Thursday, July 30, 2009

Noticing

I took my car in for an oil change today. The mechanic at the dealership informed me my car would be ready in an hour. Um, I wasn't prepared for that. (I have a lifetime oil change thing, and it used to only take 25 minutes!) I had the single stroller, I was in flip-flops and Miss E was wearing her princess high heels. But off we went. I decided we would walk to the mall and get Miss E's hair cut there. It was only a few blocks. As we slowly walked (to accommodate the restrictions of princess high heels), I was struck by how much more I notice when I am walking as opposed to when I am driving. I saw:
  • a man looking chagrined as a cop wrote him a ticket
  • a limousine being towed
  • a church with a "Closed - Gone to Vegas" sign in the window
  • a apartment building with a charming mosaic tile entryway
The only thing I might have spotted while driving is the guy who was pulled over, but I would have merely thought, "Sucka!" as I cruised past him. Miss E chattered happily and told me about the leaves on the ground, the cars on the street, and her princess shoes. Ace was content to chill in the stroller.

(When I get around to it, I will take some pictures of Miss E's new do. It's just a simple shoulder-length cut. The hair all the way down her back was just too much, since she cried like a banshee whenever I try to brush it.)

Tomorrow I am going to a show for the first time in forEVER and I am excited. Dh and I are going to see Blue October and Switchfoot. These are mainstream, right? EK and my brother had both never heard of them. I have decided they are the weird ones and I am the normal one. Ha ha

I am stuck in a terrible sleep cycle. I stay up too late, then sleep badly for four or five hours. Then when the kids go down for their naps, I crash for two hours. Then I'm not tired until late, and sleep badly for four or five hours. Repeat ad nauseum. I can't seem to break it. All I know is, these dark circles under my eyes are probably permanent.

Oh and somehow Dh already found the criticism of him contained in that last post! (...possibly because I left the laptop open to this blog...) Obviously I'm going to have to be a little more careful. Or less critical. Umm....yeah.

2 comments:

Cassie said...

Sometimes it really is nice to just slow down and look at the world around us, you know? You're absolutely right that there's a lot we miss when the world just flashes by outside our car windows. /philosophical rambling

Have fun at the show! I have heard of both of those bands, so either we're both weird or both normal. (It's debatable either way.) :)

Margaret said...

Oh! I feel for you, with the terrible sleep cycle. I am quite sure I wake up every hour throughout the night, it's driving me crazy! Apart from the nap-taking-during-the-day, I am quite sure Miss E and Liv are twins separated at birth (Princess high heels, long hair and um, crying like a banshee!). Glad you enjoyed the walk