Amy Currioman

This morning when I left the house I noticed the air was heavily scented with a sweet scent.  I looked around trying to figure out where the sweetness was coming from.  The only thing that I could see in bloom was the honeysuckle that has overtaken the fence that lines the property boundary line between us and our neighbor.  I never realized that honeysuckle had such a sweet scent that could be sensed from so far away!

I remember as a child my Dad showed me how to pull apart a honeysuckle so I could lick the drop of nectar from it.  I used to enjoy doing that a lot as a kid.  I haven’t done that this year yet, but I did do it last year when I was showing my own kids how to do it.  I was disappointed by their lack of enthusiasm for what I was showing them!  Oh well, maybe when I have grandchildren they will enjoy doing it with me!

I recently started a part time job at a retail store as a cashier.  One of the managers there is a very nice young man.  He reminds me a lot of my own sons.  I like to laugh and joke with him, and he certainly seems to enjoy hanging around me.  This guy would make a really great husband for some lucky young woman, and he says he is looking for a girl to settle down with and have children.  The issue is that he is having trouble meeting any women who share his same high moral values.  I have to agree that there are very few places young adults can go that is not a pub.  I wish there was something I could do to help them out!  I’ll have to think on that.

Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions this year? One of mine is to waste less food. I am apalled every week when I get ready to go to the grocery store and I rummage around the refrigerator to see what needs to be thrown out and find so much food that has been there too long to eat!

Part of the problem is that often times when I cook supper the rest of the family decides at the last minute that they aren’t going to eat dinner. Now I know I’m a good cook, but the only time I can count on everyone coming to the table is if it is take-out Chinese Food or take-out Pizza. And I am NOT ordering take-out food every time we need to eat supper! So I think that I will put the rest of the family in charge of the meal planning, the shopping, and the cooking. I’m tired of wasting time, energy, and money on trying to feed this family. As for me, well I can just fix myself a PB&J sandwich or a bowl of soup if no one cooks!

My youngest son Jon is in his senior year at college.  This is such an exciting time for him; he already has a job offer waiting for him in London, or a fellowship waiting for him in Boston!  He is so excited to be done with the studying and homework that has been such an integral part of his life for the majority of his life. 

I can’t blame him for wanting to experience life to its fullest.  He has yet to have his first serious romance, has yet to need to find a way to pay his own way, has yet to be completely independent.  Oh, sweet independence!  I can remember wanting to be solely in charge of my own life!  And now I find myself on the wrong side of fifty years old, and being melancholy for my own youthful exuberance! 

I think that for Christmas I will buy Jon a casio pathfinder watch for Christmas.  I think that even though watches seem to be obsolete to the younger generation, I think that giving a watch to him at this point of his life would be a loving reminder of how valuable time really is.  A suggestion to cherish each hour, each day, and to live it fully.

My hubby has been talking about buying a new car next year.  If everything goes right, we should be able to trade in our scion on a new vehicle.  The biggest problem (besides the money!) is picking out which new car we would like to get.  My hubby says that he really wants either a saab 9-5 or a 2010 vw golf.  He’s never owned a saab before, and he is really impressed with the history of the company.

The saab company is a Swedish company, and they got their start making air plane engines.  When I was very young my parents bought a saab.  It ran a very long time and they ended up giving it to my older sister for her high school graduation present.  I always thought it was a funny looking little car, and it only had three cylinders, which made it sound funny.  My parents loved it though, and it served the family well.  When they gave it to my sister they bought a new one for themselves.  I remember learning how to drive in that car – it had a feature in it that my father called “free wheeling” which meant that even though it was a manual transmission if it was put in “free wheeling” mode it would not stall out if the driver wasn’t using the clutch properly.  Looking back, I think that was a fantastic car to learn to drive in!  I wonder if all the saabs still have that feature!

I’ve always been partial to suvs, though.  The biggest drawback to them is that so many of them don’t get good gas mileage.  I think that the reason I’ve liked them is that they are roomy, like the station wagons we had when we were growing up.