thinks I am at the same competence level I was in my early twenties, or lack there of, and gets miffed when I don’t like foods that I used to. On my end, I have developed a very firm sense of privacy.  When she tries to make small talk, I think I bite her head off a little too much.  In some ways, I interpret her small talk as being too probing, or along the “interrogation” line.  It is true, that often she asks questions that are very personal and labels them “small talk.”  Sometimes, though it is me.

I think sometimes siblings can get caught in a trap of wanting to outdo eachother on Mother’s Day.  Whoever comes up with the bigger present or the one mom likes the most, Mom must love more.  I have been really on the fence this year, but I think I found a few nice things on 1-800-Flowers that would sort of be a “Happy Mother’s Day” and a peace offering more or less at the same time.  I sometimes think that I really don’t deserve to give an apology for anyone for being a different person than they remember.  Maybe it would be more of a “Sorry you feel that way,” rather than an “I’m Sorry,” but I have learned that you can’t take ownership for everyone feeling bad.  You become like a sponge and it does no one any good, and you get in a cycle of feeling you must unchangeable things about you to make others happier.  But then they are still unhappy.

Wishing you and ALL of yours a blessed and happy Easter…

From all of us at HoundsGood.Com

It is very important to take care of yourself. There is a real temptation to want to spread yourselves thin and do more and more for a good cause. The end of the year is a time to reflect on what you enjoyed this year and what achievements have been met. With the extra stress of the holiday season, some people go into overload.

Takemi Select has a large selection of massage chairs and beds. I was familiar with massaging chairs, but never heard of a massage table that did the work by itself. There are also a series of foot massagers as well. I recommend that if you have an injury that you are healing from, that you consult a professional first before using any automated massagers.

So, stop hogging the display model at the mall and treat yourself or someone that you either love, or think is a cranky pain in the butt who might mellow out if they had one.  I know I will probably not be getting one for Christmas, as I have yet to determine if I am on the Naughty, Nice, or SuperNice list, but I sure will come over and push you out of yours so I can have it all to myself.

As you are out celebrating today, it is natural to think of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and the other framers of the Constitution. Since, as you know, I think volunteers rock, it was literally a cast of thousands who supported this grand idea and made our freedom possible.

Deborah Sampson took up about a paragraph or two in my grade school history book, but her curious story stuck with me all this time.

She was born into a poor family, having a father who was lost at sea (or at least that is what history has passed down). She was split up from her siblings, and grew up as an indentured servant, learning how to sew and shovel. Despite her modest existence, she eventually served a family that allowed her to attend school with their children, and she quickly became enthralled with politics.

At 18, she was free from service and so badly wanted to join the cause of Revolution that she disguised herself as a man and enlisted. She was a tall girl, and because of her servitude learned some of the skills and hard work men faced, so she felt she could hold her own. However, she feared that she would be recognized and joined the Continental Army a year later and used the name Robert Shurtliff, which was the name of a brother who had passed away in childhood before she was born.

She managed to keep her secret for several years until she became stricken with illness and was treated in a hospital. The bands that bound her breasts was discovered, but Dr. Barnabas Binney, who treated her kept the secret and brought her home, where she was further treated by he and his wife.

Later, Deborah married and had four children (one of which was adopted and an orphan like herself). She went on the lecture about her experiences, and the campaign for her army pension (though serving under a different name and gender) was successful and paved the way for women in the armed services.

I know it makes us scratch our heads today thinking nobody would have noticed. We let Shakespeare get away with it due to the dramatic contrast in attire, the miles and pounds of brocade that could easily obscure, that

What is the moral of the story? Excuse the butchering of a crude, yet popular phrase, but even if you don’t have a pot to…well…relieve yourself in, nor are wealthy enough to own a window to throw it out of, you can be very capable indeed. You may never make a paragraph in an HBJ reader, and no one may never know how you have made an impact on someone’s life, or at just knock yourself out of the “poor me” rut.

P.S. Fun Fact: Did you know that word has spread that George Washington had a pet parrot named Polly? You think he would have come up with a more original name, but perhaps he was being original at the time.