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Monthly Archives: May 2015

My.Daily.Distraction ~ Post 178: Barbie Sunglasses

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by duckykoren in fashion, inspirational, Toys

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Barbie, Childhood, Happy, Sunglasses, Toys, Travel

image

Barbie sunglasses…

Now, that’s a pair of words that I have not uttered in a long time.

In fact, it’s almost impossible for me to say “Barbie sunglasses”…

…without smiling.

These two words randomly came to my attention this past weekend as I watched a travel documentary on the city of Istanbul.

The young woman hosting the show decided to visit a store which sold world famous designer sunglasses. She asked the owner to pick out a pair for her. After a moment’s thought the owner then handed her what he called the ‘house special’, a very successful pair of sunglasses that he had designed himself.

Of course when she tried them on she looks spectacular. She asked the owner for the price. Quite understandably, he declined quoting the price while the cameras were still rolling. Our travel hostess nevertheless still decided to purchase them immediately.

The last word she said, or rather squealed before the camera faded to black was…

“BARBIE SUNGLASSES!”

This made me wonder what is there about a small piece of plastic that can bring a girl so much happiness?

My personal experiences with Barbie sunglasses was always joy when I opened up my Barbie suitcase and was able to find the ever elusive Barbie sunglasses still among my possessions. Elusive, of course because Barbie sunglasses were so very small and easy to lose.

It has been said that…

“Bits and fragments from the past affect us in the present.”

Unfortunately, all too often we are overcome with those “bits and fragments” from the past which contain unhappy memories of one sort or another. These unpleasantries from the past do indeed affect us in the present.

That is why every happy tidbit which emanates from our past must be acknowledged, celebrated and cherished.

Hence, my quote of the day:

‘Carpe shadium’

Seize your “Specks”…

And shine!

Memories Of Mother ~ Chapter 61… May 14, 2015: Still Breathing

14 Thursday May 2015

Posted by duckykoren in Family, Grief, Loss, love, Stories

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Beauty, Family, grief, hair, loss, love, salons, Stories

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One of the last things that my Mother ever gave me was a hairbrush.

This is a rather serendipitous revelation for me because I always loved my Mother’s hairbrushes.

Even as a little girl, no matter how many hairbrushes my Mother would supply me with, it was always her hairbrush that I would reach for first.

I know she found it frustrating, but I really didn’t care.

Yes, I loved her and her hair brushes that much.

My Mother did not look happy when she handed me this last hairbrush.

It was on the small side. It had a little black plastic handle and tiny white bristles. It looked very plain.

“Do you want to know how much I paid for this brush,” she asked me?

“How much?” I responded.

“Twenty-eight dollars.”

“Really, how did that happen?”

“I was paying my bill at the hairdressers when I saw the brush under their glass counter. I liked the small size of it and thought it would be perfect for my purse.”

Looking at the brush, I surmised that twenty-eight dollars was about the right price you would pay for a gourmet hairbrush at the beauty salon.

Mother continued:

It wasn’t until I got to the car that I looked at my credit card receipt and saw that the bill was rather high. That’s when I noticed that they charged me $28 for the hairbrush.”

“Why didn’t you return it?”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Do you like it,” she asked me.

“Yes,” I said running the brush through my long hair.

“It will do just fine, thank you.”

Now… fast forward fourteen months:

I was not looking forward to May 14, 2015.

This day marks the one year anniversary since my Mother’s passing.

I lost her at 6 AM. It was a bright and sunny morning, just as peaceful as her passing.

As I reported to work for my midnight shift, I was confident that I could keep my thoughts positive and not give in to the sadness of this day.

At one point of the shift I went to the ladies room. It was hard not to think about her.

Seeing my unkempt hair in the mirror, I resolved to brush it out and rebraid it.

There was something about brushing out my hair that I always found soothing.

Looking at the brush in my hand I noticed that it was the brush that Mother gave me forteen months earlier.

The sight of it and the circumstances in which I received it brought me joy, and I immediately felt better.

If only I could go back to the moments in which she gave me that brush and tell her what a comfort it would be to her daughter less than a year and a half later.

Maybe then, she wouldn’t have been so unhappy about paying so much for that small little hairbrush that would wind up in her daughter’s jacket pocket. A brush which is both cherished and used daily.

In June of last year I wrote a series of sixty blog posts dedicated to my Mother’s memory.

The first blog post was titled “The Last Promise” which was about my last promise to my Mother.

I gave my promise that I would keep on breathing for her.

Well…

It’s one year later.

…

Still breathing!
🙂

My.Daily Distraction ~ Post 177: “SouthPaw”

12 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by duckykoren in Behaviour, habits, Society

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Tags

learned behaviour, School, Southpaw, Writing

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I was in kindergarten when I first started printing the letters of the alphabet.

By grade one I could print sentences.

It was while I was doing my homework one evening that my Father noticed me holding the pencil in my left hand.

From that day forward, I was only allowed to hold a pencil in my right hand.

My Father explained that when he was a young boy in school, his teacher would separate the left handed students from the right handed students. Further, the left handed students were labelled as having poorer mental faculties.

There was no point in arguing. He was adamant that I write with my right hand.

My first attempts at writing with my right hand were awkward. With time however, I eventually got use to writing with my right hand.

However, every other activity, I continued to do with my left hand. This included throwing a ball, frisbee, even sewing.

When I grew into an adult, I finally felt comfortable enough to keep using my left arm even when my Father objected.

Then I wondered, what it was about my Father that made him so adamantly against me using my left hand.

The only answer I can come up with is ‘learned behaviour.’

He was taught to believe that it was unnatural for anyone to use their left hand.

I believe that racism, homophobia, and sexism is also learned behaviour.

So, as it happens I’ve been having a little problem with my left shoulder lately.

It’s getting harder and more painful to use, especially when I’m working.

And do you know what?

I think that this might be a good time for me to start using my right arm.

Maybe.

My.Daily.Distraction ~ Post 176: Lucky Mom

11 Monday May 2015

Posted by duckykoren in Uncategorized

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“Did you have a good Mother’s Day?” a coworker asked me today.

“Yes, I did thank you,” I replied.

“Did your kids spoil you?”

“As a matter fact they did,” I answered.

“Did you tell them that they have to do it for a week?”

“Actually,” I responded, “they make Mother’s Day last a whole year.”

“You must have done some pretty good mothering to get that,” he answered smiling as he walked away.

Not really, I thought to myself…

My girls just excel at “daughtering”.

My.Daily.Distraction ~ Post 175: …All Our Daughters Are Royalty

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by duckykoren in Uncategorized

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The first news of the day over morning coffee was of course the birth of the Royal Princess to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, publicly better known as Will and Kate.

I was surprised to find myself so delighted.

For the past 25 years we’ve heard of royal princes. I never knew how much I was yearning to hear news of a royal princess.

One of the last British royal born princess heirs to the throne was Princess Margaret and that was well before my day. By the time I learned of her she was already publicly perceived as a bad girl for wanting to marry a divorced man.

Sadly, Queen Elizabeth’s own daughter Princess Anne was similarly kept on a tight leash.

Sigh.

How times have changed.

Perhaps this is why am so looking forward to how the Royal Princess fares in today’s society. She will have fewer dark corners of divisive traps to fall into. Further, she will have the chance pick her own career, and hopefully be able to love and choose a partner she wants without fear of public reprisal.

It has been said that on their wedding day all brides and grooms are princes and princesses. In the same light, all sons and daughters born to us are our princes and princesses.

There is a good chance I won’t be the around to see the end of this princess’s story, but at least I can hold on to something at least as important.

Hopes for positive change for all our sons and daughters.

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