Almost the Dog Days...

Here it is, July 22nd. The month is winding down, and with it, summer. We have one year left of no school before Boy Pop enters kindergarten officially. We're debating having him complete a year of private kindergarten this year in preparation for him to be full-on immersed in elementary school, but to tell you the truth, I am not so sure I want it to happen. I do not want to have to be responsible for homework yet. I don't want him to have the pressure of school yet, either. And from what I hear about elementary school these days, it is definitely pressure-filled.

The official "dog days of summer" don't start until August, but that is 9 days away. Before I know it, I'll be planning Boy Pop's 5th birthday. I do not know where the time has gone, but I do know that we haven't completed much on my personal summer "to-do" fun list... We definitely need to get on that and fast!

Every year goes by just a little bit faster. I don't know why time seems to do this, but I want it to stop. I want to hit the pause button for a little while and enjoy this time a little bit more. My son is at an awesome age and Dr Pop and I are enjoying him and each other more than ever. I'm not ready to move ahead just yet.

Whiney, whiney, whine, whine, whine.

Yeah, I get it. But! I'm just not ready yet! But I know that I'd better batten down the hatches and get good and damn well ready, though, because time does indeed march on. It is marching ever-forward.

I'm considering yet another career change. Maybe. I'm very happy to be employed in the current market, but there are some goals that I have that cannot be fulfilled in my current position. I'm giving myself a year to figure this out. I want to have the opportunity to work Boy Pop's school hours and also spend some time writing real stuff instead of blog stuff. I know one thing that will make that possible, but I'm not sure I'm ready to 1) take the pay cut or 2) deal with teenagers on a daily basis, so that idea is not at the forefront right yet. I do know that I would like to do something different. But I am in a relatively comfortable zone here, so heck. I don't even know what I'm talking about. I'm just blathering.

Whining and blathering.

I need to get off my ass and get some summer family excursions planned STAT! (See what I did there? I circled back to the initial post topic.)

So for now, I'll leave you with some final pictures from the first part of the summer...

Fun dinner with friends in June.

Engagement party.

Birthday card and present opening.

Official birthday dinner...

Emotional Drains

Violet wrote a post yesterday that hit very close to home regarding a person in her life that is very draining. I believe her exact words were, "suck everything I have and bring nothing to the table."

I know exactly what she means.

I've written before about my aversion to the "women" parties that are ostensibly to sell something (Pampered Chef, Silpada Jewelry, sex toys, etc.), but almost immediately turn into husband/men bashing events.

A woman who sits next to me at the office started complaining about something that happened and I felt the pull to start bitching about this place along with her.

It's human nature, I think, that misery loves company. And it is my nature to allow myself to get drawn into the negativity and add to it. Luckily for me, I feel it happen and remove myself from the conversation as soon as possible. But since misery does love company, comments about the good things are generally unwelcome.

There is a straw that has finally broken this particular camel's back. I have a work acquaintance who is completely exhausting. Because of proximity, I get the blow-by-excruciating-blow of every single bad thing that has happened to him, his friends, and his family. Seriously, to hear him tell it, absolutely not one good thing has ever happened to him over the past year and a half or so since he came to my team.

This person is perfectly nice, but I find myself avoiding going anywhere near his desk (which is a problem as he is part of my team after all) because I simply feel frustrated and emotionally drained by the constant litany of his issues and no desire to hear advice.

I'm going to let go. I have enough on my plate that I simply cannot take on someone else's problems no matter how terrible and tragic they may be. Especially when this person is not my friend and never has anything positive or upbeat to add to the conversation.

Don't get me wrong. I am totally committed and there for my friends. My friends and I have shared our ups and downs and been there for one another during times of stress and happiness. We take when we need to take, we give when we need to give, and we tell each other to "Snap the hell out of it!" when we go overboard with the whining or destructive behavior.

I just have no more room in my life for people who only complain.

When I get back from Mexico, I'm sending the work acquaintance a link to buy Dr. Laura's book, Stop Whining, Start Living. And I might just buy it for myself, too.