See A Penny

It’s been one of Those mornings.

I had been to Fresh & Easy, the gas station and the UPS place within the last half hour. My last stop before going home to put the cheese in the fridge was Rite Aid. That’s when I ended up with the first one.

Penny, that is.

I wouldn’t even have noticed it if it wasn’t odd looking. So new that it seemed fake. The copper was light and reflective and the shield on the back made me wonder for a second if it was Canadian. Nope, just a shiny new penny.

Instead of bothering to fish out my wallet again, I tossed it into the parking lot to bring someone luck. My good deed for the day, I thought, and hoped it landed heads’ side up.*

I waved at the poncily beribboned fluffy dog waiting on the far side of the lot with his/her old lady. Then I walked a block or two to my car.** That’s when I saw it.

It was on the ground, in the street, near the driver’s side door.

A shiny new penny, so light that it looked fake. Shield on the back.

Tails up.

I’d give you more of a description but I tossed it loose into my purse so it’s effectively lost in a black hole alternate dimension. (Translation: I can’t be bothered to fish it out.)

So the moral of the story, my darlings, is that if you’re going to be as superstitious as your doting Auntie, you should really come up with a punch line, moral or what we call a “button” before you begin to write out a strange event as a blog post. Especially if you haven’t posted anything in a while.

Big hugs. Auntie loves you all, but it’s nearly time to go back out again.

*Spoiler alert, superstition details: If the found coin is heads up, that’s pure goodness. Fun, happiness &/or joy is headed your way. But if it’s tails up, then it’s something that’s good for you, which isn’t the same thing at all.

** Yes, children, people in LA will sometimes park between two destinations and walk rather than move the car three blocks. I am living proof of this surprising and rare phenomenon.

Disappointment, Guaranteed

Today’s lesson is: How to deal with disappointment.

Actually, that’s a leap of faith. Auntie is trying to figure this out and I thought, well, “those who can’t do, teach” so I opened this file and started typing with the presumption that something would come out and lo and behold, it has.

That doesn’t make it any good, though. Sorry. There are no guarantees in life.

Ooh, waitaminnit!

There are no guarantees in life. That’s pretty good. I can work with that. No guarantees in life, not even the ability to make lemonade when the cliché calls for it.

That doesn’t make it any less disappointing, though.

Well, if someone asked me this on Quora, I’d tell them to distract themselves, preferably by being useful. It’s my go-to for just about anything, mostly because doing something useful for yourself or someone else gives a sense of accomplishment which can offset most bad feelings.

But what to do when the disappointment comes from a failure to be useful to someone? That’s Auntie’s problem right now. Tried & failed. Now what?

Ergo and therefore my return to the blog format to vent. Q.E.D.

I forgot how comfortable this is. I really missed you guys. Auntie has always been the type to work things though out loud. Having even a possibly hypothetical audience is making it happen.

And writing all this filled the time while the washer finished its thing. Now I can move the stuff to the dryer, which is useful and ought to make me feel better.

Apology

So just this very morning, I was asked this on Quora.com:

"What are the general requirements for a good, authentic apology?"

To which Auntie replied:

Demonstrate that you understand why it was the wrong thing to do.

Acknowledge the full extent of the consequences for which your action was the catalyst -- even if you had no intention of causing those consequences. They wouldn't have happened if you hadn't done what you did, so they're also your fault.

Express remorse. Details why you regret your actions will be more welcome than rationalization or excuses.

At this point it is traditional to announce your plans to rectify the problem and prevent it from happening again. This will be as credible as your personal history warrants.


To wit:

1. My beautiful darlings, I'm very sorry I have neglected you for the last six months.

2. Some of you will have moved on. Most of you probably will never even see this. The rest of you may not care.

3. Your Auntie does love you, but I'm lazy and vain and I get lots of responses on Quora without having to think up a subject or something about which to drivel.

4. Since joining Quora, my lapses have been so long that I doubt I could promise to blog more often and still keep a sincere expression on my face. That said, I just made a whole mess of cookies and I'd be happy to give you some. Plus a hug.