People Watching, the Dreaded Drive-Thru and Baba

People watching, the dreaded drive-thru and Baba, the somewhat light a fluffy, NO MSG added week 12 blog from the Carr world.

Drive-Thru
Ok, what is it that is your kryptonite? I can stand in front of hundreds or even thousands of people with a mic, and have no problem giving a laugh or a talk on just about anything. Put me in front of the little speaker attached to a couple of people with headphones and a cash register in a drive-thru, and I am a babbling, flustered mess. It may have something to do with the 3 voices, barking out wants and not wants from the seats around me, but the truth is, I just about always mess something up and need the person taking the order to repeat and confirm. I don’t get it. I can’t understand why I have an issue with what most would say is such a simple thing to do. I always repeat the order in my head before hand, but as soon as it’s my turn and I am faced with the pressure of getting it right, while not holding up the cars behind me I am an idiot. So I am looking for tips or suggestions for improvement, because this week, after yet another messed up order, I have to confess, “hello, my name is Jim Carr, and I am a bad drive trough order giver.”

Baba
Last year at this same time, I wrote about my Baba and how it was on the 11th day of November that she died some 23 years before. So Remembrance Day for me has always been about remembering things about my Mother’s Mom. This year, 24 years after she has passed away, my day was full of memories of her, but for the first time my thoughts were of not only my Grandmother but also of my Mom. In the months leading up to my Mom’s death, she talked a couple of times about visions she had of her Mom, waiting for her to pass and calling my Mom to her to join her. She told me that each time, she would wave and tell Baba that she was not ready yet, and then Baba was gone.

In one of the visions she described there was an older woman sitting on a stone bench in a lovely flower garden. When the lady turned to look at my Mom, she could see it was Baba and she could see the disappointment in her eyes, that my Mom waved her off yet again, refusing to give up her fight on this earth. My only hope is that now, that they are both together, they can be comfortable, sitting on that bench, admiring the garden and sharing the time and love that they have missed for all the time they were apart.

People
I am a self-admitted people watcher. I don’t think there is anything wrong with it, I never glare or make comments or even laugh out loud at anything I see, I am just a quiet observer of people. I love making up back-stories, or even just wondering what it is that makes the person tick. Tuesday, I was watching this girl at the bus stop, and she kept smiling, and yawning. I was thinking what an odd combination, and aside from that, I was wondered what it was that she was thinking about that was making her laugh and smile as much as she was. I almost asked her, but the creepy old man thing kicked in and I thought better of it. I have heard that laughing at your own jokes is a no-no, but I think smiling to yourself about something that others around you have no clue about is very cool and something we should all try.

Music
Nathalie loves music, and it is no surprise that she has a large collection on her computer. She made a backup CD some time ago, and now uses it in the car as a music source and the girls love it. They always ask for the same 2 or 3 songs, almost as the car door closes, preparing for any trip and most times we oblige. “Angel’s Among Us please!” they both cry this week, and how can you say no? They have heard it enough over the last week, to know most of the words, and we had a laugh Tuesday night, at a modern interpretive dance they put on in our bedroom to the song. Julia, the dancer did arm and face gestures to represent the words that Jordyn was singing and Nathalie and I sat in the front row and watched in amazement at the creativity in selecting the right words, and actions and the facial expressions. My only hope is that they don’t want to start performing all the songs on the CD, because I am just not sure what they will do with Britney Spears’ 3.

In Closing
Just about every week, the girls do something to make me laugh, and this week it was just as we arrived at Julia’s dance class Saturday. Jordyn and Nathalie left the car at the same time as Julia and myself, but headed off into a different direction and when Julia asked, “Where are they going?” I had to do some thinking before speaking. After a second of thought I say, “Mommy has something she needs to do.” So Julia asks the obvious, “What something?” After beating myself up in my head for not coming up with a better first answer, I think a little harder about my second, and I decide honesty is always the best policy, “She is getting her nails done, Julia!” You can see the little wheels turning in the mind of my youngest child, and she then asks, “What about Jordyn, is she getting her nails done too?” Remembering honesty here, I ask, “How much of a problem will that be if she does Julia?” and without hesitation she stretches her little arms apart as wide as she can and says, “This much of a problem Daddy!”

Let’s hope your week is not filled with any of these problems…

Thanks for reading and have a great and safe week.
Jim

P.S. We went back and Julia did get her nails done too!