Things I wished I had done before the age of 45

I guess I'm a late bloomer. Many of my friends waited tables in college, making great money, having tons of fun! Not me...I was volunteering at the local hospital as a candy striper. Basically, I got paid with a free monster cookie and soda each day that I worked (which wasn't all that bad compared to dorm food!). The only tips I ever got were from the supervisor at the front desk..."Be sure and walk in the halls" or "Don't go into a patient's room if the door is closed".

Lots of my friends were runners back in the day. Hell, I went to college in "Track Town USA" and never ran around a track or block for that matter the whole four years I attended. The closest I ever came to running was the time I got kicked out of the local bar and had my fake ID taken away! You wanna see this girl run? Start a bar fight or threaten to call the cops on her! :)

So, Thank God for second chances and late bloomers, because at the ripe old age of 46, this girl is re-living her youth! I started running about 11 months ago and haven't stopped. I never thought I'd be able to run for more than 5 minutes at a time, let alone actually ENJOY it! I have to say that running has changed my life! I feel empowered every time I look at my little "wall of fame" in my garage with my bib numbers and pictures from each race...I don't actually enjoy it while I'm doing it, but, man, do I feel good when I'm done!! It is seriously the best drug out there - it's FREE, you can do it alone or with a friend, and the adrenaline rush alone lasts for days. I love running, I just wish I had taken it up sooner...'cause I'm not so sure my 46 year old knees love it as much as I do!

As far as the serving, waitressing, cocktailing thing, well, that's another thing I never thought I could master! I watched in awe, those people who balance huge round trays on one hand, never spilling or dropping a single item. I could barely walk and chew gum at the same time, so that was one career I would never have. And, I was bummed about it because, truth be told, that is where the money is!! I know people who cocktail a couple nights a week and make more than I do teaching 5 days a week! A part of me has always yearned to pull it off. Well, this summer, I got my wish! I started a part-time serving job at a local hotel and I absolutely LOVE it! It is far and away the funnest job I've ever had! I get to chat with nice people and bring them their food, hang out and chat with my co-workers in the kitchen when it's not busy and man, the tips are amazing!! I feel like a kid in a candy store everytime I pick up their check...waiting to see what little surprise they left behind for me! It truly is the BEST job - I just wish I had discoverd it a little sooner because my feet HURT at the end of the night. The other day, the cute little 17-year old that I work with says, "this is my first ever serving job..." to which I promptly responded, "Oh, I know, me too!" She just smiled and looked at me like "seriously?" Who would have thought I'd have so much in common with a high-schooler?!!

I told my 10-year old daughter the other day, "I hope you run and wait tables when you are in college...because I think those are two of the most lucrative things you can do with your life - I regret not doing them sooner!" She looked at me a little strange, trying to figure out what the word "lucrative" meant but, I really hope she remembers that and heeds my advice someday.

I hate cleaning...

Okay, Martha Stewart, plug your ears!! I am going to say something that might send chills through your bones!! :) I HATE cleaning! There, I said it! The real reason I hate cleaning is that I will spend hours cleaning and be so happy that my house is finally "clean" - and then my family will return home ... and that damn house is dirty again within a matter of mere minutes! Ughhh...all that hard work down the drain. It is soooo frustrating! Why even bother if it's just going to get dirty again? I do love that fresh feeling of getting my carpets steam cleaned by a professional. But, that presents another problem. It only lasts for a day or so, and then sure enough, those old, ugly stains start popping back up. What is up with that?? I have a coupon for carpet cleaning but, I'm trying to figure out when to use it. When my carpets are already dirty, I am not stressed out about the kids tracking dirt in or the dog running through a puddle and then right into the house, or my husband coming in from golf, tracking the entire 17th green behind him!! But, once I get the carpets cleaned...watch out!...I turn into someone I don't even recognize! A crazy lady with a penchant for cleanliness!!! I don't know about you, but summer is a time to be outdoors, playing with your kids, splashing in the pool, sipping on umbrella drinks...not to be stuck indoors on all fours, scrubbing the gross stuff that accumulates around the bottom of the toilet. My bathroom always looks pretty good to me, that is until I forget to take off my damn reading glasses and I run into use the potty and start looking around!! Yikes! Who knew my dog shed so much? Who knew toothpaste could fly backwards and get lodged into the baseboards? That's when I really feel like a slacker, but once I take my glasses off, my bathroom looks pretty darn good again!! I recently bought a sign at a home decor store dowtown that pretty much sums up my philosophy: "Good moms have sticky floors, dirty ovens, and happy kids." Martha Stewart, I am NOT! But, I gotta say, my kids are pretty happy!!!

All or Nothing, Baby!

I am an "all or nothing" kind of gal. I either workout 4-5 days a week, or I go months without ever stepping foot into a gym. If I open a box of Juju Fruits, there is no way in hell any of those chewy, stick-in-your teeth, crack-like nuggets are going to make it out of there alive! If I drink one beer, I drink six! I read a book a week or I don't read all summer long. I just don't understand the whole concept of "moderation." I do like to give things up from time to time - just to prove to myself that I can! I have been known (much to the disdain of my family members) to give up facebook for Lent. And, sometimes, I go beyond the 40 days just to make everyone mad (not really, it's just that sometimes, it feels so good...I like to go a little longer!) Another thing I give up every so often is alcohol. Those who know me, know this about me: I am a party girl through and through, but I come by it honestly (both of my dear grandmas lived long lives and partook in the Irish whiskey or champagne wholeheartedly!) In fact, my one grandma was in a fender bender back in her 30's, possibly after consuming a libation, and vowed that night to either give up drinking or driving...and she never drove again after that! God bless her heart! I don't really think I have a problem with alcohol, but I am always amazed how good I feel when I go without it for a long period of time. I wake up naturally (without an alarm) every morning at 5:30, ready to face the day, energized, well rested and eager to begin. If I have even one glass of wine or a beer the night before, I wake up groggy, tired and not wanting to get out of bed. The amount of miles I run each day is directly related to the number of beers I didn't drink! Strange how that happens. Right now, I'm on a no-drinking kick, well because honestly, I've been overdoing it just a tad with lots of social gatherings and family in town and it being summer and all. Currently, I'm on Day 6 - which to a non-drinker, would seem like nothing to shout (or blog!) about. But, for those of you who get where I'm coming from, who maybe even down a glass or two a night yourselves, know that 6 days is pretty impressive!! I think it's healthy to give bad habits a rest now and then. My friends who are "moderators" don't really get that. They are the types of people who can enjoy one glass of wine and jump out of bed the next morning, ready to go...or make a box of Juju Fruits last all week! Not me, I'm all or nothing, baby and proud of it! Problem is, I've got more family arriving this weekend...so, it looks like my sobriety is about to come to a screeching halt!! Cheers!! I'll drink to that!!

Is it just me...or has the whole world gone electronically crazy???

Call me old-fashioned or technologically unadvanced...but, I don't want to read a book on a computer screen and I don't want to be able to check my emails 24/7 on my phone. Sometimes, I just want to be unavailable. Sometimes, I just want to flip a page and smell the wonderful smell of an old book. Sometimes, I think this whole electronic craze has gone too far!! What really gets to me is that, what is super cool one day is totally outdated the next...and our kids are learning that bigger is always better and that the more you spend, the better it must be and that everything in life can be upgraded. As soon as they get the hang of their new ipod, iphone or ipad, something better comes along. I feel bad for the old stuff. The stuff they got for Christmas last year, that is now gathering dust on their desk shelf or worse yet, being listed on ebay at this very moment.

What are we teaching our kids when we allow them to discard these expensive gadgets on a whim and buy the next BIG thing? I think we are teaching them to not be content with what they have. To always be searching for something else. A wise man once said, "Happiness is not having what you want...It's wanting what you have." Our kids need to learn to be happy with what they have, not continually searching for that proverbial golden ticket.

I hate that our children are growing up in this world of computers, IM chat, facebook, cell phones, texting and twitter. It is stealing our kids from us. It is creating distance between us. It is consuming our children's minds and thoughts. I don't like it one bit.

I just want to sit down at the dinner table with my husband and kids every night and have an honest to goodness, face to face, conversation with them about their day and what the best part of their day was...without the invasion of anything electronic whatsoever!!! Is there an APP for that?

I need to take some ginkgo biloba...if I could just remember to!

I am a "list" girl. I swear, I have at the very minimum five TO DO lists going at all times...and, in addition to that, about 3 different calendars of what's going on in my life. I would be lost without my lists. My memory is good...despite the fact that I am getting older and that I have MS. But, if I don't write something down, I'm really likely to just forget it completely! Then, there are those moments of pure and utter brain farts! One time I was at a ski show, I was looking at all the cool stuff, trying it on, and I had a moment of panic! I couldn't find my purse. Since I had been trying things on, I couldn't be sure where I'd left it. The place was packed with people. I ran around frantically for about 5 minutes, then ran up to one of the cashiers and said "I can't find my purse!" He looked at me, then looked down and back at me and said, "Ummm, is that it on your shoulder?" Another time, I came in from recess duty at the school I work at, and was frantically looking for my sunglasses. After several minutes of searching, I asked a co-worker if they'd seen my glasses. She politely replied, "I believe they are on your head." Well, that wasn't as bad as the time I was actually wearing my glasses and searching for them at the same time...Just the other day, I was trying to charge my phone and cursing at it because it would not hold a charge. I continued to ram the silver tab in and out of the phone, getting madder and madder that it would not charge. Finally, my daughter came in the room and said "Uh, mom, it might help if the charger was plugged in." Ahhhhh, senior moments, MS brain farts, too much drinking in college, whatever it may be...I have heard that ginkgo biloba helps with memory problems. Problem is I just keep forgetting to take it! Hell, truth is, I keep forgetting to buy it because it's not on my list!

Thank God for Rear View Mirrors, Right?

Okay, so my car rear view mirror is a friend and a foe! The other day while waiting to pick my daughter up from dance class, I was sitting in the car doing a crossword puzzle. I happened to have my reading glasses on, well, because I can't see a darned thing without them! I made the mistake of looking into my car's rear view mirror...now, us women know that the car is the best place to check for errant eyebrow hairs, chin hairs, lipstick smears and too much rouge application because of the natural light in the car. Well, much to my horror, and because I happened to be wearing my bifocals....I saw something that scared the absolute you-know-what out of me!! There on my left cheek, was a curly, wiry, unruly....black hair sticking out!! My immediate thought was "Oh my God, how long has that been there and who all has seen it?" Geez, what is it about your mid 40's that make strange and random hairs pop EVERYWHERE? As I looked closer in the mirror, I was traumatized by all the imperfections I saw in magnified up-closeness - it was like a train wreck, I couldn't bare to watch, but I couldn't take my eyes off it!! When I got home, I did what any self-respecting girl would do, I plucked that sucker right off my cheek and vowed that I would never, ever wear my glasses and look in that damn rear view mirror at the same time. Some things really are better left unseen...

Blogger Virgin

Hi all, this is my very first BLOG ever!! I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile now, but never seemed to find the time to sit down and do it. Well, after talking with a friend today, I got inspired...I came home and put my daughter's 9 year old friend to work and ... "Voila! My blog was created!!" :) Amazing what you can get done when you put your mind to it (or when you put a child to it! he hee)

My blog name is "Am I A Mess"? Well, let me explain. My maiden name is MIMS...and when you spell it out, it actually says the phrase. I was made aware of that in college, by one of my best friends when we were at a frat party! We had consumed many adult beverages (even though, we ourselves were not really adults!) and we were having a really good time. She said "Hey, when you spell your last name, its says: "Am I A Mess?" I laughed and said ... "Oh yes, YES I AM!!!" And from there, the phrase was born.

Fast forward 15 years...it's 1998 ~ and I get diagnosed with a really rude disease called "MS." It hits you like a ton of bricks, slowly takes away your abilities, robs you of your energy, all the while acting all quiet and non-chalant about it. Once again, the phrase seemed to fit my life...only this time it said: "Am I MS?" To which I quickly answered, "Oh no, NO I AM NOT."

Well, it's been 13 years since that fateful day...and I have to say I am not MS...but I do have MS...and believe it or not, MS has been one of the biggest blessings in my life! It has made me realize that life is precious and that I should never, ever take a single day for granted. It has helped me live in the moment because truly, that is all any of us really have. It has made me appreciate my good health when I have it ... and fight for better health when I don't. It sounds ironic, but having MS has made me stronger. It forces me to try and attempt things I would never have dreamed of doing - all to prove this damned disease wrong!! And, to prove to the world that "I AM NOT MS...or a MESS" for that matter!

Recently, I took up running. I actually took a class called "Learn to Run" at a local running store. I had never in my life been a runner, nor had I ever wanted to be. Well, 9 months later, I've run 5 5ks, a 10k, and just finished my first Half Marathon!! I feel like running has given me a new lease on life and I just laugh at MS every time I run and don't trip or fall!! It's sort of like saying "FU, MS" with all due respect, of course!!!:)

So, my life right now is all about running and all about trying to stay healthy and motivated and manage this damned disease...did I mention, it's a very rude disease??!

I hope I can offer some inspiration, some laughs, maybe even some tears, while on this journey! So, hold on tight...."Here we go!"