Monday, November 07, 2005

Blond Girl's 24-hour Meme

Edited below!
The 24 Hours Meme.....as designed by Blond Girl:

http://blondgirlrants.blogspot.com

Blond Girl says:

"If you haven't figured it out yet, I love memes. Not sure why; I just think they're fun. So, I decided to create one of my own and see how far it spreads. Here's how it works: I'm going to list each hour of the day and then a reason why that hour (anytime in the 60 minute block) is significant. You can cut and paste the basic template and then fill in your own times. Then, comment here to let us know you've posted yours. Sound like fun? You know it! Challenging? Of course! Buckle up, here we go":

Blond Girl tagged me, and here's my answer to it; however feeble, because I don't usually remember specific times. I am leaving some of the hours blank, as I cannot think of a thing to put there, and if I did, I would just be making it up.

12 midnight: I remember this time because it was when we got a call from the hospital saying my mother-in-law had died. We had just left there about 10:30 pm, and we went to get a bite to eat. Just as we got back home, the phone rang. We had to go back to the hospital and sign papers so the funeral home could take her away. The nurse told me that the roses I had brought my mother-in-law that evening had been a delight to her and that she talked of nothing else. The nurse had spoken to her about 11:30 pm and then found her gone just 30 minutes later. She and I did not have a very good relationship, but it made me very happy that I had given her those roses and made the last hours of her life more pleasant.

1 am: my water broke with my first child. I was watching Johnny Carson's Tonight Show when it happened. We rushed to the hospital, and the woman who admitted me wouldn't quit talking about cats, for some reason. I could have slugged her! There I was in labor, and she kept babbling on and on about her cats and my cat, etc. Somehow I think she was more scared than I was, and talking was the way she kept the fear at bay.

2 am: I once rode a NYC subway at 2:00 am, after a midnight feast at a Chinese restaurant on Mott Street in Chinatown. That night I ran into a high school classmate of mine, who had abandoned her husband and children and "run away" to the Big Apple. But that is a long story, and a fit subject for a whole post by itself.

3 am

4 am

5am (4:50 am) My first child was born after only 4 hours labor. (*Don't hate me because I had short labors!)

6 am: I was born at 6:20 am; putting me in the rising sign of Scorpio, according to some astrologers. But a psychic once told me I was a classic "Libra rising", whatever that means.

7 am: Alarm time, most days. Hate it!

8 am: I once had a car wreck at 8 am. I had just taken my daughter to school because she missed the bus. As I left the school, trying to turn left onto a busy road (with no stoplight) I pulled out into what I thought was a clear lane. My view had been blocked by a school bus turning into my street, and too late I saw the truck barreling down on my left front fender/door. Seat belts were verboten to me then (I hated to wrinkle my clothes). How purely stupid that was! I was not badly injured, but my left leg hit the window handle and it was blue/purple from the hip to the ankle. My whole body had been thrown upward into the window frame (the window was open) and so my shoulder and back felt like they had been hit by a concrete wall. My head had hit the roof of the car, and it was very sore the next day. It was luck that I didn't have a concussion. Please believe that I never again got into a car without fastening the seatbelt, and you shouldn't either!

9 am: the time I go to work, two days a week, for another florist. Love it!

10 am: snack time - or early lunch, usually at Bojangle's for a chicken biscuit. I really do have to quit that. They taste wonderful, but they are adding pounds and inches to my waistline!

11 am: my second child was born, after 2 hours of labor (*see above)
12 noon
1 pm

2 pm: my third child was born, after 1 1/2 hours of labor (*see above).

3 pm: General Hospital! I have been watching this ever since my children watched it when they were in school. Luke and Laura were all the rage back then. Nowadays, I have to catch it at 10:pm on the Soap Channel, if at all. My kids don't watch it anymore, but I still do.

4 pm: Oprah. I do enjoy Oprah. I liked it best when the programs were all helpful and uplifting, not prurient, with sleazy subjects. She seems to be sliding back into some of that stuff lately. I don't get to see it often, and if the subject matter is depressing, I turn it off. There is too much misery in the world anyway, and I don't like to feed that monster anymore.

5 pm: down time, when I am my lowest point of the day.

6 pm: dinner time, most evenings.

7pm: Seinfeld on TV, we seldom miss it. I have seen some of the Seinfeld episodes 5-6 times and there is always something new we didn't catch the first few times.

8pm
9pm
10 pm

11 pm: bedtime, or it should be. Too many nights I am up blogging or writing at this time and beyond. But the enjoyment I get from writing and reading your writings far surpasses the benefits of sleep!
Blond girl mentioned in her comment to this that it must have been a comfort to me to know that I helped my MIL's transition. You have NO idea how justified I felt. Just before going to the hospital that Saturday evening (Father's Day eve), I had returned from delivering flowers for a wedding. I had about eighteen roses left over - all different colors - but beautifully coordinated. I said to my husband that he needed to wait a moment, so I could put the roses into a vase for MIL. He was in a hurry (and very hungry) and he tried to talk me out of the flowers. He said "She won't know the difference if you don't bring them, there's no room in the hosp. for them, when she comes home it will just be one more thing to have to worry about carrying", on and on ad nauseum. I persisted, and I said "I AM going to take her these roses, no matter what you say!". When we arrived, and I placed the vase on her bedside table, she was obviously pleased and surprised. I was happy with her response to them. After we left to go get a bite to eat, she mentioned them to every RN/MD/LPN, and room cleaner who walked in. She bragged about how pretty they were and how her daughter-in-law had brought them, and didn't they smell good and wasn't she lucky. When the nurse told us this after she passed, I looked knowingly at my husband and said "See, I told you so!! I knew it would make a difference to her".

20 comments:

Erin said...

Very cool meme!

Yes, you do have short labors! LOL!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Great meme..(though in all honesty I don't know what that word actually means cause no one has explained it to me...Memo List??? Well...you get what I'm saying, hopefully, and I got your list..Oops, meme, I mean..)
What a terrific memory you have for 'times of the day'....I'm not sure I could actually do this one...I think it helps to have birthed children!(lol)
But I'd love to try another meme sometime....And, by the way Judy, it was 31!!! OY and HELP! (Our little secret?..for the moment anyway)

Traci Dolan said...

That's an interesting Meme... I may have to try that one.

Anonymous said...

Love reading these things. Came via Michele's today.

srp said...

That bedtime one. Hrrmph! I know I've seen you up until 1 or 2AM writing on your site or at Michele's. LOL.

With your florist business and your education (saw it over at Vickis) how did you end up doing cytology? I don't think you ever said how you got to that and how you got from it to NC. If you did I apologize for missing it.

Anonymous said...

I am one of those with quick labors as well. I do hope this baby follows suit and comes quickly ... and not during a snow storm.

Anonymous said...

Are you sleeping at 3 and 4 am and blogging at 8-10? This one would be hard for me...hour by hour.

Jamie Dawn said...

I am a Seinfeld fanatic too. LOVE those shows. I have seen all of them several times. The casting of all the characters was so perfect. That show just works!
My brother doesn't like to wear a seat belt for the same reason... He hates to wrinkle his clothes! I force him to wear it whenever he's with me. He doesn't mind so much unless he's in a nice dress shirt.

Jennifer said...

Oy, I don't know if I can pull that meme off! At least not this early. I do my best thinking at night! I'll try it, though...soon :)
Thanks for the visit!! :)

Anonymous said...

I found this impressive because I'd have to rack my brain for the actual time that an event occured. I usually remember things in general terms, LOL!

Short labors.. grrrr, i'm jealous. My oldest daughter took her sweet time entering this world, which turned out to be a personality trait for her as well. LOL.

I hear ya on Oprah. I watch her once in a while if i'm home. End up turniing it off if it gets depressing. Sometimes her shows are informative and ill keep watching!

ditto on the Seinfeld shows! For awhile we were watching MASH every evening, now that we've seen almost every episode 200x, we've moved onto Seinfeld. lol

Great meme!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for playing, Judy! I know you said don't hate you for having short labors, and I don't, but MAN, am I jealous!

My favorite hour you posted was the midnight hour. Although death is so bitter, knowing that she enjoyed the roses must be such a comfort. It's like giving a peice of yourself to ease the transition.

OldHorsetailSnake said...

You did right well, Blonde Girl.

I am a Libra, too. In the Libra Nodding Off phase, though. I hate "rising."

utenzi said...

Mmmmm BoJangles! I love their cajun frenchfry seasonings! Yum!

I saw this meme over at BG's site and immediately knoew that I'd NEVER EVER do it. I admire your pluck in doing so, Judy. It's an epic meme.

brendalove@gmail.com said...

Wow now THAT is a TOUGH meme! good job Miss Judy!

Anonymous said...

Great meme but not easy that's for sure! It's actually illegal over here for anybody in the car not to wear a seatbelt so it's never even crossed my mind not to wear it! Which after a pretty scary accident on the motorway we were very grateful for...nothing worse than whiplash in an accident that could have killed us without the seatbelts!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your response! I actually didn't think it was illegal anywhere in the States even now hence my comment above! It's been illegal here in the UK since the 70's so I've never known any different!

Amazing how laws can be so different in different countries!

Pirate said...

Johnny Carson? I like it I'll give it a shot.

Suburban Turmoil said...

Wow. A meme like this takes real effort. I'm impressed!

Nice to read a little bit about your life, too.

Michele sent me this time.

Weary Hag said...

You know something? I really really LOVE this meme. I plan to go see blond girl's blog just to tell her how great I think it is. Very original indeed and your responses to it were wonderful. (the first was sad, but quite the warming story surrounding the death)

Great job, Judy. I may have to take this one on (after I JUST posted about how I don't care to do memes - hahaha) - but I might even put yet another tiny spin on it.

Seinfeld feels like my former life in the city (friends and all ... I can SO relate to that show)

Gel said...

INteresting meme and answers, Judy.
That roses gift got to me even before your addendum. I want to tell you in my culture "18" is considered a lucky and very special number. (I don't nmean it's lucky she died.)

I envy your short labors. Mine would make blogs but I'd have to do them funny because my first one was over 36 hrs.........