Idosyncrasies & Idioms

So, I'm still talking about being in the doctor's office with my Mom on Monday. You are probably thinking I don't get out much. (Right now, with this crazy work schedule, you'd be right.)

But you know how you have the moments where you just happen to key into people around you and they just seem so interesting? You get to be this voyeur on so many lives. . .

THE IDIOSYNCRASIES

Here's the first case: When I got upstairs (I dropped my mom off at the door before I parked) I could hear someone talking really loudly--to my mom of course. I couldn't follow what was happening in her story. But Mom filled me in later. Turns out that she was on her cell phone when Mom came in. And then she hung up and put her hand in her head and started shaking. Mom thought she was crying, so being the soft hearted woman she is, she went over and put her hand on the woman's shoulder and asked if she could help. Turns out the woman was laughing! She was laughing about a story her husband had called to tell her that demonstrated (once again, I gathered!) how stupid the people were who worked with him at the quarry. She told my mom it was hard job and it was outside so for those reasons, the job pulled in a lot of stupid people. Ironic, I thought since her husband worked there!

First case, part b: The same woman showed back up when Mom was checking out. I got a closer look at her then because she asked me for directions. One pupil was dilated and one wasn't. Mom told me in the car how the woman was teacher and had had a cornea transplant and where she lived and how she was blind in one eye. So much info in such a short time--that's the South (and my mom!) for ya!

Second Case: Then, while I was sitting waiting for Mom, this group came in very loudly. There were 4 adults. Have you noticed before how sometimes people go to the doctor's office in large groups? I see this a lot. Anyway, one of the their ensemble was a younger man in a wheelchair. He was being very rowdy--pushing back hard back in the chair with his back. He had some kind of spasticity problem--like CP. He didn't seem verbal. He settled down--they all did at the end of a row. (It was a very large--double room size--waiting room and very crowded.)

Third Case: This older man, looking quite spry, came in with his wife and another younger woman. For some reason, the wife wanted to sit next to this other woman (requiring her to move her belongings) even though there were other seats. The man got his wife seated, then proceeded to move across the aisle to sit instead by the foursome--the trio with the guy in a wheelchair).

Third Cases Meets Second Case: The older man turned and loudly said to the young man in the chair--How ya doing? The mother answered. .. He's upset; he thinks if he's in the doctor's office that he's going to get a shot. He doesn't realize yet that we are here for his dad who's back there with the doctor already. I'm not sure if the older man said anything back. But he kind of quickly then moved back to sit next to his wife and started up conversation with another woman. She told him she was there with her father. He asked how old he was, she said 73. He said, Ah! A young man. . .

I don't know why these things delight me. . . there is no point to my telling you. Just filling you in on the slice of life. . . witness to a world of idiosyncrasies.

If you fell asleep, perhaps you'll be more stimulated by the idioms. . .

THE IDIOMS

I've been thinking a bit on two particular idioms and how they don't work for me.

Rejected Idiom #1: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
I do not believe in letting sleeping does lie. If I did, then:
First of all, I wouldn't be able to start and restart trying to lose weight and be healthier. And what choice do I have but to try try again? I have to rouse that lazy puppy called initiative and self-respect up and re-energize and try again.
Second, if I believed in letting sleeping dogs lie, I'd miss all the good cuddle time with Puppy Yeats. She is still in that mouth this and bite that stage so the best way to get calm snuggle time with her is to--yep! pick her up when she's asleep and let her re-settle on me! Nice. . .

Rejected Idiom #2: You Never Forget How to Ride a Bike
You may not forget exactly but it ain't easy if you've been off one for a while. You start off shaky and you feel awkward and on embarrassingly on display. You don't know how to stop easily, turns are challenging, and you find yourself wishing for some set of written guidelines for how to get off gracefully when your feet don't touch the ground. . . Then there's the whole holy cow this is exercise part, the tired legs, the sore butt. . . And did I mention the gearshifts. . . the security of the pant's leg? All these things are a puzzle (especially if your last bike had a banana seat and a bell!).

I find this idiom being the perfect metaphor for getting back to trying to eat right and exercise. You don't forget how exactly, it's just that you no longer call yourself a biker. Those other people on the bikes (eating healthfully and exercising) feel sort of alien to you, and you are embarrassed to let them see you and share in their talk of the sport. You know the rules of eating, but you feel shaky starting off, and the first turn (new situation) makes you nervous and a bit jerky. God forbid you face an event that feels like a figure 8! And at first you can only imagine yourself doing this for very short distances, on flat ground, in private, with no speed bumps. You long for the old comforts (banana seat) but you know that's in the past and you need to embrace the present. And you can't get sidelined by the paraphernalia (the streamers, the gloves, the helmets, the baskets--the new shoes, the new recipes, the new measuring devices)--you just have to use the basic tools and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE 'til you're speeding away in your dreams and it all feels natural and light and the wind is in your face. . .