Mantras and Motherhood

Yesterday I read on Rachel's Facebook page: "I've officially become my mother. I've adopted her habits, her mannerisms, the way she talks, and several of her mantras."

Wow! I was thrilled. I called her and told her I was putting my little finger to my mouth right then. My own Mini-Me! 

But I didn't even know I had mantras! She pointed out that my "let's make a spreadsheet" mantra is one that she has down. Good one. Every party I host has a spreadsheet. Christmas cards have a spreadsheet There are spreadsheets for birthdays and anniversaries, house projects, Daddy's funeral arrangements, medications. I mean, I can't imagine how people live without spreadsheets.

What other mantras do I have, I wondered. It would be fun to make a list. But first I should look it up. "Mantra: A mystical formula or incantation. Also, watchword." "Watchword: A motto that embodies a principle or guide to action of an individual or group; a guiding principle."

OK, that works. Here we go:

1. Always make a list.

2. Always look up the definition of words you're not absolutely sure of.

3. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

4. There's no point in owning a car that's not red.

5. What the world needs now is love. (I adopted that during the Vietnam war, which coincided with the first release, by Jackie DeShannon, of the song by Hal David/Burt Bachrach.)

6. Use beautiful postage stamps, not the boring ones showing the flag or the liberty bell. 

That's enough for now. What are some of your mantras?

A new year, a new puzzle

Last week when Sherry visited for four days we put together a wonderful jigsaw puzzle that Joie gave me for Christmas: a U.S. map picturing and naming all the state birds. The puzzle was extremely challenging--1,000 pieces, plus the puzzle perimeter is not straight but follows the U.S. border. This was a perfect present for me, as learning state birds, trees, and whatnot is one of my little side projects.

I actually own (gift from Rachel) a book of states with little flaps that lift up (like some advent calendars I've seen), under which the capital, state bird, and state flower are listed. I also own (gift from Rachel) a set of "state knowledge cards" containing quite a bit of state info, including their native peoples. And yes, the reason Rachel has given me these gifts is because I try to memorize state capitals, birds, flowers, and trees. For a while I kept the flashcards in my purse so I could pull them out on the Metro. I know what you're saying. You're saying that's just crazy to memorize state birds, when I could be memorizing the periodic table of elements, like you do. You think you're so smart. Let's hear you name the state bird of Louisiana. How about it? huh? huh? I didn't think so. Well, I happen to know it is the eastern brown pelican. And what state has the western meadowlark as its official bird? Take a guess. Wrong! The western meadowlark is the state bird of six states! I agree, one would think the states could have been a little more creative in picking a bird of their very own. But let's not forget this task is left up to legislators. The cardinal has in fact been adopted as the official state bird by seven states. OK, that's enough state bird info for today. Unless you really want me to tell you which states. . . . OK. Not.

Here's a more cosmic thought. Every new year is a 365-piece puzzle that we piece together. Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, there is no picture of what it will look like when we are done. I'm working on making 2010 beautiful.