Howdy, Everybody!

Just a little side note: When I post, there will be no rhyme or reason to when it happened or what it’s about. It could be something that happened yesterday, or something from my childhood, or just some random thought I decided to share. I write in slang, so if grammar is an issue, I’m sorry. I will try to refrain from having diarrhea of the mouth (Verbal Regurgitation 🙂 – Shin) and cussin’ like a sailor. My posts will be solely for inspiration or just a good laugh.

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The “Feel Good Vault” is my little safe in my head where I hold my happy moments. I open it up when I need a little pick me up, or I’m just having a bad day. It helps keep things in perspective. If you aren’t actively filling your safe up, you should start. It can be the difference between and bad day and a good day. Sometimes one of my moments just jumps out all on its own to put a smile on my face.

A little back history: My dad was a practicing alcoholic until about 6 years before he died. He was never violent or anything, just not interactive with us kids. He rarely did the “Dad” thing, and when he did, my little brother reaped the rewards. He was old school so boys mowed the yard and stuff outside, while the girls cooked and cleaned.

Really it was like growing up in a one parent home. My mom took care of us. She worked full time to pay the bills. Me being the oldest, I played the role of second parent to a certain extent. Fortunately, my kids never saw that side of him. They had a PAPA that was a prankster and loved to pick and aggravate to no end. I cherish those years because I saw the man my mother fell in love with. I got to have some form of the father I wanted growing up, and we really connected for the first time in my life.

So, without further ado, here it goes….

You know when you are just doing laundry, or making a bite to eat, or some other mundane chore and your head is kinda empty? This is when a random memory pops in your head. Well, such an event has happened to me.

Here’s the tale: When my girls were little, my Dad would call and invite us over for breakfast. This meant that I had to stop at Sonic and pick it up on my way to his house, because the man couldn’t boil water without starting a fire! Seriously, if my mom was gone out of town, the man would starve to death if it wasn’t for fast food.

One time the girls got pancakes or French toast sticks or some other mess in the making, with maple syrup. We get to the house and sat down at the dining room table to eat. Well my dad somehow manages to get some syrup on his arm even though he didn’t have said syrup with his breakfast. Not realizing it, he ended up spreading it all over the table, and everything else.

He tried to clean it up and would think he got it all and then… there’s some more on his fork, or his knuckle, or the table. . After several attempts to clean it all up, he starts laughing and says, “I’m gonna have syrup from my head to my toes before we can get it all cleaned up and it only takes a few drops! I’m not even eating pancakes, why am I the one covered in it?”

The girls start snickering so he proceeds to put syrup on their noses. You know they weren’t really trying to avoid it. They thought this was a hoot and decided that I needed some too. I had to put on my “resting bitch face” so as not to be covered in it. The girls call it the “MOM” face, but really it’s the same look…lol. Of course I was mildly irritated, thinking about the mess that would have to be cleaned up.

He could tell I was brewing, so my Dad looks at me and says, “Enjoy these moments, it didn’t cost a dime to make them laugh.” I thought about that for a minute and had to agree. It was nothing that a little soap and water couldn’t fix. My grandma used to say, “God made dirt, dirt don’t hurt. We got lots of soap, so do your worst!”

They didn’t start a fire or anything, and no one was hurt, so what was the big deal? There wasn’t one! So, we ended up making a game out of it with wet paper towels. Who can find the most syrup drops? I’m pretty sure I won. I’m a little OCD like that. I basically had to hose down the girls when it was all said and done, because they kept redistributing the syrup, but they had a blast.

My mom’s table got the best scrub down ever! And, this was a memory for the “feel good vault”. 

When my girls want to reminisce about my dad, this is usually one of the stories they talk about. It’s always, “remember that time PAPA had syrup everywhere?”, and they start giggling. They also like to talk about him trying to scare them all the time.

You had to be careful coming in the front door because he could be behind it ready to jump out and growl at you. He loved to hear the girls scream and laugh. Now my mom does it to them. Even though they are grown now, they still scream and laugh just like when they were little.

Remember, sometimes its little things or silly moments that make the best memories. You don’t have to manufacture them, they’ll happen naturally. Relax and enjoy the little moments, they could be your favorite ones!

And as always,

You don’t have to be perfect, just happy!

Sherrie