THOMAS ENGLISH MUFFINS AND MILK

(Oh, where is she going with this one?)

Easy, let me chat, since I do know that some of you read these long blogs, even when you complain how long they are. You STILL FRIGIN READ THEM! You must not be THAT bored!

Ok, so........

Why Thomas English Muffins and milk? That is the most bizarre title I've even read, and even if I was bored, just the title alone would make me curious, as to why in the heck someone would title their nightly blog .......THOMAS ENGLISH MUFFINS AND MILK.

OK, on with it. Now that I said all that, I might burst your bubble with my story!

It's funny, because I don't plan these blogs, by any means. I do my thing at night, and what I do know, is that I will sit in front of this computer, and allow whatever wants to come forth, come out, onto this page, and then it is not up to me after that. A life of it's own takes front seat.........shot gun!

OK, so the bread and milk..........

Every ones lives are different. We all grow up so differently, and I think we compare our lives to others, as I did as a child.

We, of course we grew up in a huge Italian family. Not a lot of money, but we had things, just nothing like the average. (don't shutter Janet). It's my blog, and I'll do what I want with it, do what I want with it...........haha( that is my sister) She hates when I do this kind of stuff. It's too "out there" and embarrassing for her. To me, it's just real, and you can relate to it or not, be that, or be someone different, but..........you cannot change your roots.

Me, I'm proud of my roots. Yes, it can be embarrassing, comparatively speaking, but it's real, awesome in so many ways, and just.......is what it is.

So, as for comparing, all of my friends were always rich. They always had the Mom, Dad, brother, sister, dog, gold fish, patten leather shoes for the new school year, new notebooks, pencils, tote bags and for sure, an apple with the sandwich and chips for brown bagged lunch.

Oh, did I forget the white picket fence?

OK, so you now you know, this is NOT HOW I GREW UP.

I'm laughing because I can hear my sister saying "OH MY GOD, SHE IS NOT TELLING THIS STORY TO A MILLION PEOPLE".

Well, yes dear, I am.

Hate me later.

We grew up very eclectic, how's that?

I had this friend, who I will call Sam.

Her Dad was a doctor, and the mother played tennis all day. They had a boy, a girl, a dog, a fish, a truck, a car, weekends off, family night, movie night, and in the mornings, before school, they all sat down, and ate breakfast together.

I went over to her house quite often.

I think I brought something real to their world, and they, unbeknownst to them, they brought something to my world.

At my house in the morning, it was mayhem! Complete Mayhem! ( Janet's laughing) or not.......

Janet was trying to get ready for work, and had to shuffle past the 4 of us, trying to share 1 bathroom. Yes, that would be 2 girls and 3 boys, all getting ready together. It was well worth it to do all that you had to do, the night before to spare yourself the agony of sharing a bathroom with 3 boys, with lots of hair, lots of testosterone, and trust me, men are much worse than women when it comes to time in the bathroom. Contrary to popular belief.

From that, would be the traipsing downstairs to the kitchen to find a brown bag on top of the dishwasher, full of what mom could put in there, or.............not!

My sister would be heating up her tea, more milk than tea, and eating a toasted peanut butter sandwich, on the run. Who knows what the boys ate, and ran, on their way to work or school......or NOT............

and me............. scurrying down as if I had no idea what was going on. I was just hoping to make the bus, and if not, I was subject to my step dad, griping to get out of bed, to take me to school, even more late now, that he was taking me.

Boxer shorts, t-shirt, and a cigarette in mouth is always good right? Hay, take me to school now? And, can you meet my friends while you're at it? NOT!

I would say, "Stop here, this is good", a mile away from school, so that they didn't see the car we drove up in.

OK, enough of that.

That was just to pre- empt you on going over to Sam's house, and feeling new things.

I'd go over some mornings to Sam's house. She lived pretty close. I'd dart out and try to head over so we could walk together, and talk about how I was going to make fun of her in catechism.

I'd go over to her house, and as soon as I would walk in the door, her mother would greet me, take my coat and tell me to come sit for breakfast with them.

I'd go in and like in the movies, I'd walk in, and the pot of coffee was brewing, 10 different kinds of sugar were displayed on the counter, skim milk, no other, and mugs that looked like Picasso had come in and painted them that morning. Corn flakes, a banana, THOMAS ENGLISH MUFFINS AND A COLD GLASS OF MILK, were arranged on the table like the Pope was coming.
We were handed pretty napkins, the symphony would be playing, and out the back window, you saw Fido playing with his bone, like a good dog does.

I remember sitting there, with the Doctor, the tennis playin' mother, Sam, and her brother, all eating English Muffins, with butter, marmalade, a glass of cold milk, and watching them eat so slowly, so politely, with nothing to say........... just ......politely eating their morning snack or whatever you want to call it.

No one said anything really, but a part of me liked it. Wow, no one is saying anything. How nice is that? No big mouths, no this or that, just people eating breakfast................oh, hay, and I did say BREAKFAST!

A well balanced breakfast. The symphony, the dog and his bone, a napkin on your lap........

Shoot, I thought I was in heaven! The perfect life, right? Who wouldn't want to wake up with that? I do that now, actually, and I love it.

But, as a kid, you think you died and went to heaven.

Is the grass always greener on the other side?

I just remember watching everyone, silently eating their English muffin, sipping their milk, and wiping their lip, and staring........ Wow, this is different! Everyone is in slow motion, nothing hurried, and everything seemed so cool, so together, and so what I wanted.

The grass is never really greener, no matter how you look at it.

Years after, I was able to pan back over that moment and time. The visual, and the feeling stuck with me.

I wasn't missing a thing!

The life that I had, separate from that, was in fact, amazing!!!

We were, and are, very real people, who have nothing to hide. We grew up a certain way, and to many, it would seem crazy, or dysfunctional, but when I look back, it was just what it was. Circumstantial, eclectic, and well, just real. Funny, now, actually! Back then, NOT!

We were odd man out!

I pan back and don't mind flying down the stairs hoping there was a bag on top of the dishwasher, with a mustard sandwich, and a napkin.

On good days we had lunch meat and cheese. An apple put us in the norm, for sure.

I won't go into lunches at school.............. my sis might have a voo doo doll next to her bed......I don't want to chance it!

Look, the way I see it is............ we all have roots. We all grew up a certain way. That doesn't mean we have to believe that THAT IS HOW WE HAVE TO LIVE, or that THAT IS WHO WE ARE!

Just because your friend has a dad that is a doctor, and a mom who plays tennis for a living, doesn't mean you are lower or a bad person. You don't need to change. That way is not necessarily the way, or better, for that matter.

Be fine with where you are, for the eclectic beauty that it is, and what it gives you.

Don't compare!

Grab your breakfast quickly, or sit and watch your dog. Who cares? Are you feeling good about you? Or do you feel like you have to keep up with the Joneses?

You are OK exactly where you are!!!

No situation is better than where you are!!

Where you are,

Is where you need to be!

Thank you!

I needed to hear that!

Wink Wink!!

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